Results 7,201-7,220 of 11,469 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

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

Ivana Bacik: After the Easter recess.

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 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?

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

Ivana Bacik: I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive response and for outlining what the Department has been doing. As the proposer of the Bill I am more frustrated than anybody else in the House after a 13-month delay since Second Stage. I have been working very hard behind the scenes to try to move the Bill along.

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

Ivana Bacik: I just want to put that on the record that it is hugely important that we move it on. It is also hugely important that it is robust enough to survive and not to be referred by the President, under Article 26 of the Constitution, before anyone has the chance to challenge it because people need certainty. I know Senator Norris is more sanguine than most about being involved in litigation but...

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

Ivana Bacik: Certainly, it would be of assistance to all of us if not for Committee Stage, at the very least before Report Stage, that we would have it. We should all seek to ensure that Committee Stage is concluded next week so we can move this on. We also need to be clear about the knock-on effect that the Seanad processes have in terms of expediting and speeding up the process behind the scenes in...

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

Ivana Bacik: On a point of order, in fairness the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, outlined the timeframe.

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

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State. I also welcome the members of GLEN and the representatives from Labour LGBT who are in the Gallery. Both have been very active on this issue and in seeking legislation such as that before the House. As the person who brought forward this Bill 12 months ago, I am delighted the Government allowed it to pass Second Stage and that it is now facilitating...

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

Ivana Bacik: Many people have said that over the years. I always welcome prayers, from those of any religion or none. It might be worth reviewing the employment equality legislation in order that we might discover how we might better define the grounds involved. I do not believe that such a review should delay the progress of the Bill. I remind everyone that all the Bill seeks to do is amend section...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: Anyone who watched the recent "Prime Time Investigates" documentary on the ambulance service would have great concerns about inefficiencies in our ambulance service nationally and would be convinced of the need to ensure the best service is available to patients across the country. That is hugely important. Whatever is the best mechanism for delivering that service is the important point....

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...

Seanad: Fines (Payment and Recovery) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (8 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I commend the Minister of State and his officials on bringing forward this Bill. As Senator Barrett has noted and we all agree, the main purpose of the Bill is reduce substantially the number of people sent to prison for non-payment of fines. That number is still scandalously high despite the well-intentioned passage of the Fines Act 2010. Once this Bill is passed I envisage a broader...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the state visit of President Michael D. Higgins to Britain. I know Senators on all sides will be extremely proud of Uachtaráin na hÉireann today. The nature of the welcome extended to the President and the huge amounts of goodwill shown towards him on the streets of London and Windsor indicate that this is a genuinely good news story. There are two really positive...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Apr 2014)

Ivana Bacik: I did not interrupt the Senator.