Results 4,201-4,220 of 8,482 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 19: In page 11, after line 40, to insert the following: “Report on compliance with human rights obligations 11.The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act and on a bi-annual basis thereafter, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining which steps have been taken to ensure the State has reflected the 1951 Convention relating...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The amendment refers specifically to “this Act”, so it is not wider and it is only in regard to the aspects of “this Act”. I take the Minister of State's point in regard to amendments Nos. 17 and 18 but amendment No. 19 is specifically on how the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees is being reflected in the operation of this Act, so it is quite targeted...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will press the amendment and I may bring a revised version of it forward on Report Stage.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes, I will move and withdraw.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 21: In page 12, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “(3) Where an enforcement officer exercises functions under subsection (2), a written report outlining the reasonable grounds upon which such functions were exercised must be submitted to An Garda Síochána or the Minister and a copy of the report must be provided to any court with...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My concern is that while the laws of evidence may apply in terms of an actual prosecution, we have already stated that cases may arise where there will not be prosecution, particularly in relation to humanitarian actions, actors and search and rescue. The Government has expressed the view and hope that it will not proceed to prosecute in these cases. However, we may have situations where...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will press the amendment. Even leaving aside the question of abuse, in general, when we have discretion we should have accountability. It is a thing of trust. Wherever we give discretion, discretionary power or interpretative power, it is good practice to have accountability around how that interpretation and discretion is used. Even in general, we should be aiming higher in this area.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 22: In page 15, line 11, to delete “or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular”. I know there is concern and Senator Ward is rightly concerned about recklessness in relation to human life. I would support that. We should penalise those who take actions which are reckless in terms of the safety of human life. My concern...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My concern in this area is particularly strong because the defence, as stated previously, in terms of humanitarian assistance or humanitarian action does not apply to this section. The defence in any proceedings only applies to offences under sections 6 to 8, inclusive, and does not apply to actions taken under this section. This not only concerns making a mistake. Is it regarded as being...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 23: In page 16, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(17) Where an enforcement officer relies on reasonable grounds as a basis for the exercise of any functions under this section, that officer must submit a written report outlining the reasonable grounds upon which such functions were exercised to An Garda Síochána or the Minister and a...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 24: In page 19, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “Report on the gathering of data in respect of smuggling 17. The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act and on an annual basis thereafter, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining emerging patterns in respect of the smuggling of persons and what steps have...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am of the view that this is particularly relevant. If the intention behind the Bill is to address smuggling, then the drivers of smuggling and the creation of vulnerability to smuggling are relevant. I will press the amendment.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 25: In page 19, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: "Report on search and rescue operations 17.The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the State’s record and current practice in respect of humanitarian search and rescue in the Mediterranean, including the number...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I accept the point made by the Minister of State. In my earlier contributions I recognised that this area cuts across the Departments of Defence and Foreign Affairs, as well as the Department of Justice, but they do intersect. We have seen a great increase in judicial measures relating to preventing illegal entry. Much attention has been focused on the security aspect. There is a related...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: General Scheme of the Circular Economy Bill 2021: Discussion (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Deputy Bruton has been clear on the need for much stronger accountability. I also looked at the definition and felt that it was not strong enough. Even when we went back to the three Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle - I felt that the reduction part of that is one of the parts that is not strong enough in the proposed Bill. There is a strong focus on the recycle and the waste management....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: General Scheme of the Circular Economy Bill 2021: Discussion (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will follow up on that briefly. We focus a great deal on the consumer and the product - we all have images in our heads - but what about buildings? Something that is happening at EU level has to do with building regulations and changes in building practices as well as the question of embodied energy in terms of wood and construction. An issue we have seen in large-scale projects has been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Participation of People with Disabilities in Political, Cultural, Community and Public Life: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank all the witnesses. I have so many questions so I will try to bundle them. In the previous Oireachtas, I was a member of the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands. We talked about some of the gaps and problems in the social protection system in our committee's pre-budget submission. More have emerged from today's testimony. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Participation of People with Disabilities in Political, Cultural, Community and Public Life: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Will the witnesses comment on personal assistants, PAs, for those who are in congregated or residential settings so that, regardless of where they are living and how their basic needs are being met, they have that discretion? The last matter is the assistive technology passport and the idea that the assistive technology attaches to the person. At present, it is something one applies for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Participation of People with Disabilities in Political, Cultural, Community and Public Life: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: If people had supplementary points that they did not get to make, they are always welcome in writing. We discuss them in private session and they feed into our work.

Seanad: Registration of Wills Bill 2021: Second Stage (6 Oct 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This Bill had a great deal of scrutiny in the previous Oireachtas. The proposed legislation was championed by former Senator, Terry Leyden. It is an example of good faith legislation and an attempt to improve the lives and deaths of people, and to make those processes better. It has been subject to detailed debate and scrutiny. I have no doubt that it will be subject to further debate and...