Results 5,041-5,060 of 8,235 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister of State can choose to not answer that question. This is the Committee Stage debate. When we come to the section I will speak to it and ask the Minister of State the same question and, perhaps, he might answer it. He is currently answering in respect of the records being laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. He is not answering in terms of the other issue. In this...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: He has spoken to the amendments. We can come back to the issue when we come to the section.

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: We will come to the section presently.

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 71: In page 36, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “(4A) A record of any consultations conducted under subsection (4) shall be kept and such a record will include the rationale by which the Commission deemed the person to be appropriate to consult with, and such records shall be deposited with the Minister and laid before both Houses of the...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 72: In page 37, line 14, after “rules” to insert the following: “and shall identify specific barriers to accessing audiovisual media services for people with disabilities along with possible mitigation measures”. This deals with the annual report which addresses the issue of the accessibility of audiovisual media services to persons with...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My amendment seeks to ensure that we did not end up having very general figures in terms of accessibility but that the report looks to address specific barriers and how they might be mitigated. Rather than having a very generic progress report, it should actually be a problem-solving report. I welcome the existence of the annual report within the legislation. I think it is a constructive...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will be very brief because I am conscious that others, even during the term of the last Oireachtas, have worked in this area. I want to follow up on two or three subjects, particularly regarding liability insurance, because I have encountered several cases, particularly in the voluntary sector, where there is an extremely negative impact. I have a couple of questions on the impact of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I apologise for the inconvenience, but I am going to come to the committee room to ask my questions because the sound quality is very poor.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It strikes me that despite insurance being a business that deals in risk and does not produce, manufacture or build anything or engage in any other service except for the management of risk, there have been significant efforts on the part of the State to reduce the risk. The companies pass much of the requirement on to the State to reduce the risk and many efforts have been made to reduce...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will give Deputy Doherty an opportunity to speak.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank Deputy Doherty and Mr. Boland. I was not pressing the duty of care but pointing out that it is now the area of focus while the evidence about previous reforms has yet to be seen. I welcome that part of the Bill. I have a follow-up question for Mr. Boland which may be outside the scope of this Bill. He mentioned a further discussion that is needed with certain sectors. I know that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It strikes me that measures may be required related to the cherry-picking activities by insurance companies.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality: Recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality: Discussion (Resumed) (5 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I might work backwards and pick up on a couple of the issues that have been raised and move further on them. The Minister has heard that the issue of lone parents is a significant one. While there have been small improvements, that group, which makes up a large proportion the population, tends to have particular obstacles in its way. I know that reform of SUSI will have a part to play in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality: Recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality: Discussion (Resumed) (5 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the guests very much. They made some really interesting contributions. Some good strong conversations are happening in universities pressed from the higher level in terms of things like Athena SWAN and, of course, the really important crucial point of funding being linked to Athena SWAN, but also pushed from individuals within individual departments, including staff members but also...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality: Recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality: Discussion (Resumed) (5 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: To make a quick clarification, although I do not want to take too much time, on the KPIs, I was not thinking about each institution as much as I was thinking about departments, managers and schools within institutions. This again addresses the issue of uneven levels of performance on culture shift within different departments or schools within a university. I do not need a further answer in...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Second Stage (10 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Others have spoken of how some feel the apology was too soon as it came without sufficient notice. There is also a strong case that it has also come very late from the State. I do not think that this will be the only apology. We are in a period when there cannot only be indications from the Government, the State and its institutions of a message of apology and regret but also a...

Seanad: Protocol No. 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union: Motions (11 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have a couple of concerns. I hope they can be addressed and reflected. We are talking about a combination of the three. My primary concern regards the exchange of Prüm data with the UK. There are concerns when we look at things like the fall of the privacy shield. The UK is effectively a third country in terms of EU data in certain circumstances. There are concerns about how data...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I do not think we need to spend very much longer on it. I welcomed the fact that the Minister included that issue in the annual report. It is the same point to which the Minister was previously very amenable, namely, that it is not simply about accessibility but also that participation and representation within audiovisual services could also be part of the report. I will not press the...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 74: In page 37, line 40, after “Minister” to insert “and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media”. There is a mechanism in the Bill whereby the commission may enter into an agreement to co-operate with another body. The amendment proposes that the Minister be provided with a copy of that agreement. We...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the indication from the Minister. There is a difference between coming to account to a committee which, as we know, involves a minimal amount of time to deal with the huge number of issues, and having the appropriate document in order that it can be scrutinised and issues identified in order to provide accountability for the public. I hope there is co-operation. In some of my...