Results 4,261-4,280 of 11,469 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (9 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014: Discussion (9 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I thank the witnesses for their valuable contributions, which can be of great assistance to us in considering the heads of the Bill. It is good to hear a general welcome expressed for the long overdue introduction of these heads. I would like to acknowledge former Senator Mary Henry in the Visitors Gallery, who I know has done a lot of work on this issue over many years to try to bring...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014: Discussion (9 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I thank Dr. Wingfield for her comprehensive answer. Should we therefore be instituting some sort of arrangement in this Bill, whereby we can certify that a country from which a surrogate mother may be coming has appropriate protections in place, both for the surrogate mother and for any child born? That would be similar to the Hague convention on adoption. Would that not make sense in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014: Discussion (9 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I have one final point for One Family. I thank its representatives for their work on the child contact centres. Anybody with any experience in child law in the District and Circuit Courts would be aware of the need for this sort of arrangement. Is Ms Kiernan saying there should be some provisions specifically in the legislation for such contact centres? Head 58 reproduces the section 47...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014: Discussion (9 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I thank all the presenters for such valuable contributions. We also had a very good session this morning. It was good to hear the broad welcome expressed for this progressive legislation which will, finally, give us a legal structure for the regulation of existing diverse family structures.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014: Discussion (9 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: That is all I will say by way of introduction. With respect to the Chair, it was an important introduction because we are entering uncharted territory in that we do not have regulation currently. I direct my questions to Dr. Madden and the Equality Authority. Dr. Madden chaired the 2005 Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction, or contributed to it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014: Discussion (9 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I apologise. Work is being done but this is the Government's first attempt to regulate it. It is important we get it right and do not leave gaps. I note what Dr. Madden and others said about the need to ensure we do not have potential exploitation of surrogate mothers and that children born in surrogacy have their rights protected. A number of the issues have been addressed by presenters...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014: Discussion (9 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Yes. One issue that concerns me in particular is the issue of the penalties provided for in the legislation in heads 13 and 23 where some of the provisions, such as age restrictions, are not met. One of the penalties is that a declaration of parentage will not be made. That is a concern because it means the children will be penalised. What alternatives are there? There are criminal...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014: Discussion (9 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Should the provisions for penalties provided for in head 13, paragraphs (17) to (19), inclusive, be left out? Should they simply not be included?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014: Discussion (9 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I have a question for Mr. Merriman on that issue and on another issue he raised regarding adoption. He made a good point about the issue of a second parent adoption where a couple of civil partners adopts a child, for example. If one of the natural parents is not in the civil partnership, is it enough to say there are guardianship rights or should specific provision be made for two parties...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014: Discussion (9 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I have one other question on time limits for Ms Tinsley in respect of the six-month gap after surrogacy. A number of groups and individuals have identified this as a potential issue where the best interests of the child are not adequately protected if there is a six-month period where there are no legal parents. Earlier we examined of the issue of the surrogate mother and child being in a...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: On behalf of the Labour group I join with others in paying tribute to Jody Blake. We all wish her a very happy early retirement; I stress early as otherwise she would have had to be ten when starting. She served 23 years in the Seanad, as the Leader has said, which is a long sentence by any stretch and she definitely deserves to have a very happy life outside of here. We will all miss her...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: All that walking has gone to the Senator's head.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Like Senator Darragh O'Brien, I condemn the shooting that took place today outside a primary school in Ballymun in broad daylight. It is shocking to see another shooting carried out in such a brazen fashion. It deserves condemnation. We may seek a debate on crime and criminal justice, while recognising that legislation alone cannot prevent that kind of shooting from occurring. It would be...

Seanad: Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Bill 2013: Order for Second Stage (15 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I move: "That Second Stage be taken today."

Seanad: Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Bill 2013: Second Stage (15 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, to the House. I welcome the legislation. As I am standing in for our transport spokesperson I am speaking from a position where I knew very little about this area until I started to read up on the Bill. I was surprised by just how necessary the Bill is and the number of gaps in the current system in terms of maritime safety law. As Senator Ned...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I join the Cathaoirleach in welcoming the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Oisín Quinn, to the Gallery. He is here as a guest of Senator Barrett and it is good to see him. He might be one of our nearest residents, or one of the people who lives closest to Leinster House. Last night I was a guest of the Lord Mayor in the Mansion House. I attended an excellent event to celebrate the village of...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State to the House for the resumed debate on Committee Stage. I am glad that, in the interim, we have had the publication of the IHREC report on the issue of section 37(1) and how to address it in the context of the directive. I am glad the paper has been published and it is important to maintain the momentum. Maintaining momentum in the legislative process has a...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: We will agree to disagree on that.

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Yes.