Results 8,141-8,160 of 8,768 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Migrant Integration Strategy: Statements (16 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My remarks will be short. A number of the points I wish to raise have been raised by other Senators. Others have discussed the question of the habitual residency condition and the obstacles it has caused and the problems of the direct provision system, which we still need to move past. The message conveyed by the Minister of State and the migrant integration strategy is very committed and...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Bill 2016: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Is this on the amendment or the sections?

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Bill 2016: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My point relates somewhat to section 6. I know that we are going sequentially, and I will speak more about this under section 6. As we discuss section 4, I want to flag the high pertinence of this section given the attacks we have seen over the weekend in the UK, but also noting that when we talk about altering data or information, there are a few opportunities that could be missed in this...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Bill 2016: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It may be coverable by regulation. Is that correct?

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Bill 2016: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I want to highlight what I believe to be a potential gap in legislation. It is a pity that the matter about which I am concerned is not explicitly addressed. I hope that it may be addressed by means of a ministerial order or regulation or through other means in the future. I refer to the use of behaviour targeted advertisements and the use of end-user consumer information management. This...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Bill 2016: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am somewhat confused about section 10 on foot of the deletion of section 9. I assume that this is all normal.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Bill 2016: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I know.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Bill 2016: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My concern relates to the nature of the jurisdiction under section 10(3). It is limited to an Irish citizen or a person ordinarily resident in the State. What I liked about the original section 9 – I realise it is gone now – was that, as well as a body corporate, an individual could also held accountable. I wonder about the rationale for limiting or curtailing it. Surely, if...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Bill 2016: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I congratulate the Minister of State on having this good legislation passed and welcome the indication he gave that he is willing to discuss related issues. This issue will move from the periphery to the centre of political debate. For this reason, I welcome any opportunity we may have in a future debate to discuss some of the other issues I raised. I sound a note of caution, however, and...

Seanad: Gender Recognition (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (10 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Like others, I must begin with compliments. First, I compliment Senator Fintan Warfield for the long and thoughtful process he has put into bringing the legislation forward. It is part of a very strong commitment by him to looking at how best he can use his time in the Chamber to make a real difference to people's lives. I compliment him and his co-signers, Senators David Norris and, my...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I want to support three calls for debates today, first, Senator Ned O'Sullivan's call for the Minister for Arts, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to come in to discuss gorse fires and the damage they have done.To answer the Senator's question, there have been only 11 prosecutions since 2007. That is 11 prosecutions in a decade on this issue. It would be very appropriate to have the...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There is a question in terms of Ireland and ethical procurement policies and how we bring social, environmental and ethical considerations into play in our procurement policies. I want to endorse Senator Richmond's call for a debate on the future of Europe, which is something he is passionate about. It is Europe Day. I would add to Senator Richmond's point that I believe people in Ireland...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 3:In page 60, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “92.Section 599 of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following for subsection (4)(c)—“(c) whether an action of the related company or of any subsidiary of the related company resulted in liquidation; (d) whether the directors of the company demonstrated that they...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes, the amendment is being pressed, and while I accept that the Minister does not want to take on my proposals - although I would not agree with her analysis of them - I certainly cannot accept that she says that there may or may not be a problem. We know that there is a problem. The reason we have a CLRG looking at section 599 is because it has been identified as not functioning. We know...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4:In page 67, after line 31, to insert the following:“102. The Minister will produce and publish a report to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas containing the recommendation of the Company Law Review Group in relation to the Companies Act 2014 within eight months of the enactment of this Bill, including intended actions to be taken by the...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Does the Minister expect the pending report to address section 599?

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (9 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: As the Minister has indicated that the pending report of the Company Law Review Group will hopefully be published prior to the summer and contain the recommendations or considerations of that group in respect of section 599, and as she has indicated that she will bring it before the Houses of the Oireachtas within two months, I will not press the amendment on this occasion.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pension Provision: Age Action (4 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the witnesses for their presentation and for the work they have been doing in this area. I welcome the research that has been done to draw out some of the issues around the gender pension gap in its many forms. Women seem to be disadvantaged in the current system in two ways. The second layer almost adds insult to injury. It seems that opposing logic is being used to justify each...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pension Provision: Age Action (4 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have a couple of quick points, including the one that Deputy O'Dea picked up on. I am aware of the debate in France, for example. There was a lot of simplistic coverage about retirement at 55, but in many cases they were talking about people who had worked for 40 years since the age of 15. We should examine the question holistically in terms of what people have been doing, while...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pension Provision: Age Action (4 May 2017)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I wish to build on the point made by the Chairman because it is important. In terms of being realistic about how the workplace now operates, we know that the amount of precarious and insecure work is on the rise. As has been mentioned, 60% of the people who have insecure, low hour and non-fixed hour work are women. I would like the witnesses to share their thoughts on the...