Results 6,621-6,640 of 11,469 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

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...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Given that Fianna Fáil presided over lengthy waiting lists, disastrous initiatives in the health service, including the establishment of the HSE-----

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: -----and the long and quietly shelved project that Fianna Fáil would prefer everyone forgot about.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: The project was co-location which Fianna Fáil has tried to forget about.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: It is interesting to note the selective memories of Fianna Fáil people when they speak about health matters.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the announcement made today by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform that a forum will be established by the summer that will look at tax, pay and spending priorities. It will involve stakeholders and representatives of unions, employers and so on. This is a welcome development. It is part of a process being embarked upon by the Government, following the spring statement...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the establishment of the low pay commission, which will have its first meeting today. I am sure everyone will wish to join with me in wishing chairperson Dr. Donal de Buitléir and the eight commissioners the very best of luck in the hugely important work they will be doing. The Tánaiste spoke about the 95,000 new jobs created since the depths of the crisis and said that...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Let us not forget who has the commitment to ensuring that low pay is tackled in an evidence-based and effective manner. I welcome the immense personal commitment of the Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Ged Nash, to the low pay commission. We should all wish them well for their first meeting today.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I also welcome the announcement that the Department of Health is bringing forward legislation on assisted human reproduction and surrogacy.Undoubtedly, it has been some time in development. Last year, the justice committee held pre-legislative hearings on a different version of the Children and Family Relationships Bill that also encapsulated provisions on surrogacy. The latter will be...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (26 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. During the debate on Second Stage, I spoke on the tripartite ombudsman and referred to the recommendation of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, which was that consideration be given to changing the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, from a three-person institution to a single Garda Síochána...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (26 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: Again, this was an issue that I raised on Second Stage and as the Senator noted, it also was recommended by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality that permission to access the PULSE system by GSOC be placed on a statutory footing. The joint committee considered that access to PULSE would be of integral importance to the operation of effective oversight of An Garda...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I join Senator O’Brien in congratulating the Irish cricket team, which has been doing so well. We would all like to join in the congratulations. I suspect Senator O’Brien is on a sticky wicket when he tries to look for additional funds for Malahide Cricket Club.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: It is a beautiful cricket club. I am joking. I do not think the Senator is on a sticky wicket. I welcome good news from the quarterly Central Statistics Office, CSO, household survey figures this morning which show a strong increase in employment. An article by Deputy Joanna Tuffy in The Irish Timestoday points out this Government’s record on job creation has been well ahead of the...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Ivana Bacik: I support the Minister. I appreciate where the Senators are coming from. Anyone involved in litigation will be aware of delays and the need to try to address this issue. Senator Craughwell referred to a High Court judge making orders. The difficulty in this context is that the amendments seek to give case resolution officers powers that are inappropriate.I know the Senator said this would...