Results 10,421-10,440 of 11,489 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: We need him in here on a number of debates. A critical one is that to which Senator O'Toole referred, namely, the patronage of schools. Deputy Ruairí Quinn wrote an excellent article in yesterday's The Irish Times setting forth the Labour position, which seeks change in the system of patronage and recognises that it is no longer appropriate in today's multicultural Ireland. Senator...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: Do I have a professorial snout?

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: Even the possessor of a professorial snout.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I ask the Leader for a debate on cycling. I join with a previous speaker who commended the dublinbikes scheme which has been a resounding success. However, it is rather extraordinary to hear Fianna Fáil members attempting to claim credit for it, given that it was the initiative of Labour Party councillors, particularly Councillor Andrew Montague on Dublin City Council------

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: -----who brought about this scheme. It would be ridiculous for the Green Party to seek to claim credit for it, given it has no councillors on Dublin City Council. We should commend the dublinbikes scheme and I hope we see it extended and I congratulate Dublin City Council. It is notable that Senator Alex White and myself are the two Senators, to my knowledge, who cycle to Leinster House...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: -----but I am sure others do too. My apologies to Senator O'Malley. I also ask for a debate on the university sector. In the past week some issues of great concern which deserve more thorough and comprehensive debate in this House have been raised. I refer in particular to the announcement of the abolition of the National University of Ireland, NUI. This is a rather extraordinary...

Seanad: Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security: Motion (21 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: From which area?

Seanad: Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security: Motion (21 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I join other speakers in welcoming the Minister of State to the House and the opportunity to debate this motion. However, to be against an organisation called COSI seems like being against motherhood and apple pie. I do not believe anyone could speak too critically of an organisation called COSI, a particularly strange and perhaps inappropriate acronym which conjures up images of cosy...

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (20 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Áine Brady. She will be reporting on this debate to the Minister, Deputy Gormley, who had to leave. I am glad to be associated with this motion and to have joined Senators O'Toole and Norris in proposing it. I am glad the Government is supporting it, which is very important. The cause of Seanad reform is important and we need to debate it,...

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (20 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: Yes, there is my Private Member's Bill, the Climate Protection Bill. I thank Senator Norris. I was going to go on to speak of the immense contribution he has made in this area. His Civil Partnership Bill 2004, in which I played a small role-----

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (20 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: -----and which the Government did not adopt, will be accepted in years to come as paving the way for the Government's own civil partnership legislation. It also helped to shift the public debate. The Seanad's role in shifting public debate and changing public opinion is often not sufficiently acknowledged. The Seanad plays a vital role in this regard, one that the Dáil cannot play. I...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I join others in welcoming Senator Mooney to the House. I have not had the pleasure of working with him previously, given that I am a relatively new Senator, but I look forward to doing so in the future. I ask the Leader for a debate on overseas aid. It is a topic that is uppermost in many of our minds as we see the horrific effects of the dreadful earthquake in Haiti. It certainly put our...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jan 2010)

Ivana Bacik: We need to know the exact nature of the inquiry. When the Minister, Deputy Gormley, states he is satisfied with the shape of it, all we can conclude is that this inquiry is likely to be pear-shaped because it does not seem it is being put together with any sort of coherence. It reminds me of a quote in the US used famously in the 1960s - the rich get richer and the poor get prison. In the...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I call for a debate in the new year on issues arising from the Listowel rape case and I add my voice to those expressing criticism and disgust at the behaviour of those who lined up outside the courtroom to shake hands with the perpetrator of the rape. We must all condemn the parish priest concerned, Father Seán Sheehy, who provided a character reference in most inappropriate terms for the...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I note Senator Ó Brolcháin referred to the Green Party as having a strange connection with stag hunting.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I do not.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I support the Green Party's call for a ban on stag hunting, which is a barbaric practice. I am glad to see Green Party members standing firm on this. Senator Prendergast commented that they might wish to rename themselves "the stag party", although that is probably not worthy of following up.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I ask the Leader for a debate on the issue of stag hunting, which seems to raise passions. Before anyone accuses me of being involved in the urban-rural divide, I grew up in the country and remember people following the fox hunts on foot in Cork, so I know it can be part of a community. However, there are other ways of doing it, such as drag hunting and so on. It is important to remember...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Assuming the Bill passes, we need a debate on the impact the cutbacks are having, including the reductions in carer's benefit and jobseeker's allowance for young people. We need to know the impact this is having on young people in practice. I support calls for a debate on Gaza, which is an important issue on which there is cross-party consensus. Finally, I am glad to see legislation...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Just because there are sensitive and complex issues here does not mean we should not face up to our responsibilities as legislators and legislate. We have the report from the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction to guide us.