Results 3,101-3,120 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (30 Sep 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “Report 4. Within 12 months of the passing of this Act, the Minister shall lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report in respect of the impact and use of the provisions in this Act, including a consideration of compatibility with the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) guidelines, and...

Seanad: National Screening Advisory Committee Bill 2020: Second Stage (30 Sep 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I commend Senator Norris and the Bill's other proposers and welcome the Minister to the House. Like others, I thank the Minister for affording proper time to this debate. That is important. I will begin by agreeing with the message of prevention being better than cure. The question of vaccination is important. The HPV vaccine uptake rate has moved to 81%, but we need to aim for 100%.

Seanad: National Screening Advisory Committee Bill 2020: Second Stage (30 Sep 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is an extraordinary act of generosity by Laura Brennan and others who have been affected by failures in our cervical cancer screening processes to have nonetheless lent their efforts and voices to championing other public health vaccination initiatives in the State. That act has saved lives and, I hope, will continue to do so. I commend Senator Norris on this legislation. It has moved...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister of State. It is very important that we clarify for the record that the decision to which he refers was made by the previous Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. As a member of the current Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach I would say that no decision has been made by the...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Was there cross-party engagement?

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The previous committee.

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am happy to hear that answer.

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It might be useful if the Minister of State could provide us with information on the job creation potential before the next Stage because a lot of this seems to be around a different product that investors can buy. I think he hit on the nub of it when he mentioned other products that are available elsewhere. It is not around new industries being created, it is effectively around new...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I do believe that it is a valid query that has been put and I would suggest that it relates to the amendment because the OECD base erosion and profit shifting guidelines came out in response to a lack of public trust in respect of how financial services were regulated and their impact on society. That is the context of the OECD BEPS guidelines, and other related financial transparency measures.

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I think it is a legitimate response. Nobody is saying the Minister has to provide a response here and now. I appreciate he was not informed that this issue might arise, but it would be very useful for us to get a response when we do resume Committee Stage or in the interim because it may even provide complete assurance on lots of issues if we know what lobbying documents there are. We have...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: If that is the case then perhaps the Minister of State might be able to release it to those taking part in the deliberations. That might be a useful element, certainly for those of us seeking to deliberate. Given that the deliberations are under way, it might be a good starting point if we had access to documents that are considered relevant to the deliberations. It is either not relevant...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have a particular concern about section 7. I will probably table amendments to the section on Report Stage. My particular concern relates to the extension of section 6(4) of the Act of 1994, which will allow for the participation of limited partners on advisory committees. They will also be allowed to serve on boards and committees of investment limited partnerships and to appoint, elect...

Seanad: HSE Winter Plan: Statements (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I warmly welcome the Minister of State to the House. In her previous term in the Oireachtas, she showed real and genuine commitment to health, and mental health in particular. I was delighted to see her take up her current role. When we started discussing these issues in March, April and May, much of the focus was on flattening the curve. I remember thinking about how I could be of...

Seanad: HSE Winter Plan: Statements (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: -----but we cannot do the same in respect of a health crisis. I call on the Minister of State to please not let a bogus argument be set up between the health of the nation and its economic well-being. They are certainly linked, but we need to prioritise health. The other issues can be addressed through borrowing and intensive spending, all of which we have the remit to do.

Seanad: HSE Winter Plan: Statements (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My apologies for straying.

Seanad: Statutory Right to Sick Leave Pay: Motion (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister of State. I warmly commend the Labour Party on tabling the motion. It is very important. This is the type of emergency measure we should be seeing. I have seen a lot of other things we are told are urgent moving through the House, sometimes questionably. This is the type of thing that is urgent. It relates directly to the Covid-19 circumstance and it also...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: General Scheme of the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020 (Arrangements in relation to Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases): Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (7 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I apologise if this is an obvious question, but is there a reciprocal scheme in respect of recognition of certifications from Ireland in the UK? I am thinking particularly of people with these skills who may be working on a cross-Border basis. Mr. Close mentioned that there are very few days left and we anticipate that this Brexit Bill is going to be coming through the Oireachtas very...

Seanad: Ireland-China Relations: Motion (8 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Senator Black will begin our group's contribution and then we will share the remaining time.

Seanad: Ireland-China Relations: Motion (8 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: As others have said, this issue is not new but it has intensified with very serious evidence of hundreds of new detention camps being built over the last two years. I commend the Senators on tabling the motion because it is exceptionally important, at a time when we have the coronavirus and other crises, that we do not lose sight of fundamental human rights principles and the importance of...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: Second Stage (14 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister to the House. He will know the volume of distress and concern this matter has caused. He spoke about learning from the past and moving into the future, but we are not yet at a point where we are talking about simply learning from the past. We are still seeking justice, satisfaction and basic rights for those who lived through that past. They are still with us....