Results 601-620 of 8,196 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (13 Apr 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This is very radical.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (13 Apr 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Apologies.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (13 Apr 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister has said she is trying to regulate. There is no element of regulation whatsoever in this amendment.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (13 Apr 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am sorry. We will leave it. I will not speak again. It is fine.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (13 Apr 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Through the Chair.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (13 Apr 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I also have a point of order that I have to make. The Minister stated she was speaking about one month. However, as I understand it - the Minister can correct me if I am wrong - this amendment would relate to 12 months of the year.

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Citizenship Rights: Professor Colin Harvey, Mr. Liam Herrick and Mr. Michael Farrell (27 Apr 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I apologise that I have to leave at 3.30 p.m. but I will read the witnesses' replies in the Official Report. I want to make a number of points. This discussion is extremely interesting in that it goes to the fundamentals of the Good Friday Agreement and I am happy that the committee is focusing on these issues. Interesting proposals were put forward around clarifying access. The Good...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pension Provision: Age Action (4 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the witnesses for their presentation and for the work they have been doing in this area. I welcome the research that has been done to draw out some of the issues around the gender pension gap in its many forms. Women seem to be disadvantaged in the current system in two ways. The second layer almost adds insult to injury. It seems that opposing logic is being used to justify each...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pension Provision: Age Action (4 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have a couple of quick points, including the one that Deputy O'Dea picked up on. I am aware of the debate in France, for example. There was a lot of simplistic coverage about retirement at 55, but in many cases they were talking about people who had worked for 40 years since the age of 15. We should examine the question holistically in terms of what people have been doing, while...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pension Provision: Age Action (4 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I wish to build on the point made by the Chairman because it is important. In terms of being realistic about how the workplace now operates, we know that the amount of precarious and insecure work is on the rise. As has been mentioned, 60% of the people who have insecure, low hour and non-fixed hour work are women. I would like the witnesses to share their thoughts on the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pension Provision: Age Action (4 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There has been one small change to the voluntary contribution rules which is important to acknowledge. The period of time in which contributions can be made has been extended to five years. That is something which the committee pushed for and achieved. We are focussing very much on the non-contributory and contributory pension. Age Action has expertise across the whole picture. When the...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I want to support three calls for debates today, first, Senator Ned O'Sullivan's call for the Minister for Arts, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to come in to discuss gorse fires and the damage they have done.To answer the Senator's question, there have been only 11 prosecutions since 2007. That is 11 prosecutions in a decade on this issue. It would be very appropriate to have the...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There is a question in terms of Ireland and ethical procurement policies and how we bring social, environmental and ethical considerations into play in our procurement policies. I want to endorse Senator Richmond's call for a debate on the future of Europe, which is something he is passionate about. It is Europe Day. I would add to Senator Richmond's point that I believe people in Ireland...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 3:In page 60, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “92.Section 599 of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following for subsection (4)(c)—“(c) whether an action of the related company or of any subsidiary of the related company resulted in liquidation; (d) whether the directors of the company demonstrated that they...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes, the amendment is being pressed, and while I accept that the Minister does not want to take on my proposals - although I would not agree with her analysis of them - I certainly cannot accept that she says that there may or may not be a problem. We know that there is a problem. The reason we have a CLRG looking at section 599 is because it has been identified as not functioning. We know...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4:In page 67, after line 31, to insert the following:“102. The Minister will produce and publish a report to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas containing the recommendation of the Company Law Review Group in relation to the Companies Act 2014 within eight months of the enactment of this Bill, including intended actions to be taken by the...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Does the Minister expect the pending report to address section 599?

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: As the Minister has indicated that the pending report of the Company Law Review Group will hopefully be published prior to the summer and contain the recommendations or considerations of that group in respect of section 599, and as she has indicated that she will bring it before the Houses of the Oireachtas within two months, I will not press the amendment on this occasion.

Seanad: Gender Recognition (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (10 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Like others, I must begin with compliments. First, I compliment Senator Fintan Warfield for the long and thoughtful process he has put into bringing the legislation forward. It is part of a very strong commitment by him to looking at how best he can use his time in the Chamber to make a real difference to people's lives. I compliment him and his co-signers, Senators David Norris and, my...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Today, the European Court of Justice, ECJ, issued a ruling on the Singapore free trade agreement, specifically on the question of whether it is a mixed agreement or can be negotiated exclusively by the EU. The ECJ's ruling is clear: in any investor-state dispute mechanism, which are the corporate courts that the House has debated, ratification by all member states is required. This...