Results 5,561-5,580 of 8,235 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (21 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Bill is not reported. I wanted to have a vote.

Seanad: Annual Transition Statement: Statements (22 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have to join with the points made by Senator Ó Donnghaile about regretting that we have not been having these transition statements in the way we should have done over the last few years. I was in the last Oireachtas and we had them at that point. There are two aspects of regret. It has been an opportunity missed by the Government in forwarding the climate debate to have these...

Seanad: Annual Transition Statement: Statements (22 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This is a simple amendment placing a time obligation on companies with more than 50 employees within which they must establish internal reporting channels. This is a time-specific amendment and we reserve the right to bring further amendments on Report Stage on the question of timely restitution or timely response. Many whistleblowers have expressed concern that there are times specified...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: We should be seeking to have the most ambitious interpretation possible. It is a pity for us to seek derogation in any area. I know there has already been discussion about concerns with other articles of the directive and there will be further discussion later. We will press the amendment. The Minister has given his reasons but for those waiting for very long time and for the kind of...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I understand the Minister’s position. I hope the information campaign will contribute to that momentum.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 15: In page 13, line 14, to delete “or”. Amendment No. 15 is a technical amendment to ensure the subsequent amendments are grammatically correct. Amendment No. 16 seeks to bring more accountability. The 50-employee threshold for the creation of internal reporting channels would not apply. A company would not have an exemption from the reporting...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister has eloquently made the case for dedicated structures. The fact that one can make a report is not the same as being able to make it through that kind of administrative channel. The Minister referred to the guarantee of confidentiality, encrypted channels and designated email addresses. All of those things are technical. They have a reasonable cost for what they do. It is not...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Public procurement is almost a loophole in that regard.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 16: In page 13, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “(aa) is performing a public contract with a value of more than €1million, or”.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 17: In page 13, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “(aa) is a company with an annual turnover of over €1 million, or”.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 18: In page 13, line 20, to delete “17 December 2023” and substitute “30 June 2023”. This is another amendment that relates to timings. It seeks to change the date by which companies with 250 employees must establish, maintain and operate internal reporting channels and procedures. It proposes a shift in the timeline from 17 December 2023...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: While understand the constraint the derogation that was sought places on the Minister, in order to mark that this would be a better timeframe, I will press the amendment.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 19: In page 14, line 37, to delete “250” and substitute “50”. I believe there is a technical drafting error in the amendment, so I will withdraw it. I have to move it because the other amendments in the grouping are attached to it. Otherwise I probably would not move it. Amendment No. 22 seeks to add a condition around the provision that...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister has described those who might be experienced in receiving the reports. The danger is that where this involves those who are experienced in receiving reports but whose clients are effectively other companies, there is a little bit of a power imbalance. If a company is engaging somebody because they have a particular expertise in dealing with the reports, the concern is that it...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Neither of my amendments remove the existence of resource sharing but seek to add a few conditions and caveats in that regard. I will withdraw the amendments for now but come back to the issue on Report Stage.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 20: In page 14, line 39, after “resources” to insert “with a linked company or companies”.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 22: In page 15, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “(c) Where an employer shares resources in respect of the receipt and investigation of reports under this section, they shall, prior to sharing such resources, carry out a data protection impact assessment in relation to the sharing of such resources.”.

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 28: In page 23, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 8 of Principal Act 12. Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended by— (a) the deletion of “and” in paragraph (a), and (b) the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (b): “(c) the making of a disclosure is in the public...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: While the directive proposes that people should be encouraged to go directly to public bodies, my concern is that the way this provision is phrased is less about encouraging people to do that and more about discouraging reports to Ministers. It is by having positive measures within public bodies that we will encourage employees to act. When cases begin to pile up, people who make a...