Results 11,641-11,660 of 11,695 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2007)

Ivana Bacik: The Leader said yesterday, in the context of the drugs debate, that there is unanimity about the need for tougher measures and mandatory sentences. I do not believe there is. I do not believe mandatory sentences for drug and other offences serve a purpose in terms of rehabilitation. The three young mothers, whose cases were reported yesterday, were sentenced two days ago to long terms of...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Dec 2007)

Ivana Bacik: I support calls by Senator O'Toole and other Members for the release of Íngrid Betancourt. I raised this as a matter on the Adjournment in this Seanad's first week. The last official statement of Government policy was the answer given to me then by the Minister for Foreign Affairs on Ireland's calls for the release of Ms Betancourt. There is a cross-party consensus for the Government to...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Dec 2007)

Ivana Bacik: Will the Leader ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform for a debate on prisons policy? It is generally overlooked as the cliche is that there are no votes in prisons. People are locked up for long periods. Last night, three young mothers in Cork were locked up for long sentences. The question never asked is what purpose does this serve? While the Minister is proceeding on...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: As the only Senator in the Chamber from the University of Dublin panel, it is certainly news to me that I represent people of any particular religious ethos. As somebody who was brought up a Catholic and is now firmly lapsed and an atheist, I am very proud to represent people of all religions and none. I hope all Senators here feel the same way. It is dangerous to start talking about...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: On a point of order, the Leader misunderstood the point I raised. I was referring to structures to support these women.

Seanad: Report on Seanad Reform: Motion (28 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: I wish to share time with Senator Quinn.

Seanad: Report on Seanad Reform: Motion (28 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: I am pleased my name is appended to the amendment to the motion. I fully support calls for reform. The amendment goes further than the motion by calling for the publication of a timescale in respect of the implementation of the recommendations of the 2004 report. The Minister provided a concise summary of those recommendations. They received all-party support and members of Fine Gael, the...

Seanad: Report on Seanad Reform: Motion (28 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: I thank the Senator.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: What is clear from what has been said in the discussion about the health service and the current crisis in Portlaoise in cancer care is that, for the sake of the women and their families who are suffering terribly at this time, the key question that must be asked in this House and elsewhere is who is responsible.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: If nobody will take responsibility, why not? It is clear the Minister bears ultimate responsibility for a system which she set up and which appears to be responsible for failures in communication, diagnosis and treatment. If not the Minister, why has somebody lower down the hierarchy not resigned?

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: In Britain, the head of Revenue and Customs took the responsibility and resigned following an error of which he was clearly unaware. Nobody in the HSE, the Department of Health and Children, Portlaoise Hospital or anywhere else in the health care system has yet taken responsibility for the terrible situation in which these women find themselves. I renew my call for a debate on the...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: On 25 October I called for a debate on cockle fishing in the Waterford estuary and marine conservation. The Government parties rejected that call and voted against it but I was delighted that the Deputy Leader of the House, Senator Boyle, subsequently said the order I had criticised that allowed for cockle dredging in the estuary, thereby causing a great deal of damage to the marine...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: I am raising the matter on the Adjournment but I also call for a debate on the matter.

Seanad: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: I thank the Minister for coming to the House today and his presence here has solved a mystery for me. My question pertains to the universality of child benefit and initially I had addressed it to the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with responsibility for children, Deputy Brendan Smith, because neither I nor the groups on whose information I am working were clear...

Seanad: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: I wish to ask a supplemental question arising from the Minister's reply and I believe I am entitled to so do. Am I to understand that direct provision is made instead of child benefit in cases where direct provision is made to the children?

Seanad: Seafood Industry: Statements (21 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate and welcome the key findings of the Cawley report, notably the finding that the Irish seafood industry is an indigenous industry based on the utilisation of a renewable and highly prized natural resource. It was noted in the report that the industry is critical for the sustainable economic and social development of coastal communities...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: On this auspicious day for children's rights Senator Fitzgerald referred to the issue. On a related matter I ask that the Minister for Health and Children attend the House for a debate on the fact that the Government does not have child benefit as a universal benefit. The habitual residence condition deprives up to 3,000 of the most disadvantaged children in the State, and these are largely...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: I ask for a debate on public transport and alternatives to the use of private cars. This is timely on a day when thousands of commuters are stranded without bus services. I am sure we all hope the matter will be resolved at the Labour Court. However, it begs the question of broader issues about Government support for public transport and for forms of transport other than the private car....

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: ——especially on the quays where there have been a number of tragic deaths of cyclists. The fact that the Government has not seen fit to support cycling as an alternative form of transport to private cars is hugely problematic but there is also a lack of support for public transport which is evident in a report last week that integrated ticketing for bus, rail, DART and Luas services...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Nov 2007)

Ivana Bacik: It is relative poverty.