Results 4,841-4,860 of 8,196 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 23: In page 97, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: "(e) the laws regarding international protection in that country are more prohibitive than in Ireland and a person who is claiming asylum does not have the same opportunity to be granted refugee status as they would in Ireland.". If a country is designated as a safe third country to which a person...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister for her engagement. I hope we might be able to discuss it further. Certain safe countries may recognise LGBT status which is recognised as a concern regarding our international protection laws. It is not always given the same status in other countries. Consideration might be needed in a few areas. I recognise that the Minister has indicated that there are criteria...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 24: In page 97, between lines 38 and 39, to insert the following: “(6)The Minister shall, every 12 months, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining any changes to the list of safe third countries and provide rationale for any such changes made.” The amendment proposes that the Minister produce a report every 12 months on the...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I know the Minister is probably not minded to accept amendments today given the haste and focus of the Brexit Bill. However, it would be constructive if we could have such engagement. I ask the Minister to consider it. Of course, she has the prerogative to publish such a report or to create such a point for engagement for Members who are concerned and have an interest in these areas....

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Or without legislation.

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I withdraw the amendment in the context of trying to find another way, perhaps outside legislation, to progress this mechanism.

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 25: In page 104, after line 20, to insert the following: "Review of operation of Act 135. (1) (a)The Minister for Foreign Affairs shall, not later than six months after the commencement of any part of this Act, carry out a review of the operation of this Act. (b)The Minister for Health shall, not later than six months after the commencement of any section in Part...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: In the context of the Minister’s commitment to engage with the formal process of post-enactment scrutiny but also to other and supplementary engagement because my concern is in respect of orders and regulations and not simply the letter of the Act itself, I am happy to withdraw my amendment in the context of constructive engagement.

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Very good wording has been put forward by Senator Boyhan and others and I will be happy to support the amendment. I have tabled a number of amendments that seek to address the same fundamental issues in two or three lines. I am perhaps leaving a little more of the original text intact. The core point stands. A local development plan is not just a planning application, a development on an...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Will the Minister of State clarify the matter concerning the word "or".

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 2: In page 4, lines 1 to 3, to delete all words from and including “(which” in line 1 down to and including “meeting)” in line 3 and substitute “which shall include public meetings online and in person”.

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 3: In page 4, lines 1 to 3, to delete all words from and including "(which" in line 1 down to and including "meeting)" in line 3 and substitute "(which shall include public meetings, online and also in person except where the holding of a meeting in person may be detrimental to public health)".

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4: In page 4, lines 1 to 3, to delete all words from and including "(which" in line 1 down to and including "meeting)" in line 3 and substitute "(which shall include public meetings online and, except in an emergency period, also in person)".

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 5: In page 4, line 3, after “submissions” to insert “online and”.

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 6: In page 4, line 5, after "and" to insert "shall ensure that where a member of the public chooses to make a submission in writing online they are not subject to a limitation in terms of length of submission, and ".

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Amendment No. 6 is specifying where a member of the public is making a submission in writing. I have withdrawn amendment No. 5. I have accepted the valid point of the Minister in relation to that. Sometimes when we have online submissions, we have constrained spaces in which people are asked to contribute. I want to ensure that people are not limited. We talk about this at a strategic...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On my amendment, if more engagement is better, I think the Minister needs to consider changing "or" to "and", or instead, he could add in "or both". This is not about the intent of anybody. I know that people are passionate about these issues and want to meet, but the law of unintended effects could be present here. I am concerned that there is an inadvertent mistake in the language in the...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 7: In page 4, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “(iii) shall take active steps to support equality of access to participation in public consultation, in relation to a proposed development plan, with particular regard to obligations under the Public Duty on Equality and Human Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with a...

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Amendments Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive, relate to the fact that it is not just a matter that there should be consultation with a member of the public or that there should be the opportunity for submissions in writing to be made, but it is instead to insert a clause, of which there are three different versions, that proactively encourages members of the public to engage. We have heard descriptions...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Deportation Orders (1 Dec 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Will the Minister of State make a statement on the recent and ongoing issuing of deportation orders and letters to asylum seekers requesting that they leave the country voluntarily or be threatened with deportation? Will he make that statement in the context of the global Covid-19 pandemic? Our obligations in terms of international protection have never been as important as they are now...