Results 7,941-7,960 of 11,433 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I pay tribute to Jimmy Walsh on the day we celebrate his long and successful career.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. That is very helpful. I am aware some colleagues paid tributes last Thursday and I was unable to do it.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: That is very appropriate. I thank the Leader for making that time available. All of us would appreciate that. I know Jimmy Walsh will appreciate it also. I am sure every Member will join me in expressing relief that an agreement has been made in resolving the issues in Cyprus. It is welcome that deposit holders who have deposits of less than ¤100,000 will no longer be levied in the way...

Seanad: Restorative Justice Process: Motion (20 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to the House and look forward to hearing her response to this debate. I commend Senator Martin Conway on his initiative in putting this important motion to the House. I also welcome the groups represented in the Visitors Gallery, who agree it is very important we debate this issue, particularly in the wake of the report of the National...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: The Minister for Finance will come to the House this afternoon on Second Stage of the Finance Bill. Colleagues will raise the very worrying situation in Cyprus. The decision by the Cypriot Parliament sets down a marker that the people of Cyprus will not stand for the levy on depositors which was proposed. Senator MacSharry has placed undue emphasis on the Government. While it chairs the...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: Senator Norris says it is less than 18% which is what I had heard too, contrary to reports which suggest that half of deposits were from Russian investors. In fact, it is less than 20%. In any case, the idea of a levy on depositors was a step too far and the risk of contagion too great. I hope we will see a renegotiation of the deal. I welcome the publication yesterday of a Bill to reform...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: Could I also wish colleagues a happy St. Patrick?s Day, given that it falls this weekend? I agree that it is important that our Ministers travel abroad to represent Ireland across the world to ensure that we can get the maximum benefit for this country in terms of tourism and support for the economy at this time. It should be a great weekend at home in terms of people travelling here and...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: -----and achieve Government support for them and thereby result in changes in the law that benefit society. That is most important. I ask the Leader if we could have a debate at some stage in the future on the incorporation of economic, social and cultural rights in the Constitution. I will speak later this morning at an event being organised by Amnesty International in conjunction with a...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Second Stage (13 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Second Stage (13 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Second Stage (13 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I thank all Senators for their kind works and for the unanimous support expressed for this Bill. I also thank Senator Moran for seconding it so eloquently and my other Labour Party colleague, Senator O'Keeffe, for her eloquent words. I thank Senator Barrett for outing me as an atheist preacher. That was a one off event in the Trinity College chapel. I would particularly like to thank the...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Second Stage (13 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: That would be a good way of moving on and it would not be unduly rushed. There were critiques of aspects of the Bill despite the overall welcome, particularly from Senator Zappone. There is a constraint not only in domestic law but also under EU Framework Directive 78/2000. Article 4 of the directive places constraints on how we can move forward on this, particularly the reference to...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Order for Second Stage (13 Mar 2013)

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

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Second Stage (13 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: It gives me great pleasure to introduce the Employment Equality (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2013. I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and thank her for taking the Bill on behalf of the Government. I also welcome to the Visitors Gallery representatives of many groups who have an interest in the Bill. They have campaigned for it for...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the initiative on mortgage arrears being announced today and which has been discussed in the media in recent days. It is undoubtedly a very pressing issue. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste have expressed concern over the past two years over the delays and lack of impetus in the banks in dealing with this. It is really welcome that the focus will be on owners of investment properties...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister. In the context of section 3, I raise the issue of the naming of the constituencies. My colleague, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, raised the issue of the renaming of Dublin South East as Dublin Bay South in the Dáil. I know the Minister gave him a full answer there but I thought it was worth raising it again in this House given that it is the constituency in which I...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I wish to raise an issue that has been in the newspapers recently concerning the heel prick test, which is the screening test operated by the HSE under what is known as the national newborn blood spot screening programme. It is a screening programme for six rare genetic diseases and more recently also for cystic fibrosis. The results of the heel prick tests on newborns are kept on Guthrie...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: I agree with Senator Norris. It is bureaucratic nonsense. Professor David McConnell, the Trinity College genetics professor, has likened the future destruction of the records to the modern equivalent of burning the Custom House or destroying the birth certificates of all born in Ireland.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: He said it would be a disaster and an appalling act of cultural and social vandalism because of the enormous value that the Guthrie cards can provide for future health programmes for the Irish people generally and to add to our knowledge and information about genetic conditions in the population. It does seem appalling that the cards are to be destroyed. The critical issue at this point is...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2013)

Ivana Bacik: It is in the common good, but it is also very much in the interests of their children and families that the cards would be retained. I have been asked by various people to raise the issue. It is a hugely important one that has been in the news but it is critical at this point that people would act. I congratulate the Trinity Jail Break team, a team of Trinity law students who have been...