Results 5,581-5,600 of 8,235 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will maybe make two-----

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have one further point and one follow-up question for the Minister. It is right and proper for us, as parliamentarians and Oireachtas Members, that there should be a political accountability element to it as well. Ultimately, those of us who are elected, and those of us who are fortunate enough to be elevated to the position of being responsible for an area of public life in Ireland as a...

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will probably withdraw a number of the subsequent amendments because I think we have potential for engagement on them. I will press amendment No. 28, however, which is the fundamental principle of it.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 31: In page 23, line 33, to delete “and” where it secondly occurs and substitute “or”. I withdraw the amendment and reserve the right to resubmit on Report Stage.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 33: In page 24, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: “(ia) the worker reasonably believes that their own manager or the head of the public body is complicit in the wrongdoing concerned;”. I withdraw the amendment and reserve the right to resubmit on Report Stage.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 34: In page 24, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: “(ia) the worker did not feel confident to make a report under section 6, 7 or 8 due to a reasonable fear of penalisation;”. I withdraw the amendment and reserve the right to resubmit on Report Stage.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 35: In page 24, line 6, to delete “an imminent or manifest danger” and substitute “a danger”. I withdraw the amendment and reserve the right to resubmit on Report Stage.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 36: In page 24, lines 7 and 8, to delete “, such as where there is an emergency situation or a risk of irreversible damage”. I withdraw the amendment and reserve the right to resubmit on Report Stage.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 39: In page 24, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “(4A) Where a Minister of the Government or a head of a public body receives a protected disclosure which is outside the remit of their Department of State or public body, they shall seek the views of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner and with the consent of the reporting person transmit to...

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: Unfortunately, I regard the section as a step backwards and formally oppose the section.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality: Recommendations of the Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This session has focused on care and social protection. The points Ms Daly made are very relevant to the recommendations of the citizens' assembly on violence against women. We will incorporate those important points. I was struck by the request for ongoing training of persons working in the Department of Social Protection. It sounds like the same training is also needed in the health...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality: Recommendations of the Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jun 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Perhaps Ms Phelan could answer some of my questions on social protection when she is answering Deputy Clarke

Seanad: Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I want to speak to the set of amendments that relate to Seanad reform. Again, because time is unnecessarily constrained, I will be brief. On the very first day of the last Oireachtas, we moved a Bill for Seanad reform. That was back in 2016. We were asked by the then Government, which included one of the parties still currently in government, to suspend our Bill so we would have a...

Seanad: Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am less confident following the Minister of State's reply given we have been told there are so many functions for the new electoral commission that it cannot take on the Seanad. There is not even a promise that the commission will engage with this issue. Rather, we are being told the reform of the Seanad franchise is not even being considered as part of the agenda for the electoral...

Seanad: Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 28: In page 31, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following: “(2) Upon its establishment, the Commission shall be charged with responsibility for undertaking an expedient wholesale review of the Electoral Act 1997, including, inter alia, the Act’s provisions relating to political funding.".

Seanad: Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will comment briefly on this section. I note that I think there is considerable detail. I do not know if we will get to the amendments on it. There are many technical issues in the amendments that have been brought forward around online disinformation, transparency in advertising and so forth, which I may seek to amend on Report Stage. I am concerned about whether the information around...

Seanad: Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 29: In page 31, line 18, after "publish" to insert "in plain language". Amendments Nos. 29 to 31, inclusive, are all amendments with regard to inclusion. It is important that we ensure we are expanding our democracy and expanding access to, awareness of and participation in our democracy. I should note that we have other amendments which I will bring forward on...

Seanad: Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is not very clear to me why the Minister of State, if he agrees with the principle that information should be shared in these various formats we have outlined and expects that to happen, will not accept the amendments. The Bill has been amended by the Government and, therefore, it is going back to the Dáil. It is not clear to me why the amendments are not being accepted. I am...

Seanad: Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I withdraw the amendment and reserve the right to reintroduce.