Results 3,341-3,360 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 3: In page 4, lines 1 to 3, to delete all words from and including "(which" in line 1 down to and including "meeting)" in line 3 and substitute "(which shall include public meetings, online and also in person except where the holding of a meeting in person may be detrimental to public health)".

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4: In page 4, lines 1 to 3, to delete all words from and including "(which" in line 1 down to and including "meeting)" in line 3 and substitute "(which shall include public meetings online and, except in an emergency period, also in person)".

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 5: In page 4, line 3, after “submissions” to insert “online and”.

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 6: In page 4, line 5, after "and" to insert "shall ensure that where a member of the public chooses to make a submission in writing online they are not subject to a limitation in terms of length of submission, and ".

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Amendment No. 6 is specifying where a member of the public is making a submission in writing. I have withdrawn amendment No. 5. I have accepted the valid point of the Minister in relation to that. Sometimes when we have online submissions, we have constrained spaces in which people are asked to contribute. I want to ensure that people are not limited. We talk about this at a strategic...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On my amendment, if more engagement is better, I think the Minister needs to consider changing "or" to "and", or instead, he could add in "or both". This is not about the intent of anybody. I know that people are passionate about these issues and want to meet, but the law of unintended effects could be present here. I am concerned that there is an inadvertent mistake in the language in the...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 7: In page 4, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “(iii) shall take active steps to support equality of access to participation in public consultation, in relation to a proposed development plan, with particular regard to obligations under the Public Duty on Equality and Human Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with a...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Amendments Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive, relate to the fact that it is not just a matter that there should be consultation with a member of the public or that there should be the opportunity for submissions in writing to be made, but it is instead to insert a clause, of which there are three different versions, that proactively encourages members of the public to engage. We have heard descriptions...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I understand that the Bill which my group is putting forward next week has already been formally seconded, so I simply want to voice my support for it. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have talked a great deal about solidarity and vulnerability. One cohort of people who are extremely vulnerable are those who have received letters informing them that they are to be deported and who face the...

Seanad: Deportation Moratorium (Covid-19) Bill 2020: First Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I second the proposal.

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I encourage the Minister of State to review this, at a minimum. There has been a significant impact on businesses and will be an impact in the coming seasons. The proposals being put forward are reasonable, particularly those suggesting that the change being suggested needs to be reviewed so it does not have a lasting impact.

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Procedurally, it is important to note and be clear that this decision by the previous Oireachtas was made in circumstances where legislation was being rushed through. Like Senator Boyhan, I have often highlighted that when one rushes legislation through without proper scrutiny mistakes are made. This provision is an example of that. It is important to note that the legislation in question...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have opposed sections 115 to 118, inclusive, because I had an overall concern. All the sections relate to policies on international protection. There are a number of flaws - anomalies and measures that are not compliant with human rights - within our international protection legislation, which it is proposed to re-insert here. I will not call votes on each section but I wanted to...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will not be opposing sections 115 to 118, inclusive. I am keen to move on to the specific amendments on section 119. However, some of those concerns are specific. Again, this is an issue I wish we had had more proper scrutiny of since the last occasion on which we passed withdrawal legislation. There are concerns, particularly if we end up in a situation where the UK withdraws from, for...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 7: In page 91, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “(b) by the substitution of “14 years” with “18 years” in all places where it occurs within this section,”. This amendment relates to one of the many concerns in respect of our international protection legislation. Whether the Minister accepts it today, it is...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The GDPR came after that EURODAC regulation so it is the more recent law. Perhaps it is due to the vulnerability of the persons affected that cases have not been taken but I imagine when they do take cases, they will be successful. While the EURODAC regulation allows us to have the database in that regard, we should look to best practice both in terms of our obligations under GDPR but also...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 8: In page 91, to delete lines 21 to 23. The phrase "the person arrived in the State from a safe third country that is, in accordance with subsection (17), a safe country for the person." is used in the Bill. I will not speak at length to this because I wish to address the issue later when we discuss the issue of a safe third country. The European directives give...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: No.

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 9: In page 91, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: “(b) will have access to the same standard of medical care within the country, as they can receive within the State,”. Amendments Nos. 9 to 11, inclusive, relate to a similar scenario. The Minister may be aware that I previously raised with the Minister of State with responsibility for...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister for her response. We will be addressing some of the issues in the legislation that we will bring forward next week. Some of the issues we will be bringing forward next week can be addressed by policy but that clearly needs to happen. Some of the issues require legislation and there is a mix in that regard. Many of the amendments to which we are about to move very much...