Results 4,581-4,600 of 8,768 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 6: In page 59, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: “Report 33.The Minister shall, in any review of the Scheme or the operations of this Act or the Principal Act, include an analysis of the impact of the amendments of this Act and a review and recommendations in respect of social protection entitlements of family members of the person who has...

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Well done to the Minister of State. I commend her on the Bill. I know from the previous Oireachtas the real care she brings and the work she has done for those who are most vulnerable, their families and those around them. This is a very positive Bill and a very positive step forward. I commend her on that and look forward to engaging further on the issues we highlighted. I think the...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I indicate my strong support for Senator Boyhan's amendment. It is a good reminder and comes at a crucial point. It would anchor the purposes of the Bill and recognise the essential involvement and contribution of members of local authorities. It is an appropriate place for this strong amendment. The Minister will be aware that I tabled amendments on Committee Stage which I have not...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 3: In page 12, to delete lines 19 to 21 and substitute the following: “(2) Not later than 31 October 2022 and every year thereafter, the Agency shall furnish a report to the Minister, to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas, regarding progress made by the Agency and subsidiary DACs towards achieving the purposes of this Act, which shall include but not...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Questions came from members of the Government regarding the review. My amendments concern the review and are intended to try to strengthen it. This amendment asks that "Not later than 31 October 2022" a report be provided breaking down the numbers of social, cost rental and affordable houses in each local authority area. We hear social and affordable housing being bundled together...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The key is that when the land is gone, it is gone.

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am allowed to respond.

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am responding to the debate. I pushed for this urgency of reflection because although we will be using State land, once the land enters the LDA's stock it will no longer be State land. Section 59 states that it will no longer be State land but land owned by the LDA, a commercial entity in which two Ministers are shareholders and they may dispose of those shares. That is the concern. By...

Seanad: Report of Independent Review Group Jadotville: Statements (15 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister to the House to discuss this and recognise this previous engagement with this House on it. I acknowledge the very sincere engagement by colleagues from right across the House and from every party who have spoken about this issue. I speak tonight on behalf of Senator Black, who has engaged very closely with many of the families of the survivors of Jadotville. She...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (14 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Chair. I am happy to substitute for Senator Black, who would have liked to be here. The Minister talked about the antiquated building in Holles Street. The concern is that we are continuing with an antiquated approach to healthcare in that a private voluntary body would be delivering healthcare to women rather than there being national delivery of such healthcare. That is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (14 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister is disbanding the National Maternity Hospital and replacing it with a new entity.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (14 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is not. It is a new governance structure in which the National Maternity Hospital will play a part.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (14 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: No. I am proposing that the new national maternity hospital would be a national maternity hospital and that it would, as it already does, pay the same commissions, deliver the same services and so forth but that the ownership and the governance would be public and nationally delivered. I have limited time so I would like the Minister to address my questions on whether services will be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (14 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: No, I am asking what the difference is. What is the difference from its perspective? It is not just about whether the services will be available. How will they be available? The Minister mentioned that a person can potentially get an emergency abortion, for example. However, it is not listed on the HSE list of providers for voluntary terminations, for example.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (14 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Just a couple of weeks ago St. Vincent's Healthcare Group said it could not provide integrated patient care unless it retained ownership of the site. Why is that? Why can it not provide integrated patient care with a publicly owned hospital on a publicly owned site?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (14 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: These are clearly overarching issues. That is why we need a lot of detail on exactly what it means by those matters. It is a concern if it feels that a publicly owned hospital on public land would operate in a different way in its approach to these services-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (14 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have a final question-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (14 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is very important.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (14 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I know but I will ask this question as it is crucial. In 2018, St. Vincent's Healthcare Group was valued at €661 million. The Minister told us that we pay €300 million to St. Vincent's Healthcare Group every year. Surely, we could have a compulsory purchase order, CPO, for this site. That issue of the CPO and why we are not doing it is crucial. I mention alienating the land...

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There have been lengthy comments. My questions and comments relate to the newly inserted section 2(1)(b). They relate to time and the fact that these provisions allow for the extension of emergency measures. It was described how we do not want to fall off a cliff edge and that there is not an indefinite pot of money. I am responding to those points raised by Government Senators. We are...