Results 2,961-2,980 of 8,196 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 9: In page 10, line 29, before “information” to insert “medical information, including”. Amendment No. 9 is just a slight change-around with regard to medical information. At the moment, the line under subsection (f) says-----

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: What is the grouping?

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I do not think they are very appropriately grouped, to be honest.

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Fair enough. There will probably have to be a bit of back and forth because that clump actually deals with quite different topics. That is why I was surprised by the grouping. In terms of amendment No. 9, at the moment under subsection (f) it refers to "information on any medical treatments, procedures or vaccinations administered to him or her." I am specifying that it should refer to...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is a very large group and they are quite different topics. I find the Minister's response unacceptable. The definition of "genetic relative", and the Minister did not address the question, includes full-blood or half-blood relative. That is not a very wide definition. I do not understand why there is still this lingering theme of how much it can be shut down. It is still there in that...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will be frank with the Minister; that is completely wrong. It is the same argument I had back in 2017 when I listened to the exact same discussions about birth certificates. I sat in ministerial offices hearing advice from Ministers. This was back when there was the assumption of a preference for privacy versus identity, with the assumption being made wrongly and, in fact, interfering...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Senator McGreehan made a point about the genetic relative. I understand it is relevant in the medical area and in the question of illegal adoptions and that. There is a purpose to genetic relative in the Bill. The problem I have is there is no parallel definition of "relative" and that it is genetic relative that is applied as the limitation in terms of information on who has enquired. I...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have a question for the Minister. I appreciate he has indicated that he will go back to the Parliamentary Counsel and consider the release of the names of the persons. Going back can sometimes be fruitful and I know the previous Minister went back a number of times on these issues. In fact, the situation did eventually evolve. Will the Minister also go back and inquire as to why...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: An answer to that would make it easier for me. Will the Minister also go back to the question as to why a report of a visit or inquiry is limited to a genetic relative?

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister has said he will consider the question. My concern does not relate only to the definition of "genetic relative". My question is why we would limit that information to genetic relatives. However, since the Minister is reviewing the matter, I will not press the amendment at this time.

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 10: In page 10, line 36, to delete “genetic”.

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 11: In page 10, line 36, after “relative” to insert “or any other person”.

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 12: In page 11, lines 1 and 2, to delete all words from and including “but” in line 1 down to and including line 2.

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 13: In page 11, lines 1 and 2, to delete all words from and including “but” in line 1 down to and including line 2 and substitute “which shall include the name of the other person where that is known,”.

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Earlier in this debate, on Second Stage, the Minister began with an apology, in part, in respect of illegal adoptions. We have been speaking about these illegal adoptions but there is no reference anywhere in the Bill to "illegal". As Senator Boyhan says, it was illegal and to put in "incorrect" is insufficient. It simply does not cover everything and "incorrect" is not an umbrella under...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: A lot of the conversation has related to amendment No. 14 but I will point out that a very large suite of amendments are combined here. There has been discussion of the questions of prosecutions, a tribunal and an investigation. These are all things that should be considered but, to be clear, it is not simply a question of whether there should be prosecutions for everything. That is a...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: However, it does not include "illegal" in the context of the reference to "false or misleading". It is relevant to those who have been affected by the St. Patrick’s Guild investigations, for example. For such a person, maybe his or her registration is in fact being investigated or is recognised as being illegal. Is the Minister suggesting that this is encompassed by the references...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I wish to address what was done by people, such as in the example of St. Patrick’s Guild. We know it was illegal. It has already been clearly determined and identified as illegal. Under this legislation, however, a person who wishes to access their records will be describing this illegal act as being "incorrect", meaning "false or misleading". I would point out that we are putting...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I wish to speak to amendment No.17. I am conscious that we have focused on the issue of "illegal" but amendment No. 17 and some of the other Sinn Féin amendments in this group simply suggest that the word "information" would be replaced by "records" so as to remove any linguistic ambiguity. The aim is to ensure that people's medical information is considered their personal data and...

Seanad: Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I would like if the Minister would address my amendments. He spoke about the fact that substituting "illegal" for "incorrect" could be seen as narrowing, but he did not address my amendments that add the term "illegal". He mentioned that the term "illegal" would create a higher bar for access and so forth, but I do not believe that is correct in terms of my amendments where there is the...