Results 6,941-6,960 of 11,695 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I wish to respond to something Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh said. Having review of the links between contaminated water and the carcinogenic effects on the population is a good idea. However, it is a different issue, one about which the Senator is clearly and rightly very passionate. I agree with him entirely and the debate on the amendment has been excellent. As I said on section...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (22 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister to the House. I have listened with great interest to what colleagues have said about this amendment because water safety and quality are matters of great concern. Some worrying and concerning points were made by colleagues about water quality in Connemara and Tralee and more generally by Senator Norris when he mentioned tainted water supplies. We are all very...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Is this relevant?

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I want to make a point briefly because I have already spoken on Second Stage on this topic, and we have been speaking on this for some time. Clearly, the idea of enshrining in law the principle of public ownership of Irish Water is hugely attractive to all of us, and we are all on the same side on this in this House. It is a question of how it is best done. Like others, I had another look...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Thanks, David.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister back to the House and thank him for his comments on the constructive debate the House normally has. I hope this debate will be equally constructive. Last night’s debate, in which I participated actively, about an electoral commission, on foot of a motion proposed by Senators Mac Conghail and van Turnhout, was excellent. I was glad the Minister accepted it and...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: To be fair, plenty of other Members have spoken without a script.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I thank the Acting Chairman.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: The Minister acknowledged it is not ideal that we are coming to the House so late in the term with this Bill. The lateness is due to the fact there were so many hours of debate, over 40, in the Dáil. The original timetable for the Bill in this House did allow for an earlier start. The Leader also made it clear we did not guillotine the Water Services (No. 2) Bill last time and, as...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Like the Minister, I am passionate in my belief for the need for Irish Water to remain in public ownership. I am glad to hear the Minister considered carefully the Seanad vote on a referendum on this issue, bringing it to the Government and the Attorney General for their consideration. A very tragic case currently before the courts regarding the eight amendment to the Constitution shows the...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the package agreed by the Government on 19 November and the water conservation grant. The new measures around payment allow for greater certainty and affordability. The original timescale for the creation of Irish Water was highly challenging and it was underestimated how much work would need to be done to ensure this utility would be up and running smoothly. We all acknowledge...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: The Senator has undergone some change anyway.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: The Senator should know all about the road to Damascus.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: The Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: In the circumstances, as-----

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I propose a suspension until 12.30 p.m.

Seanad: Tributes to Member of Staff (18 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: On behalf of the Labour group, I join the others in wishing Andy Fitzgerald well on his retirement and complimenting him on his long service. I echo the words of colleagues on the important work the ushers do in this House and their unfailing courtesy, good humour and calmness under pressure. These traits are a lesson to all of us in what can often be a very fractious working environment....

Seanad: Electoral Commission: Motion (17 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, to the Seanad. I very much welcome the motion tabled by our colleagues, Senators Mac Conghail and van Turnhout. It is an important motion that has given rise to a debate that has reinvigorated not only the Minister, Deputy Kelly, but all of us in this House. I certainly find it reinvigorating and stimulating to hear the interesting views...

Seanad: Electoral Commission: Motion (17 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: We will brush over that one. To give some context, an electoral commission is something about which there is a great deal of consensus. It was promised in the programme for Government in 2007 to 2012, as pointed out by Senator Mooney. The then Minister, John Gormley, commissioned the report that many of us have commented on and read. The Preliminary Study on the Establishment of an...

Seanad: Electoral Commission: Motion (17 Dec 2014)

Ivana Bacik: That is a function an electoral commission should capably be able to take over. The independence of an electoral commission would be key. Others have also commented on the Constitutional Convention, of which I was proud to be part. In May and June 2013 the convention debated the issue of Dáil reform and as part of that, considered the question of an electoral commission. There was a...