Results 1-20 of 31 for israel speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Research and Innovation Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...at the moment is where the UN Human Rights Council has been explicitly clear in its call for an arms embargo and that no country should be in any way implicated in the transfer of weapons to Israel at this time. Even the United States of America, which is the great exporter of weapons to Israel, has suggested that maybe 2,000 lb bombs might not be the best to use in one of the most...

Seanad: Research and Innovation Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...and funded by the State, is to make the conditions of funding clear enough that the chief executive officer can say that since they now know that this project is being directly employed by the Israel Defence Forces in targeting civilian infrastructure, for example, the organisation would like to withdraw its funding. The mechanism and appeals under section 43 would then kick in. Unless...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council, UN Matters and Individually Tailored Partnership Programme with NATO: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (14 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...since October. I acknowledge that he has been making strong and constructive statements in regard to working for peace and pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza. Unfortunately, the Irish Embassy in Israel seems to be signing up in May - I refer, for example, to a statement from 5 May - to statements which are still quoting the line from 13 October which stated unequivocally that Europe stands...

Seanad: Europe Day: Statements (9 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...That is why the failure of the European Union to take any meaningful action in respect of Gaza is destroying European credibility internationally. The fact is we have an association agreement with Israel. Trading interests and profiteering still happening when Europe, which accounts for 25% of Israel's trade, has an incredibly strong tool that has not been used at a time when we see a...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Apr 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...from the public demanding action in respect of Gaza and in terms of international human rights and international humanitarian law. For context, the last of Gaza's 12 universities was demolished by Israel in January. There are now no universities in Gaza because they have all been demolished and, in some cases, the museums which were attached to them have also been demolished. They were...

Seanad: Research and Innovation Bill 2024: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ..., especially in the current geopolitical context when, for example, we know of the extraordinary increase in arms and military products that have been exported from Europe and have been going to Israel. We know the United Nations Human Rights Council called for an arms embargo and actions in respect of arms. We need to be very careful if we are going to have any engagement in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank Mr. Downes for the presentation. I will deal with this in two sections. First, I will look at the EU-Israel association agreement, to which Mr. Downes referred. He mentioned that there was a request for a suspension of the agreement. It is explicitly clear that Article 2 of the agreement has conditionalities or requirements around respect for human rights and democratic...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Okay. Mr. Downes mentioned that trade is an EU competency. When the occupied territories Bill was brought forward previously, we were told the EU-Israel association agreement was one reason it could not be progressed. Mr. Downes in his opening statement, however, was explicit that occupied territories are not reflected and are not, in fact, subject to the EU-Israel association agreement....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Apr 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...will be able to pick up on the answers if I am not able to. As mentioned in the opening statement, electronic components are one of the main trading sectors. We know that Ireland’s export to Israel of dual-use components that have a potential military purpose grew sevenfold last year from €11 million to €70 million. In that context, has the Department carried out a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023: Discussion (20 Mar 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...in the investments being made here. That contributes to, and is partly responsible for, the situation we see now, where there has been a culture of absolute impunity and the idea that international law does not apply to Israel’s actions, as well as the fact that it has not had to defend itself economically and has not faced pressure to comply with international law. It has not...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Feb 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...before No. 1. Today we are seeking leave to introduce the Air Navigation and Transport (Arms Embargo) Bill 2024, which is emergency legislation that would ensure Ireland is not complicit in arming Israel and would help to curb the flow of weapons being used in Gaza. Since Israel began its relentless bombardment of Gaza, arms exports to Israel have dramatically increased. In November,...

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport (Arms Embargo) Bill 2024: First Stage (28 Feb 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for restrictions on the transit and export of weapons of war from and through the State to the state of Israel and to provide for appropriate inspections of planes seeking to transit weapons through the State, and to provide for related matters.

Seanad: Situation in Palestine: Motion (21 Feb 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...their community and their culture. We see such systemic policies - and they are policies and that is why individual sanctions against individual settlers are so meaningless - being pursued by the Israeli Government in respect of its actions in Gaza and we are also seeing almost a culture of cruelty that seems to be occurring within that. I refer to the individual cruelty it takes for...

Seanad: Situation in the Middle East: Statements (Resumed) (20 Feb 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: .... Apparently EU naval forces are heading down to protect commercial shipping going through the Red Sea but meanwhile the EU has not taken any action in respect of, for example, suspending the EU-Israel association agreement, something that does not require a review from the Commission. It is an action that can be taken immediately. We need to do better. We need to have this on the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Feb 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...standards, let us speak about the human rights standards for the European Union as a whole. I refer specifically to the human rights clauses, which are attached as conditions of the EU-Israel association agreement. I welcome the fact that the Taoiseach has written to say he wants a review of that agreement, but a review is not enough. A review is a long process, and we are now at a...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Dec 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...to be back. Last night, I was lying awake between about 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., which is something I do a lot now. I was thinking about love and suffering and the love and suffering of all those in Israel and Palestine who have lost and had family members and neighbours taken and killed. I was thinking of all of those affected but, in particular, about the love and heartbreak of the people...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Apr 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: ...internationally recognised as such. This territory is still awaiting a long-awaited referendum in respect of self-determination. Morocco does not have a mandate and we know that, much as in the case of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, under international trade law there should be no trading where there is not a mandate and where there is, in fact, an occupied territory....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) Bill 2023 (18 Apr 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: .... Given the human rights and other implications are why we are pulling away from Russian gas, and rightly so, there is a concern around the memorandum of understanding, MoU, that was signed with Israel and Egypt, which did not make clear that would not include gas from the occupied territories. I point to the importance of that. Will Ms Sikow-Magny comment on the approach the Commission...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) Bill 2023 (18 Apr 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Ms Sikow-Magny said she cannot comment on the non-proliferation treaty now. I refer to the memorandum of understanding, MoU, with Israel and Egypt and the concern that it was one of the first such MoUs that did not specifically exclude the risk of gas from occupied territories. We should be consistent because all of this is starting from the principle that the Russian invasion and...