Results 3,581-3,600 of 8,211 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Apologies, and just to belabour the point, the Minister's understanding of the legislation is that the members of the commission are empowered to develop a proposal and to bring that to him. Is that correct?

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The commission will bring the proposal to the Minister, rather than-----

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Given the Minister's commitment to come back here within the next six months, I do not think we need to press the recommendation at this time.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move recommendation No. 2: In page 3, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “Report on the Scheme for Secretarial Assistance 2.The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining— (a) the work responsibilities of those employed under the Scheme for Secretarial Assistance in Seanad...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move recommendation No. 3: In page 3, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “Report on the operation of the Scheme for Secretarial Assistance 2.The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before the Committee on Parliamentary Procedures and Oversight outlining a cost benefit analysis in respect of the introduction of the parliamentary...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Ombudsman and Information Commissioner: Commissioner Designate (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank Mr. Deering. I would like to speak to a number of the cross-cutting areas and then I will finish with a number of specific issues I hope Mr. Deering might consider. I am sure there are many issues coming his way. A concern I have heard a lot from very different areas and places is in regard to the information component of Mr. Deering's role, including that in the move to gov.iea...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Ombudsman and Information Commissioner: Commissioner Designate (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The area of gov.ieis one that might need work in terms of that argument. Mr. Deering mentioned that he will be focusing on information that will be public information. However, I believe that in his role as Ombudsman there is other information that he should or might need to have access to, including in regard to tendering and commercial sensitives. I am conscious that there are areas, for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Ombudsman and Information Commissioner: Commissioner Designate (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I congratulate Mr. Deering and look forward to his service in this important role. I begin by acknowledging his predecessor, Mr. Tyndall. I also sit on the Joint Committee on Disability Matters and we recently had a strong engagement with Mr. Tyndall in respect of his report on those aged under 65 being placed in nursing homes and the very incremental movement on that. I would like Mr....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Ombudsman and Information Commissioner: Commissioner Designate (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On procurement, Mr. Deering might follow up on another point to confirm that he can investigate procured services as well as direct services.

Seanad: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2021: Motion (8 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: If the Minister wants to keep that one minute, I will give one minute to Senator Ahearn and I will take three minutes.

Seanad: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2021: Motion (8 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am. I will take three minutes.

Seanad: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2021: Motion (8 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am, unfortunately, going to have to oppose the motion. My concerns relate to greyhound racing. The Minister will be aware that I aired those concerns when the greyhound legislation went through the previous Oireachtas. That was an opportunity for a root-and-branch overhaul of the industry and I regret that it was not fully taken. It is regrettable, for example, that the amendments we...

Seanad: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2021: Motion (8 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Time could be taken from the Minister.

Seanad: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2021: Motion (8 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes.

Seanad: Antarctic Treaty: Motion (8 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the motion and the spirit in which it is put forward. I will support it. There are parts of it I would ask the Minister to embrace and move further on. The tradition identified in terms of Shackleton and others is important. It is also important to note there is now credible evidence of the Maori people visiting the Antarctic more than 1,000 years ago. In the celebration of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Engagement with the Climate Change Advisory Council (7 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank Ms Donnelly. Turning to carbon budgets, I am one of those who have a concern about the timing of the two budgets. I am a strong believer of the bird in the hand. In an area such as climate change, where there is that cumulative impact and we hit tipping points, there is no negotiation backwards. Given we cannot control what is happening elsewhere, we should front-load what we can....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Engagement with the Climate Change Advisory Council (7 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have a question on investment because I will not be able to get in on the second round as I must leave.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Engagement with the Climate Change Advisory Council (7 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Ms Donnelly mentioned the front-loading of investment. In areas like transport, for example, the plans do not seem to be a decade down the way. She might comment if this was something the council looked at. Given that low-interest capital financing is available with 0% loans from the European Union, should we be front-loading infrastructural investment in areas like transport to deliver...

Seanad: Covid-19 and the New Measures (Education): Statements (2 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister to the House. She will understand that there has been some frustration. A concern throughout this crisis so far has been that, in the area of education, there is a mix of very rigid measures and a lot being left to fall on the shoulders of individual boards of governance in schools. Individual boards of governance are left to figure out how they are going to implement...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Aligning Disability Services with the UNCRPD and Considering Future Innovation and Service Provision: Discussion ^ (2 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Chair and my colleagues. Dr. Pender has answered one of my questions about what happens after the hospital and after the rehabilitation period. That is something on which I have had feedback. It is as if you get to a certain point and almost your whole job is rehabilitation and everything is focused on that. Then you are back into day-to-day life, with all of its very different...