Results 6,881-6,900 of 11,695 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (11 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Paudie Coffey. I support the Labour Party Private Members' motion on the subject of housing to which Senators Aideen Hayden, Denis Landy, Marie Moloney and other colleagues have spoken with great eloquence. Having listened to Senator Sean D. Barrett, we would all agree with him on the adverse consequences for Irish society of the commodification - in...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Second Stage (11 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I also welcome this Bill. As the Minister of State has said, it is part of a comprehensive programme of justice reform which will, among other things, substantially strengthen Garda accountability and I very much welcome it in that context. In his speech the Minister of State set out quite a range of different aspects of the reform programme...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I accept that. We have had an extensive debate on the Order of Business because a number of other colleagues raised the issue of the role played by the Attorney General. Senator John Gilroy referred to the role of the Attorney General and Article 15. Colleagues will be aware that Article 15.4.1° states the Oireachtas shall not enact any law which is in any respect repugnant to the...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I will respond first to Senator Paschal Mooney, who raised the issue of turf cutting and compliance with the habitats directive, as well as differing views on the levels of compliance here. The Senator has asked that the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, come to the House to debate the issue. I will seek such a debate with the Minister and have already...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: The Order of Business today is No. 1, Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014 - Second Stage, to be taken at 1.15 p.m. and adjourned not later than 3.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and those of all other Senators not to exceed five minutes; No. 2 Betting (Amendment) Bill 2013 - Committee Stage, to...

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Tomorrow morning at 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I did not hear what Senator Mooney said, perhaps it is just as well. Senator O'Neill advises me that the issue might be best addressed first by the joint Oireachtas committee. It is really the sort of area where we would want to hear experts who would put different sides of it. To have a debate on the report from the joint Oireachtas committee might be the better way to approach it. It is...

Seanad: Standing Orders: Motion (10 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I move: "That the Report of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges on the adoption of new Standing Order 103N and the amendment of Standing Order 90 be adopted, laid before the House and printed."

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: In response to Senator O'Brien, I agree that we need a debate on pension provision. I am happy to look for that. I also agree with his comments on the intimidation of councillors and staff at Fingal County Council. I was horrified to hear about it. I heard some reports on the radio, but had not been aware quite how sinister is was until the Senator spoke. To identify and single out...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Senator Norris commented on the arrest yesterday of a number of individuals, including one Deputy. I do not want to get involved in discussing that. It is important that we do not in any way look like we are politicising what is in fact an ongoing criminal investigation. That is all I intend to say on it. Senator Norris also spoke on Syriza and on Greece. The Irish Government is...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Senator D'Arcy referred to the ferry service from Greenore to Greencastle in County Down. The Senator has raised similar issues on many occasions and I am happy to invite the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ring, to speak about ensuring there are strong links between Fáilte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. It is important that we ensure those links are strong, to...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: The Order of Business today is No. 1, motion re the Report of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges on the adoption of new Standing Order 103N and the amendment of Standing Order 90, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; and No. 2, Gender Recognition Bill 2014 - Committee Stage (Resumed), to be taken on conclusion of No. 1.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I join Senator Paschal Mooney in marking the Stena Line decision to close its Dún Laoghaire-Holyhead ferry link. I think all of us have memories of taking that boat from Dún Laoghaire to Holyhead. Certainly the growth of the cruise market in Dún Laoghaire has been very positive but it is none the less worth marking the end of an era in terms of that particular route. I ask...

Seanad: Mediation Services: Motion (4 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I agree with Senator O'Donovan's words on the Seanad and the advantages of commencing the Bill in this House. I again welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, to the House, and commend Senator Conway on introducing this motion. It is in keeping with his general interest in this area, of which I am aware because I am a colleague of his on the Joint Committee on...

Seanad: Mediation Services: Motion (4 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I would be delighted to second this motion. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin to the House.

Seanad: Mediation Services: Motion (4 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2015: Second Stage (4 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I also welcome the Bill. Everyone has given it a general welcome. All Senators agree that there is a need to consolidate the current set of procedures to deal with employment rights, workplace relations and so forth. As has been acknowledged, these issues developed in a piecemeal fashion over several years and, therefore, are unduly complex...

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (3 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: This group of amendments is all about the undue medicalisation and pathologising of transgender persons, which we were critical of on Second Stage and today. As others have done, I urge the Minister of State to accept the spirit in which these amendments were moved. I wish to speak on amendment No. 13, tabled by my colleague, Senator Marie Moloney, which I fully support. To delete the...

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (3 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I am sorry I had to leave to attend a meeting of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, but I listened carefully to the debate before and after I left. Some substantive and eloquent points were made, as the Minister has acknowledged, and moving experiences recounted. This is an area that is moving. I re-read the joint committee report, the pre-legislative stage, which was just in...