Results 11,281-11,300 of 11,872 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (13 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I am glad the Minister of State supports the principle that children are entitled to a loving family of whatever form. I should have declared an interest in that I am serving as junior counsel in the Zappone-Gilligan case, which has not yet been heard by the Supreme Court. This will be the first occasion on which this issue, namely the definition of marriage and whether marriage is confined...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (13 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 5: In page 17, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: "(4) In this Act, "special guardianship order" means an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child's "special guardian" (or special guardians). The Minister may prescribe procedures for the court to follow in making a "special guardianship order", in accordance with the following principles: (a)...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (13 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: In light of the Minister of State's comments, I will not press the amendment. I am glad the issue will be revisited. As I noted earlier, two expert reports have recommended the introduction of a special guardianship measure. I have only transposed some of the relevant provisions from English law as an example of what can be done. Clearly, much more detail would be required in respect of...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (13 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (13 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (13 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I support the comments of Senators Prendergast and Fitzgerald on this amendment. It is important that the dreadful state of uncertainty in which so many prospective adopters find themselves is resolved. I, too, am interested to hear what the Minister of State has to say in regard to the agreement with Vietnam and the situation with Russia. This issue was raised on Committee Stage when the...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (13 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 4: In page 17, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: "(4) In this Act, "married couple" means an opposite-sex or same-sex married couple or a couple who have entered a registered civil partnership with each other.". We debated this amendment at some length on Committee Stage so I do not propose to go back over that ground in detail. It is an important...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I support the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senators O'Toole and Fitzgerald. I thank Senators O'Toole and Hannigan for their good wishes and I am delighted to have been selected to stand for the Labour Party in Dublin Central. I will not say any more about the election.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: It is important to debate the treatment of children today. It is extraordinary that this Government has time to legislate for an outdated and dangerous offence of blasphemous libel-----

Seanad: Order of Business (6 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: -----and yet no time, apparently, to ensure the impasse between the HSE and the Ombudsman for Children is resolved and ensure the bilateral agreements for adoptions in Vietnam and Russia are resolved.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: We need to ensure this Government gets its priorities right and the treatment of children should be uppermost in our priorities. I support others who have called for those debates today. It is essential. I ask the Leader for a response to a question I have raised many times in this House regarding the Climate Protection Bill. It is another matter which should be a priority for the...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 May 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Gangland Crime: Statements (30 Apr 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I thank Senator Norris for sharing his time with me and I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I echo the words of Senator Norris in expressing sincere sympathy for the families of Roy Collins and, before that, Shane Geoghegan. Those two people in particular have in recent months come to symbolise the real problem that so many communities, not just in Limerick but around Ireland,...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Apr 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I support the call by my colleague, Senator Norris, for a debate on freedom of speech. I am glad he raised the issue of the blasphemous libel offence being suggested by the Minister. I raised the matter yesterday. It is very dangerous to talk about creating an offence of causing outrage to somebody on grounds of religion.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Apr 2009)

Ivana Bacik: There have been all sorts of difficulties in other countries where that has been done. It is very different from the careful legislation we have in place on incitement to hatred on racial grounds, although there have also been difficulties in prosecuting those offences. We must be careful about rushing willy-nilly to create offences in this way. I did not get a satisfactory answer yesterday...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2009)

Ivana Bacik: With the permission of the House, I wish to share time with Senator Quinn.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Everyone acknowledges that we are facing into an unprecedented economic crisis. The ESRI published a report earlier today which states that we are set for the sharpest fall in economic growth experienced by any industrialised country since the Great Depression. In light of this extraordinary and deeply depressing prognosis, we all acknowledge the need to make savings. I wish to be...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the idea that there will be a better targeted and more thoughtful way of providing child care support to parents. However, I am alarmed that payment will be made in the form of a capitation grant to child care providers who will then be expected to pass on the discount to parents. The Minister must provide more information in respect of this matter. To whom will the grant be...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Apr 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I support the amendment put forward by Senator O'Toole and seconded by Senator Alex White that we would have a debate on the economy today and, if necessary, defer some of the Stages of the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill until tomorrow. That is an important motion that we all should support in light of the very depressing and concerning news of the report from the ESRI. I ask those who...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Apr 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I join Senator Donohoe in congratulating my colleague, Senator Norris. I support Senator Norris in his call for a debate on the quality of our water supply. The Senator has exhorted us to wake up and smell the water. This may be all we should do as it is apparently unsafe for drinking given the levels of e.coli and so on. It is important we debate this issue. I also support Senator...