Results 10,941-10,960 of 11,695 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I am opposed to section 7. While either amendments No. 1 or No. 2 would go some way towards improving it, I am fundamentally opposed to the principle expressed in the section that a garda or former garda of any rank may give evidence as to the existence of a particular criminal organisation and that this evidence shall be admissible as expert evidence. As I explained earlier, this flies in...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I am speaking to the amendments. If we are going to go down the road of declaring people to be expert at the very least the persons concerned should be of a high enough rank in An Garda Síochána for their opinions to carry a certain weight. Even then, I am against the principle of section 7, in particular subsection (1) which seeks to insert a new section 71B. I see the Minister has a...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Is the Senator anticipating something?

Seanad: Northern Ireland: Statements (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: As the Independent group's nominee on the all-party Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, I appreciate the Taoiseach's kind words of acknowledgement of the work done by the committee's members. It is a privilege to sit on it alongside colleagues from Northern Ireland and I look forward to continuing to work on it to end the divisions that have scarred the island...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: On a point of order, there are also people on the Independent benches who wish to speak.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: The Minister should have introduced it sooner.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: The Bill does nothing for witnesses.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I wish to share time with Senator Quinn. I welcome the Minister. I declare an interest in that I am a barrister who practises in the area of criminal law and who has done some work in the Special Criminal Court. To respond to the Minister's speech, I have read the Bill in full. The Minister stated some individuals who had commented on it had not. Having read the Bill, I welcome the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: It is very difficult to see how a court will establish that in any proper way without going into the nature of the evidence. The gardaí have expressed some concerns that following cutbacks in the force and early retirements, the insertion of the "former" member may be recognition that many experienced gardaí will have retired by the time the Bill comes into effect. I accept that the...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I echo the words of Senator Coghlan and again call on the Leader to ensure we have a debate on the pharmacy issue with the Minister for Health and Children next week. I believe he has already promised and I would like him to confirm it. I also support Senator Ó Murchú's call for an all-party motion to be adopted in this House on the need for humanitarian relief to get through to the...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Fr. Russell says there is nothing there, it is just a tree and one cannot worship a tree.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Fr. Russell might be at risk of being found guilty of blasphemy since he is being critical, grossly abusive or insulting to people of a religion who seem to want to worship a tree. We should be mindful of the danger of introducing an offence like blasphemy in light of the sort of events that we are seeing in Rathkeale in Limerick.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] : Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Are we speaking on Senator Regan's amendment?

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] : Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I apologise for my confusion earlier, I thought we were dealing with the Seanad Report Stage amendments first. I welcome amendments Nos. 1 and 2 made by the Dáil providing for a review of the Act. Given the level of controversy about the content of the Bill, particularly the insertion of amendments Nos. 29 and 30 that cover the offence of blasphemy, it is important if that offence is to be...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] : Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: We will have the opportunity to debate them but I would like to say how bad an idea I think they are, particularly in light of the Supreme Court decision in the Corway case. At the very least, a review is important. I also take on board the comments of other Senators about the need to review other aspects of the Bill, particularly the unjust operation in the past of the rule about the...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] : Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Good.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] : Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Lisbon II.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] : Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: We have done nothing for ten years.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] : Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: On a point of order, the Minister states that he wants to keep this in the High Court. We are clearly talking about a criminal offence. Does he mean that this would be prosecuted in the Central Criminal Court?