Results 6,561-6,580 of 11,422 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Business of Seanad (11 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I propose that the House suspend until 12.15 p.m. because the Minister for Health is not available until then. We did not anticipate concluding the Order of Business so swiftly.

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister. Like other Senators, I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I note the very speedy way it has been brought before us in light of yesterday's Court of Appeal judgment. As the Minister said, the possibility of the outcome of the judgement had been anticipated and the Department had planned for in by preparing the Bill. This is commendable and, as Senator...

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Now.

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2015: Motion for Earlier Signature (11 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I move: That pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2015 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to her.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Conveyancing Survey Results January 2015: Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (11 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I apologise for my late arrival. I welcome our guests and thank them for their most interesting presentation. Other members touched on the issue of e-conveyancing. This is a matter of concern for the committee. Representatives of the Law Society of Ireland came before us to discuss it and, like our guests, we are all very supportive of the move towards e-conveyancing. I am interested...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Conveyancing Survey Results January 2015: Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (11 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Yes. Like the Chairman, I wonder what is causing the delay. We tried to assist in speeding up the process by inviting representatives of the Irish Banking Federation to come before us to discuss matters.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Conveyancing Survey Results January 2015: Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (11 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Point taken. I thank Mr. Davitt for his reply.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Conveyancing Survey Results January 2015: Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (11 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: We should certainly consider how we might exert some influence on the Property Registration Authority.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I congratulate all those involved in the launch of the Yes Equality civil society campaign in Dublin yesterday. It was a very successful campaign and a large number of people turned out from various organisations and NGOs, all of whom combined under the Yes Equality banner. It is ten and half weeks until the referendum on 22 May. The launch was a very positive sign of a very strong and, I...

Seanad: Report of British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly on Cross-Border Police Co-operation and Illicit Trade: Statements (10 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also welcome the opportunity to debate the report of BIPA's Committee A. I am standing in at short notice for a colleague. Unfortunately, Senator Moran is unwell. She is our representative in BIPA and has a strong interest in this issue. I echo the comments of other colleagues on the necessity of ensuring a cross-Border approach to tackling...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome yesterday's news of a further drop in unemployment figures. The unemployment rate is now down to 10.1%, a dramatic fall over a number of years from the crisis peak of 15.1% when Fianna Fáil presided over the economic crash. This sustained fall in unemployment is very welcome. We have had a number of debates in this House on job creation but I ask that we have a further...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (5 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I support the amendment but on Second Stage I made reference to the need to ensure no downgrading or deprioritising of the functions of the Equality Tribunal. I expressed a concern over whether the new commission would retain all the expertise that had been so painstakingly built up among staff at the Equality Tribunal and I was given assurances about that on Second Stage.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I have also asked a number of times for a debate on child care and we should have one in this House. It would be best if we waited until we received the report commissioned by the Minister, Deputy Reilly, on the best mechanism to provide affordable child care. Senators may not be aware that the Minister has commissioned an expert group to report to him on this by the start of the summer on...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I did not interrupt the Senator. Generally, this is not done through the classroom and certainly not through teachers, as that would not be appropriate.Parents would support teachers in calling for such care to be provided generally through parents' associations, in rooms or buildings adjacent to or part of a school's complex but not in the classroom, and with outside child care workers...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I ask for a debate on educational reform in the context of the ongoing talks on the junior cycle. I regret that there has been a failure to make further progress in those talks. Everyone, and certainly every parent, is agreed on the need to ensure greater emphasis on continuous assessment, to have an alternative approach to the old rote learning method that all of us would have been...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Spent Convictions Legislation (3 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister to the House. I support my colleague, Senator Mulcahy, in his request. I was part of the justice committee he mentioned, and I was present when he made his powerful contribution. I am very glad to hear, as I know he is, about the good news on the Istanbul Convention, which is a serious issue for non-governmental organisations and so on. Everyone will be very glad to...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Spent Convictions Legislation (3 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Report Stage is ordered but it has not commenced Report Stage. I have been approached by quite a number of individuals, as I know have other colleagues, in particular my colleague, Senator John Kelly, who are very much disadvantaged by the failure to enact legislation on this because as we know, having a criminal record can present obstacles to employment, education or training, insurance,...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Spent Convictions Legislation (3 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I am grateful to the Minister for her comprehensive response. I was aware of the T case. Indeed, at the seminar with the Irish Penal Reform Trust, we discussed the case and its implications and we were conscious that the legislation would need to be reviewed in the context of that judgment. All of us would appreciate that. It was merely the length of time it had taken. I am grateful to...