Results 3,461-3,480 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am concerned that Ireland, as a member of the UN Security Council, needs to do more to address the blockages with regard to intellectual property to ensure we see a push to scale up production. Those issues really matter. The slow roll-out of the vaccine globally is not the solution. The solutions we have are prevention, precaution and protective measures, which are what these amendments...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am sorry, a Chathaoirligh, but can I-----

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Has the Government asked for advice in respect of the legislation?

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 2: In page 5, line 18, to delete “€4,000” and substitute “€2,000”. Amendments Nos. 2 to 4, inclusive, and to an extent amendment No. 5, are related. They all point to a concern in respect of costs. There has been an incentive here and a wish. In a way, this is other sections of the Health (Amendment) Act that are being...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Thank you.

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I join other speakers in welcoming the Bill and I support the calls for a move towards more concise and clear language, where possible. However, I also have substantial concerns regarding certain provisions of the Bill and I would appreciate if the Minister could elaborate on them. I have tabled a number of amendments, which I know are not perfect. I am happy to move with the consensus of...

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I had put some questions which she might be able to respond to.

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is Committee Stage.

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am glad the legislation is progressing. I know that it has a further journey to go. I urge the Minister to continue to engage with Members of this House as the legislation continues its journey. I believe there are issues of clarity and I still have two concerns. They may seem to be contradictory but I do not believe they are because they relate to the different rights and different...

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am conscious of the nuance in this and that we want to move forward. To clarify, I do not have a single concern; I have two concerns, and the Minister has addressed one of those. I am concerned about how section 93 would be applied. Could it be too narrow in its application or, potentially, could it be too wide in its application? Those are the nuances to be looked at. That is why,...

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Before the debate on Friday, I wonder if it will be possible for the Minister to look at scenarios whereby different children may be given different treatment within a case, and the extent to which the legislation allows for that. Perhaps that can be looked at.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Maternity Hospital (8 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Anne Rabbitte, to the House on International Women's Day. Later today, the Seanad will honour nurse Elizabeth O'Farrell who served much of her life in the national maternity hospital. It is perhaps fitting that I now ask the Minister of State and the Minister for Health to review plans for the national maternity hospital,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Maternity Hospital (8 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Mulvey agreement is outdated and precedes a number of significant changes. Protracted negotiations should not be needed because the only stakeholders who matter, whom the State should have to accommodate or please, are the women of Ireland. It should not have to negotiate with others. A stronger approach is needed. Ninety-nine years is not a long time in the context of the generations...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 7 be taken before No. 1. On International Women's Day, we are looking at the portrait of nurse Elizabeth O'Farrell. It is very important to note not just the contribution she made in the shaping of Ireland but also that she continued to serve for the rest of her life in the National Maternity Hospital. An issue I highlighted in the...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: First Stage (8 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to give further effect to Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 and for that purpose to provide for contract award criteria in public contracts, to promote the use of social considerations and the best price-quality ratio and to establish a procedure for departing from best...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: First Stage (8 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Next Friday.

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (8 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am very happy to speak in favour of the Sinn Féin motion today. It highlights, as Senator Moynihan said, that this legislation comes through again and again. It went through the last Oireachtas multiple times. Every time the rental tenancies or any of these Bills come through there is never time to substantively discuss the issues. That is why the debate today is really welcome....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonising Transport: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the witnesses for their presentations, which were very interesting. I will pick up the point on which Ms Graham ended, namely, that relating to the social benefit. In terms of the social and environmental benefit, it is the question of push and pull again. Given the extent of the scale-up we need in terms of new transport and sustainable transport, does Ms Graham agree that we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Nothing About Us Without Us - Achieving Equal Rights and Equity for Women with Disabilities: Discussion (9 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the witnesses. I would echo what the Chair said. There are so many questions and so many issues arising that it would be good if we could even get written input on some of them because we are going theme by theme. I would welcome that kind of nuanced expertise and experience around the issues of means testing and how it could be removed, and how the costs of disability should be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am happy to ask my questions and for Deputy Mairéad Farrell to ask her questions, and for us to receive combined answers if we are tight for time. Perhaps we have time to go sequentially. I have two sets of questions. One relates to the supervisory work. Ms Rowland mentioned that is a separate team. Is that supervision of Davy structures overall or would that supervision, for...