Results 4,961-4,980 of 8,196 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: While I agree with Senator Byrne on some issues, I would query one thing he said, which was the ultimate priority is still for people to own their own homes. That is one priority but the core priority of the State must be for people to have security in their homes rather than ownership. This goes right back to Davitt. Security of tenure allows people to plan their lives, decide what school...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: A number of similar amendments are grouped together. I support Senator Moynihan's amendment. She has offered a useful and pragmatic insight into how housing, family units and support structures work and was one of the key champions of the bubbling mechanism which has been taken on board. She has form for offering useful proposals. My amendments Nos. 7 and 9 are being discussed in this...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There are wider concerns but everybody has shown admirable restraint in that Senators have not put all our good ideas around the Residential Tenancies Bill into amendments. This grouping is specifically around creating space and time for that proper debate. The amendments do not seek to change everything about residential tenancies but to give us enough space during a time of restricted...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: With absolute respect, Minister, there is a large number of amendments.

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I wanted to check, in terms of time.

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: No, commentary is useful.

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister. I am going to speak to his amendments and to my amendments to his amendments, which are grouped together. Given the time constraints, I am going to speak specifically to issues in these groupings but I reiterate that the manner, the timing and the sense of disempowerment that has accompanied this entire legislative process has been extraordinarily unfortunate and has...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I would like to add-----

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am raising a point of order.

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On a point of order, there is a practice in this House whereby Members do not refer to persons or organisations outside the House in a way that makes them identifiable. In terms of specific campaigns run by specific organisations, I feel we have strayed into that type of thing. Several Members have expressed concern about whether the amendments they have put forward will be reached in the...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is not an exception but a restriction. That is a very important clarification given that the word "prohibition" was misused earlier.

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have an amendment within this grouping. I completely agree with the points made by Senator Doherty. It is, and remains, the nub. The Minister has described a process that he will put in place but there is also a process of the data protection impact assessment, DPIA, where the Minister needs to look to how he as data controller, not the commission, will deal with the documents. The...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister stated that information relating to criminal acts was brought to the attention of the relevant authorities at the time. In that case, I am surprised that we have not seen a raft of prosecutions. It seems clear from what we have heard that large numbers of illegal acts have taken place. I acknowledge that the Minister will be engaging with the Garda when the final report comes...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: What about the Minister's amendments? I have amendments in this group. I can be brief.

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I recognise that the Minister has listened to my comments but there is an issue that has been raised by others, and my amendments for this group would simply allow the Minister, under the same section he has introduced, to oblige the commission to offer people a copy of their testimony along with the obligation on the commission in the legislation to consult people on the question of...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will try to be brief, given that every Bill today is being rushed through all Stages. They will all have been guillotined before a full debate could happen, even in the compressed form of debate that has been allowed when Bills are pushed through all Stages. There will have been five guillotines in two days. These practices, as Senator Hoey noted, are not just disrespectful but damaging...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: We are under some time pressure.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I want to speak in support of the amendments. They are incredibly sensible. The use of "or" or "and" can make a huge difference. In this case, to speak to amendment No. 2 first, it is absolutely clear the Minister should not be making a fixed payment notice without prescribing how it would be used and there is no point in prescribing how it might be administered if it does not exist. It...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There has never been a more apt moment to call for a mechanism involving appropriate scrutiny. It is as clear as day how important it is that there be scrutiny and value in that scrutiny offered by all Members. I strongly support these amendments. The flaws in this Bill would have been identified and dealt with if we had proper Committee and Report Stages. If there are mistakes in the...

Seanad: Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2020)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4: In page 16, lines 24 to 26, to delete all words from and including “calculated” in line 24 down to and including “made” in line 26. This amendment removes the language in regard to how a majority of limited partners would be calculated. It again goes to one of the fundamental problems and concerns I have with the Bill, which is that it...