Results 3,461-3,480 of 8,482 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: He has spoken to the amendments. We can come back to the issue when we come to the section.

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: We will come to the section presently.

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 71: In page 36, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “(4A) A record of any consultations conducted under subsection (4) shall be kept and such a record will include the rationale by which the Commission deemed the person to be appropriate to consult with, and such records shall be deposited with the Minister and laid before both Houses of the...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 72: In page 37, line 14, after “rules” to insert the following: “and shall identify specific barriers to accessing audiovisual media services for people with disabilities along with possible mitigation measures”. This deals with the annual report which addresses the issue of the accessibility of audiovisual media services to persons with...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My amendment seeks to ensure that we did not end up having very general figures in terms of accessibility but that the report looks to address specific barriers and how they might be mitigated. Rather than having a very generic progress report, it should actually be a problem-solving report. I welcome the existence of the annual report within the legislation. I think it is a constructive...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will be very brief because I am conscious that others, even during the term of the last Oireachtas, have worked in this area. I want to follow up on two or three subjects, particularly regarding liability insurance, because I have encountered several cases, particularly in the voluntary sector, where there is an extremely negative impact. I have a couple of questions on the impact of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I apologise for the inconvenience, but I am going to come to the committee room to ask my questions because the sound quality is very poor.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It strikes me that despite insurance being a business that deals in risk and does not produce, manufacture or build anything or engage in any other service except for the management of risk, there have been significant efforts on the part of the State to reduce the risk. The companies pass much of the requirement on to the State to reduce the risk and many efforts have been made to reduce...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will give Deputy Doherty an opportunity to speak.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank Deputy Doherty and Mr. Boland. I was not pressing the duty of care but pointing out that it is now the area of focus while the evidence about previous reforms has yet to be seen. I welcome that part of the Bill. I have a follow-up question for Mr. Boland which may be outside the scope of this Bill. He mentioned a further discussion that is needed with certain sectors. I know that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (4 May 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It strikes me that measures may be required related to the cherry-picking activities by insurance companies.

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Apr 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Although I sympathise with certain elements because I regret that we have such an adversarial frame in our debates, often with very strong privileging of heat over light in political programming, in respect of which balance is important, I am concerned about the amendment. I do not know whether the weighting of political parties will be the way we move towards more balanced and nuanced...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Apr 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This group of amendments relates to the key endeavour we are undertaking. It is constructive and part of recognising that debates on issues extend beyond political and electoral debate. That was the context for and what we were trying to do with our amendment. We will move it and bring it back on Report Stage. The Minister said that she will engage with the Minister of State, Deputy...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Apr 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 35: In page 22, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: “(2A) One member of the Commission, who shall not be the chairperson, shall be known as an Online Safety Commissioner.”. We discussed this earlier. This relates to the core premise, the online safety commissioner. When articles appear in newspapers, they only cover five sentences from...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Apr 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is also important to mention that the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Children's Rights Alliance and its many member organisations have been really clear on the importance of this. Amendment No. 41 proposed by Senators Malcolm Byrne and Cassells and supported by Senator Carrigy is actually worded really well and is possibly better than our own amendment. If the...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Apr 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am happy to withdraw our amendments in that context. I thank the Minister for indicating her intentions. We can get into the detail later but it is so important that in this House a clear signal is sent that this is going to be a clear responsibility and function. A point that was very well made by Senator Malcolm Byrne, which I would urge the Minister to bear in mind when crafting her...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Apr 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 36: In page 22, line 7, after “chairperson” to insert “, the Online Safety Commissioner”.

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Apr 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am not going to add very much because my colleague has put the case very clearly. These amendments build on the core purpose of the audiovisual media services directive, which is the starting point for this legislation. As we discussed previously, that is not simply about protective, performative or managerial functions but also about a proactive role in the promotion of equality of...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Apr 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On amendments Nos. 39 and 40, there is a Public Appointments Service but, as the Minister mentioned, it draws from the civil and public service code. The concern is that is often for generalists, it is focused on a high-calibre person, and a person who has probity, is trustworthy and moves between roles but what is needed here is expertise. There is quite a bit of precedent for setting out...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (28 Apr 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 39: In page 22, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: “(3A) In performing their functions under subsection (3), the Public Appointments Service and the Minister shall seek to ensure that the Commission has an appropriate balance of knowledge of, and expertise in the following: (a) arts and culture; (b) data protection and digital empowerment; (c)...