Results 2,841-2,860 of 8,445 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 17: In page 13, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “(aa) is a company with an annual turnover of over €1 million, or”.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 18: In page 13, line 20, to delete “17 December 2023” and substitute “30 June 2023”. This is another amendment that relates to timings. It seeks to change the date by which companies with 250 employees must establish, maintain and operate internal reporting channels and procedures. It proposes a shift in the timeline from 17 December 2023...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: While understand the constraint the derogation that was sought places on the Minister, in order to mark that this would be a better timeframe, I will press the amendment.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 19: In page 14, line 37, to delete “250” and substitute “50”. I believe there is a technical drafting error in the amendment, so I will withdraw it. I have to move it because the other amendments in the grouping are attached to it. Otherwise I probably would not move it. Amendment No. 22 seeks to add a condition around the provision that...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister has described those who might be experienced in receiving the reports. The danger is that where this involves those who are experienced in receiving reports but whose clients are effectively other companies, there is a little bit of a power imbalance. If a company is engaging somebody because they have a particular expertise in dealing with the reports, the concern is that it...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Neither of my amendments remove the existence of resource sharing but seek to add a few conditions and caveats in that regard. I will withdraw the amendments for now but come back to the issue on Report Stage.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 20: In page 14, line 39, after “resources” to insert “with a linked company or companies”.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 22: In page 15, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “(c) Where an employer shares resources in respect of the receipt and investigation of reports under this section, they shall, prior to sharing such resources, carry out a data protection impact assessment in relation to the sharing of such resources.”.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 28: In page 23, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 8 of Principal Act 12. Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended by— (a) the deletion of “and” in paragraph (a), and (b) the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (b): “(c) the making of a disclosure is in the public...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: While the directive proposes that people should be encouraged to go directly to public bodies, my concern is that the way this provision is phrased is less about encouraging people to do that and more about discouraging reports to Ministers. It is by having positive measures within public bodies that we will encourage employees to act. When cases begin to pile up, people who make a...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will maybe make two-----

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have one further point and one follow-up question for the Minister. It is right and proper for us, as parliamentarians and Oireachtas Members, that there should be a political accountability element to it as well. Ultimately, those of us who are elected, and those of us who are fortunate enough to be elevated to the position of being responsible for an area of public life in Ireland as a...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will probably withdraw a number of the subsequent amendments because I think we have potential for engagement on them. I will press amendment No. 28, however, which is the fundamental principle of it.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 31: In page 23, line 33, to delete “and” where it secondly occurs and substitute “or”. I withdraw the amendment and reserve the right to resubmit on Report Stage.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 33: In page 24, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: “(ia) the worker reasonably believes that their own manager or the head of the public body is complicit in the wrongdoing concerned;”. I withdraw the amendment and reserve the right to resubmit on Report Stage.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 34: In page 24, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: “(ia) the worker did not feel confident to make a report under section 6, 7 or 8 due to a reasonable fear of penalisation;”. I withdraw the amendment and reserve the right to resubmit on Report Stage.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 35: In page 24, line 6, to delete “an imminent or manifest danger” and substitute “a danger”. I withdraw the amendment and reserve the right to resubmit on Report Stage.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 36: In page 24, lines 7 and 8, to delete “, such as where there is an emergency situation or a risk of irreversible damage”. I withdraw the amendment and reserve the right to resubmit on Report Stage.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 39: In page 24, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “(4A) Where a Minister of the Government or a head of a public body receives a protected disclosure which is outside the remit of their Department of State or public body, they shall seek the views of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner and with the consent of the reporting person transmit to...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Unfortunately, I regard the section as a step backwards and formally oppose the section.