Results 781-800 of 8,196 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Future of Europe: Statements (12 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I think it was the legal perspective more than the recognition.

Seanad: Future of Europe: Statements (12 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: What about trade?

Seanad: Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the Deaf Community Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (17 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I join with those who have commended Senator Daly and all of the advocates who have brought the Bill to this point. While the amendment is due to be accepted, I want to add to Senator Daly's remarks and put a question to the Minister of State. There is a duty in terms of culture that is not entirely outside the role of the State. At a Council of Europe level, we have a document, In From...

Seanad: Child Care: Statements (18 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. She has shown a genuine commitment and dedication to transforming child care, and a vision of how it should and might be done. I commend her on staying consistently with this issue and for pushing it forward in recent years. I acknowledge the importance of the first year introduced by Fianna Fáil which laid the groundwork for how we might...

Seanad: Broadcasting Act 2009 (Designation of Major Events) Order 2017: Motion (19 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I join in the welcome to the Minister. I also welcome the positivity of the designation of these new events. I commend the Minister not only on the order he has brought to the House but on the process that led to it. It is positive to have that level of public engagement and discussion around what we value as a society, what we want broadcast free-to-air and what we feel is part of our...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Other Senators in the House today have highlighted the issue of sexual abuse and how it is dealt with in Ireland. It is essential that the message goes to the Government, and the Deputy Leader conveys it, that the SAVI II report, that has been awaited for over a decade, be delivered. Research is long needed into the extent of sexual abuse and violence in Ireland and a report must be...

Seanad: Driving Test Waiting Times: Statements (25 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Other speakers have spoken about the impact of the waiting time for a driver theory test. When I worked with young unemployed people in Wexford, Wicklow and across the south east, I noted that being able to drive really made the difference between getting work and not getting work. In many cases, it was almost impossible to gain employment if one could not demonstrate that one could drive....

Seanad: Situation in Catalonia: Statements (25 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will endeavour to do so. Many of the points I wished to make have been made by Senator Ó Clochartaigh so that should be possible. We have heard many references to the rule of law being invoked as if it is a magic card that can be played. The rule of law has a context. We are duty bound to protect and support a rule of law that is linked with a democracy and respects human rights in...

Seanad: Report on Lone Parents in Ireland: Statements (25 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister and acknowledge her indication that this is a priority issue for her, as supported by her frequent references to it. I hope we will now see intensified action to address the issues involves. I am a member of the Joint Committee on Social Protection which produced an important report on the situation of lone parents in Ireland. That document is as close as we have got...

Seanad: Report on Lone Parents in Ireland: Statements (25 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will conclude. The Indecon report shows €45 million in State savings. That is almost an indictment. The changes were introduced at a time of austerity in 2012, but that €45 million is coming from one of the most vulnerable groups in society. Will the savings of €45 million be redirected back directly to lone parents as a particularly vulnerable group? I am...

Seanad: Report on Lone Parents in Ireland: Statements (25 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Perhaps the Minister could address the fact that change cannot wait for the report in 2018.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Engagement with Committee for Labour and Social Protection, Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of Romania (26 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome all of the witnesses. Other speakers have touched on the pension system in terms of the historical context. The main concerns regarding the pension system were flagged in a Government Green Paper in 2007, which I would recommend. It deals with the first tier, second tier and third tier question. It was, of course, followed by the crash and so many of the issues highlighted and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Engagement with Committee for Labour and Social Protection, Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of Romania (26 Oct 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I can come back because I will have an opportunity later but I realise that the delegation has specific questions. It was asked if we had quotas. There were quotas in certain public sector areas but we had a long-term freeze on recruitment to the public sector, so that had a disproportionate impact on persons with disabilities because it was one of the few areas in which there was an active...

Seanad: International Protection (Family Reunification) (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I support the amendment and reserve the right to put forward a similar amendment on Report Stage to ensure the expedious implementation of the Bill in the event this amendment is not successful. I remind the Government of its key role in chairing the UN special meeting on refugees and migrants and ask it to be in sprit with that and not to effectively introduce constraints on refugees by...

Seanad: International Protection (Family Reunification) (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It might not be used very much here-----

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will be brief. Others have spoken eloquently on this issue. I emphasise that minimum unit pricing is an essential core aspect of the Bill. It is deeply evidenced and is not just a matter of opinion. We know it makes a difference to how alcohol is consumed and to how much alcohol is consumed.

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I said I was going to speak on that issue but I will not. It is an essential part of the Bill and I hope it will go the full distance so we will not see it challenged on later Stages. Scotland showed leadership. Minimum unit pricing was not in place in other parts of the United Kingdom. Scotland showed leadership and made that commitment. We should be modelled on Scotland in showing...

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I want to speak to amendment No. 24 which Senator Nash was not here to move.

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am informing the House that I may propose a similar amendment on Report Stage which may deal with cancers and some of the issue raised by another Senator about issues such as strokes. Advertising is being dealt with in other jurisdictions. I lived in America for five years and saw warnings attached to certain gambling and financial products. There are many jurisdictions that have found...

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On a point of order, the Minister already explained the 200 m restriction in his speech and why is was not an arbitrary figure. We have voted on this section.