Results 8,381-8,400 of 11,469 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: On a point of information, it is called demographics.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: I would never do that.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: That is not true.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2012)

Ivana Bacik: Like Senator Darragh O'Brien, I would like to have a debate on the Minister's plans for local government reform. However, I refute entirely the Senator's suggestion that the report is a sop to the Labour Party. This was agreed between the two coalition partners as part of the programme for Government. Proper local government reform is long overdue to ensure the system will be more...

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

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, to the House. It is a pleasure to have him back here in his new capacity as Minister of State and I am delighted to see him. I am sure, and I hope, he will be a regular visitor to the House. We also appreciate the presence of the Minister for Health for more than half of the debate and for responding directly and personally. It was...

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

Ivana Bacik: The document bears rereading because it is clear and unequivocal in its commitment to a radical reform of the health care system. It also clearly states that this is the first Government that will do that.

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

Ivana Bacik: Both Government parties had manifestos based on radical reform. The programme continues, "This Government" is committed to introducing "Universal Health Insurance with equal access to care for all." The programme acknowledges, as do Ministers, that reform will not be easy and will be a difficult process that will take a little time. It is a process that is well worth carrying out and has...

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

Ivana Bacik: There are three of us present in the Chamber.

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...