Results 5,141-5,160 of 8,235 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am asking about the new hospital.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: With respect, my question about the links between the St. Vincent's Healthcare Group clinical direction and that from the new body has not been answered. There was also the question relating to interpretation and elective procedures. We have heard that they will be provided if they are clinically necessary, but there is a significant history of issues with that. My final questions relate...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Briefly, on the constitution of St. Vincent's Healthcare Group, "human dignity" was mentioned and we have been told that is just a general lovely phrase. I am curious. It is not a reference to human rights but a reference to dignity. There is an encyclical from 1965 on human dignity. We know the Human Dignity Alliance party was founded in Ireland after 2018 specifically with the goal of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: But effectively they are the only ones whose interpretation matters. I, of course, believe in dignity very passionately but I note that the people for whom the interpretation is relevant are those in the St. Vincent's Healthcare Group. We have not really got clarity on its interpretation. Dignity means different important things to different people. This is not the case with human rights,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: A written note on the clinical direction, having regard to the decision-making mechanism on a case-by-case basis, or general guidelines would be useful.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I would appreciate at least a brief reply on the St. Mary's issue. On the issue of human dignity, I actually wrote to the Minister and did not get a reply. I would like that followed up. I will take a written note on clinical direction because I have not really had an answer on it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There are multiple things wrong with it. I am sure all of us have plenty of answers to that.

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, line 15, after “State” to insert “and placed for adoption outside the State”. In the context of amendments Nos. 1 and 2, the concern is that, as currently constructed in the Bill, the definition of "adopted person" under the section seems to only include persons whose adoptions were facilitated by the Adoption Board, a...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister. I am glad. I recognise the change on Report Stage in the Dáil that relates to amendments Nos. 1 and 2. In light of that, I am going to consider the legislation again to determine whether I feel it satisfies what I am seeking to achieve in amendments Nos. 1 and 2. I believe it may. In that context, I will not press the amendments but reserve the right to...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I accept the Minister's point on "relevant person", so I will not press amendments Nos. 3 and 4. However, I am not satisfied that, in the section on relevant persons, the concept of incorrect birth registration covers fully the concept of an illegal birth registration. I believe they are slightly different. I do not believe "incorrect" is a frame that can incorporate "illegal". "Illegal"...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 2: In page 8, line 15, after "State" to insert "and placed for adoption outside the State and whose adoption was effected outside the State".

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 3: In page 8, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: "(c) a person who was otherwise illegally adopted,".

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4: In page 8, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: "(c) a person who was subject to an illegal birth registration,".

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 5: In page 9, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: "(d) records of any vaccine trials in which the relevant person was a research subject,". These amendments are on the care arrangements and other issues and relate to the kinds of information persons are accessing. I am seeking granular health detail. I am aware that there are provisions in respect...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I agree with the Minister on the question of the vaccines in terms of the placing. The early life section or the medical section would be better than the care arrangements section. Again, we are adapting to the Bill as it changes. That is a better section, but I note that what I am seeking in terms of vaccines is slightly different. It is not simply a record of a person being vaccinated,...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: No, we could not get the names of other persons, but we could certainly have information in respect of the records of a vaccine trial. For example, if particular drugs or vaccines were bring trialled or developed. It is one thing to state in a record that a person was vaccinated and another thing to say a person was part of a vaccine trial and to outline the stage of development of the...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: In terms of the record, again the danger might be that it is a record of vaccination, but we can come back to vaccination trials on Report Stage. There is something different in terms of the records of vaccine trials versus the records of routine vaccinations. That might need elaboration, but I am not going to press the amendment. Because it is such an interlocking Bill, there are...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 7: In page 9, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(d) any institution, agency, organisation or individual involved in the care of children and mothers who were separated from each other,”.

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 8: In page 9, between lines 36 and 37, to insert the following: “(b) records about the person, including correspondence and other records associated with the administrative process surrounding the relevant person’s care.”. This is a consequential amendment. It follows from the committee’s pre-legislative scrutiny report, which...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am rummaging through my papers. I want to be very clear about what I am speaking to.