Results 3,321-3,340 of 11,469 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of Government Decision Following Expert Group Report into Matters Relating to A, B and C v. Ireland (10 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: As a non-member of the committee who has played an active role in the proceedings over the past three days I thank the Chairman for his impeccable chairmanship of the meetings. I also thank the staff of the joint committee, as well as the members, for allowing us non-members also to have input. In addition, I of course thank the witnesses who have given us such insight over the three days....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I thank our guests for their presentation and the broader submission they provided. The submission refers to a 2010 evaluation of the Swedish model which indicates that issues such as the indoor sex trade and technology such as mobile telephones are being targeted by the Swedish police. A delegation from the joint committee visited Sweden in November to find out a little more about the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I thank Dr. Whitaker for her evidence.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I will be brief. A number of us heard Dr. Whitaker’s presentation previously at the Department of Justice and Equality conference and we have been immersed in the topic for some time. I disagree with Dr. Whitaker’s analysis of the Swedish law. Having read the recent analysis and having visited Sweden and spoken to many of the stakeholders, we have seen strong results in terms...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: To be clear, the 1993 Act defines and prohibits soliciting for the purpose of buying or selling, which is the criminal offence. In effect, the client is now criminalised.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: Both buyer and seller are criminalised.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: No.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: There is no evidence of that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: The number of convictions for trafficking have increased, which is a good thing.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: As I did not have an opportunity to do so yesterday, I would like to extend my condolences to the family of the late Shane McEntee and to our colleague, Senator Clune, on the sad loss of her mother. On another note, I compliment the Leader and the staff of the Seanad on the excellent hearings held in this Chamber in the first week of January by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and...

Seanad: Community Development: Motion (Resumed) (23 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, whose presence we really appreciate because it has been difficult to get a Minister. I am conscious that there are a number of Ministers away. This motion falls between the Department of Justice and Equality and the Department of the Environment, Community Local Government so we appreciate the Minister of State's presence very much. My...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I thank Dr. Freedman. I have discussed this with him before and I do not accept quite a number of his basic premises, particularly the idea that because prostitution has always existed in society we should somehow be persuaded against criminalising the purchase of sex. All sorts of human behaviour has been around for a long time but it does not stop us from seeking to regulate, restrict or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I am curious to know whether Dr. Freedman approves of the idea of decriminalising the sale of sex. We are looking at the Swedish model. Some of us visited Sweden, saw it in operation and spoke to many of the stakeholders. We were very impressed by it. We were impressed not only by the enormous benefit it has provided to former sex workers, who had been the sellers of sex, but also to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I thank Ms Stapleton for her presentation and I apologise as I should have thanked Dr. Freedman also. We are particularly interested in the experience in Limerick, where there has been a recent targeting of clients by the Garda. While Ms Stapleton said that had no effect on indoor prostitution, has it had an effect on on-street prostitution? Has it had the effect of driving prostitution...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: We heard from previous groups and witnesses who appeared before the committee about the blurred line between trafficking and prostitution, which is hard to establish - everyone is agreed on that - and the question of whether somebody has been trafficked, or exploited but not quite to the point of being illegally trafficked. I note Ms Stapleton said that 90% of the women working in street...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I was struck by Ms Latham's point that Ireland has a sizeable sex market led by Irish men's demands but serviced by migrant, impoverished women. This sums up the harms Ms Latham has observed in her clinical practice. I am also interested in her point that it is not a case of either/or. Clearly support needs to be given to exit strategies and routes out, whatever legal model for the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Review of Legislation on Prostitution: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: My apologies for having to leave shortly to attend the Chamber. I thank the delegates for the presentation and pay tribute to the work of the Gay Men's Health Service and the Gay Health Network in tackling homophobia and discrimination against people with HIV. It is important to make that point. I will focus on legislation and the approach to take. I am reminded that some people have...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I join Senator MacSharry in wishing our Special Olympics athletes well. That is an important message to send. It is hard to take lectures from Fianna Fáil on cronyism. On a more collegiate note, I thank colleagues for the positive and thoughtful debate in the House last night on the Labour Private Members' motion on measures to improve quality of life in local communities. While a large...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: It is being rolled out.

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Mr. Gay Mitchell, MEP (24 Jan 2013)

Ivana Bacik: That is an admission.