Results 5,881-5,900 of 11,881 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to defer consideration of the resumed Committee Stage of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill. Anyone who was in the Chamber last night or who was observing the debate would have been struck by the extraordinary and somewhat farcical nature of the debate. Those of us who were engaged in putting amendments in good faith – I have...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: Precisely.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: I am pressing the amendment.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 5:In page 8, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following:"(3) A person is employed in the service of the State if he or she is- (a) a member of the Garda Síochána, (b) a member of the Defence Forces, or (c) a civil servant in the Civil Service of the Government or the Civil Service of the State.".

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: No, it is not agreed. My amendment is amendment No. 7 and while I see that amendments Nos. 6 and 110 are very closely related and see the reason for the grouping, I would prefer my amendment No. 7 to be dealt with separately because it is not so closely associated. I do not know what the view of Senator McDowell is.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: Thank you.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: Based on the voting pattern on the amendments we have put this afternoon, it is valid to ask the Minister if he is open to accepting any amendments. Amendment No. 5 in my name, which we debated last night, was a constructive technical amendment seeking to clarify a definition. I had not anticipated there would have been any difficulty with other parties supporting it. I was somewhat...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: Thrilled.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 7:In page 9, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following:"Obligation to uphold judicial independence 7. (1) The Public Appointments Service and the Commission and their members—(a) shall, in performing their functions under and in connection with this Act, uphold judicial independence, (b) shall not, in connection with the performance of those functions,...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: I believed I was not to contribute until after the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: I will just wait for the Minister of State.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: I am not in the business of wasting the time of the House. It is unfortunate that the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, was not in a position to respond personally on the very interesting and considered debate we have had on amendment No. 7.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: We are adjourning the debate in an hour in order to take Private Members' business.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State. It is unfortunate, given the way in which this Bill has been debated, that the Minister was not in a position to respond personally to the debate. I asked the Minister when we would see the GRECO report. We debated at length last night the context to this Bill and the issues it purports to address. I read into the record of the House certain paragraphs of...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: We can trade GRECO reports.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: The most up-to-date GRECO report of May 2018 refers specifically to the current proposals for reform from the Government.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: It is undeniable that GRECO has sought reform.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: I would be the first to say that we need reform. I have always stood for reform. I did a report some years ago seeking reform of the judicial appointments process, at which time I did a good deal of research on the need for change to the process to ensure, in particular, a better gender balance on the Judiciary. I have no difficulty with reform and will be pressing for it. The excerpts...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: Nobody is scoring any points by pointing out that GRECO sought reform of the current process. We are all aware of that.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Ivana Bacik: I will clarify the matter. I sought the degrouping of amendment No. 7 from the original grouping of amendments Nos. 6, 7 and 110. It seemed to me that amendment was different, which I think Senator McDowell accepted. Amendments Nos. 6 and 110 are Senator McDowell's amendments and they were dealt with earlier. We are now considering amendment No. 7 on its own because it is a specific amendment.