Results 7,421-7,440 of 8,235 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Protection of Private Residencies (Against Targeted Picketing) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will be very brief. Unfortunately, I was held up in the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs and did not get to move my amendments. It is fine, though, because I think it is clear there is going to be additional scrutiny in the Joint Committee on Justice and an opportunity to tease out the issues there. I wish to signal, however, that I think these issues are not simply to do with...

Seanad: Protection of Private Residencies (Against Targeted Picketing) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (23 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: These are issues I hope the Joint Committee on Justice will be able to engage with. I do not think that any of us wants to see canvassing outlawed and this might have been one of the unintended consequences in relation to approaching a residence with the intention of influencing a person. Canvassing is probably one of the greatest protections we have, indeed, against the kind of...

Committee on Scrutiny of Draft EU-related Statutory Instruments: Engagement with Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (23 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: First of all, I welcome the Minister of State to the committee and it is good to see her in her new role and capacity. I also thank her, in particular, for opening up and talking about the journey of decisions. I think it is an area which is outside the remit of this committee but I feel that it is very complementary to it and could be strengthened in some of its earlier parts in the...

Committee on Scrutiny of Draft EU-related Statutory Instruments: Engagement with Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (23 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: First, Senator O'Reilly is right on the actual fundamental reason for this. I focused on it because you get better legislation. The actual fundamental piece as well - this was clear, coming from the Future of Europe process - is the connect with the public that people see, and the decisions that affect them. They really do affect them. These are very significant. Every decision about...

Committee on Scrutiny of Draft EU-related Statutory Instruments: Engagement with Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (23 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: -----but there are going to be areas where people will have an expertise that they want to bring in. It is important that it is there because members of the public give us our mandate and they are the ones who are going to be affected by the decisions. I think the fact that they would have sight of the legislation that shapes their lives is really appropriate.

Committee on Scrutiny of Draft EU-related Statutory Instruments: Engagement with Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (23 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have specific questions but I do not know if this is the context-----

Committee on Scrutiny of Draft EU-related Statutory Instruments: Engagement with Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (23 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Sure. I am just saying that we could signal, for example, the kinds of issues. We do not need an answer now perhaps, but we could signal the issues. For example, there is the equal pay for equal work. That is pending very soon. There is the question of the directive on the adequate minimum wage. Will that be done by primary or secondary legislation? These are a few of the kinds of...

Committee on Scrutiny of Draft EU-related Statutory Instruments: Engagement with Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (23 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have two very short points. One is that it is important we focus a lot on subsidarity. However, it is not only about subsidiarity. It is also a matter of at all stages, including when we get a communication and when there is transposition, what the best practice and best idea is for Europe. We are transposing at one level but there are also other parts in the process in terms of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Scrutiny of EU Proposals (22 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The inadequate terms and conditions for many in the Army and the Naval Service are of significant concern for many. I also know many left the Naval Service because they were disappointed that Ireland stopped engaging in humanitarian search and rescue. That was explicitly in order to move towards a security rather than a humanitarian focus. Many of those in our Defence Forces feel huge...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 3: In page 12, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “Report on seasonal work 3. The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas reviewing the conditions and wages of workers holding a permit for seasonal work.”.

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I note that in her amendments, the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, offers a definition of "seasonally recurrent employment". I know the amendments are to move that definition. It is an aspect of the Bill that we have concerns about. It is important that we do not see a pattern of abuse of seasonal work permits where workers are left in a situation of constant precarity and insecurity....

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Others have articulated the kinds of concerns we have and again, while I appreciate that the Minister of State indicated that there will be an analysis, there are certain other factors that are needed in that analysis. The question of wages needs to be part of it, so that we are not simply looking at analysis that addresses abuses but that we are also looking at the situation of the...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4: In page 12, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “Report on dependent permit holders 3. The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the labour market access available to spouses of employment permit holders, particularly looking to the gender impact.”.

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This amendment provides that within 12 months of the passing of the Act, a report would be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas looking at the labour market access available to spouses of those with employment permits, and particularly the gender impact in the context of that employment. It is a constant refrain, but when we look to employment permits, it is important we remember that...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I regret that the Minister of State sees it as outside her scope-----

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: -----but has indicated a clear understanding of why it is important. I spoke a little about the integration piece as regards financial independence and all those issues, but it is also from the straightforward perspective of family unification. We do not want a situation where one partner has to go abroad to work and has to leave his or her family behind. That is even more of a danger....

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 5: In page 12, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “Report on workers’ rights 3. The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas reviewing the terms, conditions and remuneration afforded to workers holding regular permits and seasonal permits broken down by sectoral...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This amendment also concerns a report. It asks for a report on workers' rights. I touched on some of the logic and thinking behind this in my previous commentary on seasonal work. The report would look at "the terms, conditions and remuneration afforded to workers holding regular permits and seasonal permits broken down by sectoral employment". I wish to highlight the issue of examining...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister of State for indicating she is happy to engage subsequently on the question of the trends. There is a problem with relying solely on the Workplace Relations Commission inspections. Those inspections can address the individual instances and highlight them. Of course, individual instances of the breach may be captured and responded to. I welcome the Minister of State's...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (28 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is not what I meant. I referred to identifying the patters.