Results 3,281-3,300 of 8,483 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I might clarify a point before the Minister of State comes back in. As I have said, section 3(4)(a) addresses the question of the price-only approach. Perhaps there are concerns regarding section 3(4)(b), which specifically relates to larger-scale projects. Some €165 billion is due to be spent on the national development plan. Section 3(4)(b) relates to large contracts that are...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I appreciate the Minister acknowledging the fact that my legislation mirrors the Dutch legislation, effectively, which is running without concern or obstacle. It has been assessed as delivering 2.4 times better value from contracts. We are not balancing value for money against quality. The fact is that quality is part of value for money. That is why the price-quality ratio approach and...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The last thing I meant to say is the question of who else loses out when we do not have quality. It is the public who use the goods and services.

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am happy to work with the Minister of State on that and I understand the intersections with the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003. I inserted that legal advice to have that in but I am happy to look at that. For me, the fundamental part of section 5, and a principle which the Minister of State supports, is that the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014, which has...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I understand that exclusions are very difficult. I have studied procurement law and realise that if one does have an exclusion then one is more likely to be challenged. This is why it is really good to have price quality from the beginning, otherwise when a company with a poor track record offers the lowest price then one must award it the contract unless one goes through a formal exclusion...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I apologise and finally I will mention the rights component.

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, line 37, to delete “shall” and substitute “may”. Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 do not directly conflict with each other but can be combined in a set of three ways. Like Lego pieces, we will see how best to fit them together. Section 6 deals with the guidelines for social considerations. These are areas of State policy on things...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The other option is to amend it on Report Stage. Perhaps it would be useful if the Minister of State indicates whether his preference is for "shall consider" or "may comply" because-----

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Perfect. In that context, I am happy to withdraw my amendments with the agreement that we put it forward as worded by the Minister of State on Report Stage.

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I note the guidelines on social considerations proposed in this Bill would complement and expand those contained in the 2019 circular. I was very actively engaged with the OGP at that time on the development of that circular because I also dealt with legislation on these issues in the period of the last Oireachtas. I understand and appreciate the situation in respect of emergency provisions...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: In that case, I withdraw my amendment with the indication to come back with the revised wording as discussed.

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 2: In page 8, line 37, to delete “comply” and substitute “consider”. Again, there is agreement to come back with a revised wording.

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (18 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Next Tuesday.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank our guests and as I am conscious of the limited time, I will ask four sets of questions. First, I will ask about an area of concern, that is, the permitted use constraint on which we have heard multiple interpretations here. I believe it was mentioned by one of the speakers today that this related to ensuring that this would be a maternity hospital. However, as there is language...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My time is limited so I am not interested in hearing the history of the phrase. I am interested in hearing the position of St. Vincent's Healthcare Group. At this moment there have been calls for the phrase to be defined and removed. What is the group's position on both aspects?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is useful to know. We then come to another question of interpretation. In his opening statement, Mr. Menton indicated that the values of St. Vincent's Healthcare Group could not be interpreted as relating to a different ethos but values are, of course, interpreted. That is the nature and it is the job. I note that Professor Deirdre Madden and others specifically stated that boards do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Sorry, just to be clear but legally permissible is separate. The reference is to the hospital being established under a clinically appropriate and legally permissible framework. We can take that as legally permissible but I am asking about the interpretation of the phrase "human dignity" as, for example, it might apply to "clinically appropriate".

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I gave two interpretations of the phrase "human dignity". The first is from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and refers to human dignity as beginning from birth. The second was from the universal declaration of human dignity, which refers to every single human being from conception.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I understand that but Ms Reynolds can see what we mean by interpretable. Those are two different interpretations of that phrase, both of which are in the public domain. She will see why it would be relevant. Perhaps she will follow up in writing regarding what the definition is, given that in one definition it begins specifically at birth and in another it specifically begins at conception.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: New National Maternity Hospital: Discussion (Resumed) (16 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That value is interpreted in relation to patient care and decisions in respect of that, which would impact on the ethos. I note that this is what Professor Deirdre Madden and others identified, namely, that ethos does matter. The new constitution dating from April of this year refers to the "voice of the voiceless". I want to understand how the St. Vincent's Healthcare Group, which will...