Results 7,241-7,260 of 11,695 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2014)

Ivana Bacik: -----has made clear her commitment to the scheme, as has the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2014)

Ivana Bacik: That should pre-empt the scaremongering in which people have been engaging in respect of this matter. Senator O'Donnell referred to the death of Dermot Healy, arts and education and sentencing. Like her, I was hugely impressed by the dignity shown and inspirational words spoken by the parents of a young German student who was murdered in Ireland and whose killer was recently sentenced. I...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Senator Daly raised a number of issues and called for a general debate on openness and transparency in a number of areas. If the Senator wishes to clarify tomorrow which Ministers he wishes to invite to the House to discuss which aspects of openness and transparency, we can arrange that. He raised, in particular, the issue of appointments to State boards. As Senator Coghlan pointed out,...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Departments will continue on their websites to invite expressions of interest in vacancies on the boards of bodies under their aegis. This process has increased the pool of available talent. A number of Departments have already made progress in this area. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, for example, has made a number of appointments to transport boards that came in via the...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Let me clarify the position for the Senator. The draft regulations are to be referred to the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. That is all that is proposed in the motion.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2014)

Ivana Bacik: The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the draft Protection of Young Persons (Employment) (Exclusion of Workers in the Fishing and Shipping Sectors) Regulations 2014, to be taken without debate at the conclusion of the Order of Business; No. 2, motion regarding the proposed opt-in to Regulation (EU) No. 603/2013 on the establishment of Eurodac, to be taken without debate at the...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I propose a suspension until 11.45 a.m.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I will first respond to Senator Darragh O'Brien who raised the issue of adult mental health services and the publication of the inspector's annual report for 2013. I raised the issue on the Order of Business on Tuesday and Senator Gilroy has also raised it again today. We all asked for a debate and I support the Senator's call for a debate. I cannot accept the amendment to have the...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I take issue with some of the words Senator Darragh O'Brien used. He used words such as incompetence in respect of the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, which is most unfair. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has been one of the most reactive and proactive Ministers. She has secured ring fencing for funding for mental health services.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Let us not forget that she is implementing a policy that has cross-party support - a previous Government's policy in A Vision for Change, which is a policy to close the big residential facilities and move to smaller facilities. The report, as I said this week, exposes inconsistencies in standards and certainly it is cause for concern and it would be good to have a debate on it. However,...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: The Order of Business is No. 1, Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2014 - Second Stage, to be taken at 11.45 a.m. with the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and all other Senators not to exceed five minutes.

Seanad: Child Protection: Motion (25 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I thank all my colleagues for their support and the Minister of State for taking the motion and responding so positively to it. As I said earlier, it is an historic debate. It is the first time either House of the Oireachtas has debated the issue of forced marriage or child marriage. I thank all those who contributed. Senator van Turnhout really eloquently placed this motion in the...

Seanad: Child Protection: Motion (25 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I move: That Seanad Éireann: - notes the need to ensure adequate protection of children and of children’s rights in our laws, and in particular to ensure that children are not coerced or forced into 'arranged' marriages; - notes that sections 31 and 33 of the Family Law Act 1995 allow exemptions from the normal rule that parties to a legal marriage must be over 18; and that the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: The Benefits of e-Conveyancing: Discussion (25 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: It is of interest to us as an Oireachtas committee. Most of the time people or entities that come to us are looking for changes in the law. What is required in this case is more a facilitative than a prescriptive environment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: The Benefits of e-Conveyancing: Discussion (25 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I thank Mr. Dorgan for his very helpful clarification that what is proposed is not in fact a major change but a change in process rather than substance. I have one follow-up question, if I may. Given that contracts require to be witnessed in writing, which is currently a major part of conveyancing transactions, how will this issue be addressed?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: The Benefits of e-Conveyancing: Discussion (25 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I apologise for arriving a little late. The witnesses made a strong case for the benefits to consumers and all stakeholders, including Government, of e-conveyancing. A great deal of work has been done and we have heard about buy-in, albeit less buy-in on the part of some parties. What is the next step to further the project? From some of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Justice and Home Affairs Council: Discussion (25 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: My other question concerned the European public prosecutor's office, EPPO. I know we have considered this and issued a reasoned opinion. I know that there is more information in the fuller briefing about the Minister's point that the collegiate model we seem to be moving towards would be more conducive to Irish participation than the original hierarchical command and control structure the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Justice and Home Affairs Council: Discussion (25 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I thank the Chairman for suspending the meeting. That was kind. I welcome the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald. She has been in the Seanad already several times since her appointment as Minister but this is her first time before the committee, and I welcome her here and wish her the very best of luck. I thank the Minister for the comprehensive briefing on the Justice and Home Affairs Council...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I am sure that others will wish to join with me in paying tribute to Gerry Conlon whose death occurred last Saturday, 21 June. He was one of the Guildford Four, released from imprisonment in Britain in 1989, and spent the rest of his life campaigning for other victims of miscarriages of justice. Many of us were impressed by his work over the years. I wish to express my sympathy to his...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motion (19 Jun 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the opportunity to speak on the review of section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009. Let us be clear about what section 8 does. It provides that certain offences under Part 7 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 - offences specifically dealing with organised crime under sections 71(a), 72, 73 and 76 - would be regarded as scheduled offences and that, therefore, the DPP...