Results 8,361-8,380 of 11,441 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Primary Care Centres: Motion (10 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: It is just as well because there are so few Fianna Fáil Members present.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: Let the Leader reply - "chillax".

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: True.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: The Senator is easily excited.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: Listening to Senator Mac Sharry, I was struck that he might have kept his powder dry for a little later in the day given that the Minister for Health will be in the House from about lunchtime onwards. The Senator might have saved his points for the Minister.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: I am sure the Senator will have. I welcome the really good news from the Kerry Group yesterday and I join with others in congratulating the group on the announcement of 900 jobs in the immediate future. It is a reminder of the strength of the agrifood sector and it is a really good boost for public morale as well as for the economy. I join with colleagues who called for a debate on the...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: I echo the words of many colleagues last Thursday in welcoming the reforms to the junior certificate programme announced by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. They are genuinely groundbreaking and will improve the educational experience of thousands of pupils. We will have a debate in the House with the Minister in the coming weeks during which I am sure we will be...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: I apologise for arriving late to the Chamber. I welcome the Minister to the House. Following our really good debate on Second Stage of this Bill, I welcome this amendment. We spoke on Second Stage about the importance of having Oireachtas supervision of appointments such as this. I mentioned at the time the proposed merged Human Rights and Equality Authority on which we had hearings...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: I support the current wording and the use of "may". When one reads the entire section, one sees there are quite a number of provisos in terms of when the Ombudsman "may" investigate or "shall not investigate unless" and so on. To include "shall" as suggested by this amendment would be unduly prescriptive in terms of the Ombudsman's powers. We are debating three amendments together....

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: Yesterday, I should have formally congratulated Senator Aideen Hayden, who is taking over as the new Labour Party Whip. I thank Senator Susan O'Keeffe, the outgoing Labour Party Whip, and commend her for all the work she has done. I wish Senator Hayden well in her new role. I know that other Members of the House have spoken on this issue and thank Senator Wilson, in particular, for his...

Seanad: Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (3 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: Senator Mullen in his response to the Minister on the net point referred to his view that "prejudicially affected" is not enough without the inclusion of the words ?and significantly?. The important response to that is that the provision must be interpreted holistically, that "prejudicially affected" must be read in the context of the entire sentence, "where the parents ... fail in their...

Seanad: Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (3 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: This is a valuable debate to have. I thank Senator Mullen for tabling the amendment because it enables us to tease out, as Senator van Turnhout has done, the entire wording of the provision, just to reassure ourselves that the appropriate balance we all seek to make is met. I am reminded of Mrs. Justice Denham?s words in the PKU case, where the authority of the parents was recognised by the...

Seanad: Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (3 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: On Second Stage a number of Senators spoke about the merits of the wording presented in the Bill and, in particular, how it would guarantee greater equality among children, particularly those from marital families who heretofore were not capable of being adopted in the same way as those from non-marital families. I appreciate the principle of inserting a reference to equality. The Irish...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: I notice there are four Fianna Fáil Members present.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: That is nonsense.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: It is interesting to hear Senator Byrne speak about guff since he is a master of the art of guff. I have made my comment on the record last week in this House on former Minister of State, Róisín Shortall. I stand over that. A number of other Labour Party Senators made comments in this House also. It is interesting that Senator Byrne chose to single out the Labour Party as if this was a...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: To hear the Senator singling out the Labour Party for a particular attack is ironic.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: It is very hard to take an attack such as that from Senator Byrne.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: In terms of Senator Byrne?s request to have the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, come to the House, I am sure the Leader will deal with it. I hope we will see the Minister of State in the House. We should all welcome him and his appointment, in particular as he has a distinguished record in this House as leader of the Labour Party group in the previous Seanad term prior to February...

Seanad: Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012: Second Stage (2 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister back to the House. It is always a pleasure to have her present. I know her personal commitment to the issue as well as her political commitment in her role as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. From the time she was in the House as Leader of the Opposition when I was first elected I know she has had a long-standing commitment to improving children?s rights and...