Results 4,741-4,760 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (8 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am very happy to speak in favour of the Sinn Féin motion today. It highlights, as Senator Moynihan said, that this legislation comes through again and again. It went through the last Oireachtas multiple times. Every time the rental tenancies or any of these Bills come through there is never time to substantively discuss the issues. That is why the debate today is really welcome....

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister to the Seanad. Many of us in this House called last summer and autumn for action on the question of hotel quarantine or supported quarantine measures. When we talk about zero Covid being a fantasy, we should bear in mind that we were down to the very low double figures at that point. Zero Covid was in sight in Ireland at that time. It may well seem very far out of...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: If Members ask for the record to be corrected, they should-----

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I would hope not in the absence.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am reluctant to join in. I must say that I am a little bit surprised. With very notable exceptions, there has been very constructive debate from many Members on the Government side, but the swinging accusations in this House today have come from the Government benches, and it is not constructive. Let us be clear, there was a moment when we were doing very well in Ireland.A survey across...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am concerned that Ireland, as a member of the UN Security Council, needs to do more to address the blockages with regard to intellectual property to ensure we see a push to scale up production. Those issues really matter. The slow roll-out of the vaccine globally is not the solution. The solutions we have are prevention, precaution and protective measures, which are what these amendments...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am sorry, a Chathaoirligh, but can I-----

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Has the Government asked for advice in respect of the legislation?

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 2: In page 5, line 18, to delete “€4,000” and substitute “€2,000”. Amendments Nos. 2 to 4, inclusive, and to an extent amendment No. 5, are related. They all point to a concern in respect of costs. There has been an incentive here and a wish. In a way, this is other sections of the Health (Amendment) Act that are being...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Thank you.

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I join other speakers in welcoming the Bill and I support the calls for a move towards more concise and clear language, where possible. However, I also have substantial concerns regarding certain provisions of the Bill and I would appreciate if the Minister could elaborate on them. I have tabled a number of amendments, which I know are not perfect. I am happy to move with the consensus of...

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I had put some questions which she might be able to respond to.

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is Committee Stage.

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am glad the legislation is progressing. I know that it has a further journey to go. I urge the Minister to continue to engage with Members of this House as the legislation continues its journey. I believe there are issues of clarity and I still have two concerns. They may seem to be contradictory but I do not believe they are because they relate to the different rights and different...

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am conscious of the nuance in this and that we want to move forward. To clarify, I do not have a single concern; I have two concerns, and the Minister has addressed one of those. I am concerned about how section 93 would be applied. Could it be too narrow in its application or, potentially, could it be too wide in its application? Those are the nuances to be looked at. That is why,...

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Before the debate on Friday, I wonder if it will be possible for the Minister to look at scenarios whereby different children may be given different treatment within a case, and the extent to which the legislation allows for that. Perhaps that can be looked at.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonising Transport: Discussion (23 Feb 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonising Transport: Discussion (23 Feb 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I might ask for written answers because I would really appreciate that. One question is on the review of the TEN-T programme - the idea of funding new projects and looking to engage with Europe on the western rail project and those kinds of large-scale projects - while another concerns land use by local authorities and how we can look more at funding. Again, when we look at the recovery and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Decarbonising Transport: Discussion (23 Feb 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: If they have time to comment, it would be great but I-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Alignment of Special Education Policy with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (23 Feb 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I missed a short period in the middle of the meeting so these questions may have been dealt with. I want to talk about the issue of choice. We have discussed the importance of ensuring those who need that direct education are able to return to school but I am wondering about a related issue in terms of choice where there are children with a disability, for example, in families which may have...