Results 11,161-11,180 of 11,695 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: They clearly were, and they should not have done it. That will be a suitable rap on the knuckles. I wish to support the principle expressed in the amendments proposed for section 46 which concerns the power to summon witnesses. The section provides that the authority may examine on oath the witnesses attending before it. It should provide also that it could examine on affirmation rather...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: That answers the question.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 42: In page 41, subsection (2)(b)(i)(I), line 26, to delete "moral" and substitute "other". This is the critical section in Part 7 which relates to adoption orders in exceptional cases and the role of the High Court. Section 54 provides for the orders of the High Court authorising the adoption authority to make adoption orders for children whose parents fail in their...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I thank the Minister of State for his response. In a way, I do not have as much of an objection to the test in the context of parents who are not married to each other or where, for example, a birth mother gives up a child for adoption. It is right that the test should be extremely rigorous in order for the adoption authority to be able to dispense with the consent. Clearly that is...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I thank the Minister of State for his response. I believe he somewhat misunderstood the point Senators Alex White and Healy Eames and I made in terms of race, ethnicity, nationality and so on. There is very advanced literature on, and practice in, Britain, in particular, about the criteria to be taken into account in the placement of children with appropriate adoptive parents and all the...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I do not want to prolong the debate unnecessarily. I am glad the Minister of State has acknowledged there should be some amendment to the section. I agree that to include "if any" in the first line addresses the point I raised, which is that the section assumes everyone is of a particular religion. However, it does not really address the fundamental issue I have with the provision, which...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: The Minister of State could draft a similar amendment himself.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I would like clarification, as I did not hear the Minister of State's response to the question asked by Senator Alex White and I on whether section 32 applies to intercountry adoptions. The answer is unclear from reading section 20.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: That confirms our points. Is the Minister of State saying that the section applies to all intercountry adoptions?

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I would be grateful for that. I hope that the Minister of State will accept an amendment to the effect that adoptive parents might not have a religion. The section is nonsensical if it applies to intercountry adoptions, which form the bulk of adoptions. How can we presume that a child born in Vietnam to Vietnamese parents of the state religion will be of the same religion as the adoptive...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: We reserve the right to discuss it on Report Stage.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: During the debate on our amendments, amendments Nos. 3 and 20, Senator Norris and I stated that we would table a composite amendment on Report Stage. With this in mind, it is not proposed to press the amendment.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 21: In page 30, subsection (4)(a), line 26, to delete "21" and substitute "18". The age of 21 is inserted in section 33 as the youngest age at which a person may be considered as an adoptive parent in a domestic or intercountry adoption. It struck me as discriminatory towards younger people. I do not know why 18 years cannot be the age. In practice, it is unlikely that...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: The authority must be capable of ensuring that the adoptive parents are of the appropriate level of maturity, but 21 does not add much to 18. We believe that people of 18 years of age are mature enough to marry, vote, drive and do just about everything else. It is the general age of majority, although 17 is the age of consent. I do not know why we are discriminating for adoption. I can...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: While the amendment seeks to make a sensible change, I would be somewhat cautious about diluting the need for the authority to have regard always to the welfare of the child as being first and paramount. I have a slight concern, particularly in respect of amendment No. 24, that it implies a watering down of the tests required. I can see that the tests could be fulfilled much more quickly in...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: It is a much more sensitive and sensible way of doing it than that proposed by section 32. Moreover, it strikes me that this provision conflicts with section 32. If the authority must have regard to ethnic, religious and cultural background while also operating within a presumption that the child is best served by being placed with someone of the same religion as his or her birth mother, it...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Like other Members, I have received useful information from the International Adoption Association about the delays experienced by prospective adopters. We all agree that standards in terms of assessment for suitability for adoption must not be diluted. It must always be the case that any procedure has regard to the welfare of the child as its paramount consideration. The Bill envisages...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 8: In page 23, subsection (5), line 7, to delete "refuses to" and substitute "does not". I am glad to have this opportunity to address the House on this group of amendments because, effectively, they all seek to achieve the same objective. As the Minister of State said, section 18 provides for circumstances where the father cannot be located or the authority does not...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I am grateful to the Minister of State for indicating willingness to consider the matter and I will certainly not press it at this stage. I look forward to some constructive proposals on Report Stage. I would be very grateful if the term "refuses to" was removed as it is perhaps the most loaded term. I am grateful to my colleagues, Senators Quinn and Healy Eames for their support. I note...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I oppose this amendment which is not helpful. Section 19, as drafted, very importantly regards the welfare of the child as the first and paramount consideration, which is in keeping with our international obligations in terms of the rights of the child. To start to qualify or dilute that by creating presumptions would be unhelpful. Senator Alex White already referred to the baby Ann case....