Results 41-60 of 431 for speaker:Lorraine Higgins

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: In the past five years, it has objected more than 70 times to planning applications made by competitors, with up to half of them being successful. It even says on its website that it opposes unsustainable out-of-town retail development. I fully agree with it on that point, but what about the sustainable retail units and supermarkets being built smack bang in the middle of our town centres...

Seanad: Harmful and Malicious Electronic Communications Bill 2015: Second Stage [Private Members] (1 Jul 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I welcome the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, to the House and thank her most sincerely for taking the Bill this evening. As the Minister can probably appreciate, this means a lot to me because it is an issue I feel strongly about. While much online abuse targeted at teenagers, politicians and so on has been...

Seanad: Harmful and Malicious Electronic Communications Bill 2015: Second Stage [Private Members] (1 Jul 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: I am delighted this issue is now in the political consciousness after a long time in the public consciousness. Before I go into the sections of the Bill I would like to thank my Seanad colleagues, Senators Ivana Bacik and John Whelan, for supporting my endeavours and for signing the Bill which I will now explain to the House. As previously stated, the purpose of the Bill is to protect...

Seanad: Harmful and Malicious Electronic Communications Bill 2015: Second Stage [Private Members] (1 Jul 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: I thank colleagues for their mostly constructive and positive contributions to this debate. I thank the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, and the Minister of State, Deputy Gerald Nash, the Fine Gael group, Fianna Fáil group and my Labour Party colleagues for supporting the proposals, as well as Senators Fidelma Healy Eames and Senator Sean D. Barrett. To be...

Seanad: Harmful and Malicious Electronic Communications Bill 2015: Second Stage [Private Members] (1 Jul 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: I do, however, agree with him in one instance, namely, the need to educate young people about these issues. That is absolutely key, as I made clear in my opening speech. It is a cause for concern that so many children do not understand that the behaviours in which they are engaging constitute abuse and bullying. I urge the Senator and his colleagues in Sinn Féin to put forward...

Seanad: Harmful and Malicious Electronic Communications Bill 2015: Second Stage [Private Members] (1 Jul 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: The Senator talked about people using a telephone being found guilty of an offence. If he had looked at the legislation a little closer, he would have seen that the offence in question requires abuse to be persistent. A person could not be convicted on the basis of a once-off incident.

Seanad: Harmful and Malicious Electronic Communications Bill 2015: Second Stage [Private Members] (1 Jul 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: The Senator also referred to the removal of material. If he reviews Part 3 of the Bill, he will see there are provisions for a judge to make ancillary orders. I suggest he should read legislation in full before contributing to debates in the future.

Seanad: Harmful and Malicious Electronic Communications Bill 2015: Second Stage [Private Members] (1 Jul 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: I thank Senators Catherine Noone and Marie Moloney for their contributions. I look forward to supporting the proposals Senator Moloney intends to bring forward on the registration of SIM cards.

Seanad: Harmful and Malicious Electronic Communications Bill 2015: Second Stage [Private Members] (1 Jul 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: I thank Senator Healy Eames for her contribution. She was one of the few Senators, along with Senators Noone, Moloney and myself, who referred to being cyberbullied in the past. It seems pertinent that we are all women. Not a single male Senator stood up this evening to say he had been subjected to such bullying.

Seanad: Harmful and Malicious Electronic Communications Bill 2015: Second Stage [Private Members] (1 Jul 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: It is plausible to say there is a healthy dose of misogyny online. Senator Healy Eames, like others, pointed out that education campaigns are key. I had to chuckle in the midst of this very serious debate when the Senator referred to Wi-Fi as what sounded like "wiffee". That is a new word for me. Cyberbullying is pervasive, insidious and omnipresent and its effect should never be...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Natural Gas Grid (30 Jun 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: I request the Minister for Energy, Communications and Natural Resources to explore additional funding streams in order to provide for the roll-out of natural gas areas of strategic importance. Extending our gas network requires Government-level support and an obvious starting point would be to use some of the profits from the sale of the Bord Gáis energy division to bring gas to our...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Natural Gas Grid (30 Jun 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: I accept the role of Gaslink in all of this. However, the Government and, in particular, the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, have an obligation to fund Gaslink to enable it to expand the network. In regard to Athenry, there is currently a large volume of industry in the region and this is set to increase following the granting of the planning permission for the...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jun 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: I raise a number of issues relating to the nursing homes sector which need to be addressed immediately in the interests of the work and services they provide not only to occupants and service users but also to the State. In particular, we require a debate as a matter of urgency, and for time to be set aside for the Minister for Health to attend the House to discuss issues relating to the...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Jun 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: I raise the issue of the need for a dedicated eating disorder specialist unit. According to the Eating Disorder Association of Ireland, Bodywhys, up to 200,000 people in Ireland may be affected by eating disorders. An estimated 400 new cases occur each year and there are up to 80 related deaths annually. These illnesses affect women and men of all ages and from all walks of life. In light...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jun 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: I am calling for a debate on zero-hour contracts as there is no doubt such contracts are bad for the Exchequer. There is a swindle of Irish taxpayers by multi-million euro companies that is going completely under the radar. This relates to large companies using zero-hour contracts to employ staff who in turn must supplement their incomes through social welfare benefits. Zero-hour contracts...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jun 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: Low pay, as part of the zero-hour contract issue, stifles our economy and stunts taxes coming to the Exchequer. This results in more Government borrowing, which we simply cannot afford. In effect, it is the taxpayer who is indirectly supplementing the incomes of the low-paid while subsidising the wage bill of employers. It sickens me to see companies that pimp the green colour on brands...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jun 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: Sinn Féin does not have the monopoly on this issue.I call on the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to come into the Seanad-----

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jun 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: -----so we can debate this issue.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jun 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: A debate would afford us an opportunity to look for solutions-----

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jun 2015)

Lorraine Higgins: -----and to properly thrash it out. Sinn Féin does not have a monopoly on the issue.