Results 61-80 of 7,254 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Trade Agreements (19 Jul 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this issue and the Minister of State for attending to address the many concerns regarding the proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, between Canada and the EU. CETA will apply to an unprecedented number of public contracts, including at local level, which will have implications for the policy space in those contracts or services....

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Trade Agreements (19 Jul 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I stuck to my time earlier.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Trade Agreements (19 Jul 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Will the Minister of State address the concern that it is not at the discretion of Ireland to end provisional application if we find it to be incompatible with our Constitution because a qualified majority would be required to end provisional application? Will he also inform the House of the position taken by Ireland's permanent representatives who attended a meeting last Friday, to indicate...

Seanad: Paternity Leave and Benefit Bill 2016: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Jul 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On behalf of the Civil Engagement group, I commend the Minister of State and the Bill, which is an excellent one. It is particularly gratifying as this is an area I worked on previously with the National Women's Council of Ireland, in my former role campaigning with Start Strong and ICTU trying to drive this forward. There was positive engagement by the Government on this issue. We had a...

Seanad: Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Motion (19 Jul 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I commend Senator Ray Butler for tabling the motion. I also welcome the Minister. A number of positive measures have been proposed in the motion. I note that the programme for Government includes a commitment to close the gap between the earned income credit and the PAYE tax credit. This is a positive proposal, primarily because these are flat tax credits which have the potential to...

Seanad: Action Plan for Housing: Statements (20 Jul 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister and commend him on the leadership he has shown on this and his genuine and passionate engagement with the House earlier when he put forward his vision for this area. I particularly commend him for underscoring his commitment on the question of social housing. I also admire his strong leadership in keeping the housing delivery unit very close to hand with fortnightly...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jul 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I echo the concern expressed by Senator Conway-Walsh about GDP figures. It would be useful to debate them more comprehensively in the House. Earlier this week, I raised my concern about the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, CETA, between the EU and Canada. The Minister responding recognised that there is a need for further debate and suggested that the jobs, enterprise and innovation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: UN Migration Summit: Discussion (28 Jul 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the witnesses for their presentations. Many strong points have been made. I refer to the issue of gender, building on the points made by Lynn Boylan MEP. There are specific gender concerns in terms of the European response as well. For example, the European Women's Lobby has produced a strong pan-European response, which is worth considering in examining the specific issues...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Priorities for Department of Social Protection: Minister for Social Protection (7 Sep 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will try to avoid wider policy issues but will focus on the budgetary issues. However, I want to comment on the costings for some of the proposals we have heard. I appreciate the quality of material we get from the Department but it would be useful to have a sense of how measures impact on consistent poverty. The Department has worked on minimum essential standards of living and it would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Priorities for Department of Social Protection: Minister for Social Protection (7 Sep 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The increase in the number of people emigrating during the period of austerity is a strong indication that it is not the same. The level of emigration in previous periods when we had employment opportunities and were not in recession was not as high. I certainly do not think it is a moral failing among younger people who are choosing to emigrate or who are not finding employment. There was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Priorities for Department of Social Protection: Minister for Social Protection (7 Sep 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: We can talk about it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Priorities for Department of Social Protection: Minister for Social Protection (7 Sep 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The core of that debate is what constitutes a contribution.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Priorities for Department of Social Protection: Minister for Social Protection (7 Sep 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is about care and contribution. Hopefully, as we further improve paternity leave we will see men taking more of a caring role as well. We can discuss the issue in the future.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Priorities for Department of Social Protection: Minister for Social Protection (7 Sep 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I hope to follow up on the averaging issue at some time in the future but would ask the Minister to address the question of incorporating the Government's commitment on equality budgeting into the conduct of social impact assessments. Will the Department have a budget line around the delivery of the public duty on equality and human rights? How will that be carried forward in terms of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Priorities for Department of Social Protection: Minister for Social Protection (7 Sep 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I acknowledge the leadership role the Department has played on this issue along with other Departments and would urge the Minister to ensure that it stays in that place.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (27 Sep 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I join with others in welcoming Ms Fahey and Ms Feely. Their organisations have done important work. I particularly welcome the fact that both of them have not simply engaged with our committee but have also looked to the wider question of what we value in society and how we shape our priorities. There are specific areas on which I would like to hear more discussion. In Age Action's...

Seanad: Economic Growth: Motion (28 Sep 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am broadly supportive of this motion and the sentiments contained therein. I want to address a couple of the points that have been made during the debate. We need to understand clearly that a growing economy does not, in itself, create employment or quality employment. We have seen our counterparts in the United States acknowledging that there is no trickle-down effect. Making decent...

Seanad: Economic Growth: Motion (28 Sep 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I ask Senators to be constructive.

Seanad: Address by An Taoiseach (Resumed) (29 Sep 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Taoiseach go Seanad Éireann. I am happy to have the Taoiseach here in Seanad Éireann. The Taoiseach spoke about a Government unlike any other. We are also looking at a Seanad Éireann unlike any other because this Seanad, the Twenty-fifth Seanad, is the first which was saved from abolition by a popular vote of the Irish people. I am sure the...

Seanad: European Commission Decision on State Aid to Apple: Statements (4 Oct 2016)

Alice-Mary Higgins: A number of concerns have been raised today and I will not reiterate all of them. I will build on the point of the last speaker. He is correct in saying the arrangement between Ireland and Apple is not simply a matter between Ireland and Apple. This is a key point. The arrangement we hear of is likely not only to have deprived citizens in Ireland of much-needed resources but also citizens...