Results 181-200 of 10,619 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (10 Jul 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I wish to echo what Senators Alex White and Eugene Regan have said. It is unfortunate we had to gallop through the legislation at such speed. It will be important for us to have more time to debate the issues relating to alcohol abuse, late night culture and so on in the autumn. I look forward to making a more substantial contribution then and to being listened to and having my...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Sep 2008)

Ivana Bacik: As all my colleagues have done, I wish to talk about the economy, particularly the momentous decision that was taken today. We are all relieved to see some decision being made on the current appalling state of the financial system. For too long there was a sense that no decisive action was being taken and that things were simply being let slip. While the Oireachtas was not sitting, it was...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Sep 2008)

Ivana Bacik: It is a relief that something has been done. However, I echo the concerns of others on this side of the House with regard to the lack of any apparent quid pro quo for the taxpayer in this bailout. We need to know the guarantees the State, the public and the taxpayer have regarding the enormous potential risk we are taking on. It seems that for too long we have privatised profit and now we...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I am also concerned with regard to the Bill we are being asked to debate tonight. There is a real lack of clarity regarding what the taxpayer is taking on in respect of the legislation. Anyone who watched "Prime Time" last night would have been left even more confused with regard to whether the banks are exposed to toxic debts — one commentator was strongly of the view that they are so...

Seanad: European Judicial Network in Civil and Commercial Matters: Motion (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: It is nice to witness such a mood of consensus. We are all agreed that this is a measure to be welcomed. Senator Regan and others have asked why this EU measure is up for debate in the House when other measures that are more deserving of debate have been passed through, as Senator O'Donovan has said, more or less on the nod. We should consider how the decision is made as to what EU...

Seanad: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Second Stage (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: Like previous speakers, I welcome the Minister of State to the House and express a broad welcome for the Bill and for the aim it expresses, which is to improve housing services and their delivery. I am sure all of us would be in agreement with the need to do that. However, there is an element of missed opportunity about this Bill and a number of areas in which the provisions of it could...

Seanad: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Second Stage (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: Threshold.

Seanad: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Second Stage (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: Is that Government policy?

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Second Stage (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I am grateful to Senator O'Toole for sharing time. I agree with the Senator that we share a unity of purpose and we all appreciate the necessity that the Government take decisive action to maintain confidence in the economy. Nevertheless, I will criticise the Bill, albeit in a constructive manner rather than for the sake of it. I am genuinely unhappy with many aspects of the Bill about...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I support this very important amendment. As the Minister said, part of the problem we now see is as a result of a disproportionate reward of excessive risk-taking by some bankers. I accept what he said that not all bankers were reckless. However, it is clear there were bankers who were reckless and who were disproportionately rewarded. That is politically unacceptable and, as Senator...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: This is all about corporate governance.

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: With respect to Senator Walsh, this is about corporate misgovernance. The Bill is and must be about corporate governance. What we have asked is that the Minister clarify the situation and include, perhaps in the scheme he will bring before the Houses, some conditions relating to chief executives and higher bank officials in terms of a cap on their salaries and expenses. This is a limited...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I support the amendment. If the Minister is not willing to accept it, he might consider putting something similar into the scheme he is presenting before the Houses. It seems eminently sensible to have some provision for review of salaries and bonuses paid to board members and senior officers of institutions which are seeking financial support under the Bill.

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: This amendment gets to the root of the problem some of us have with the Bill. The Minister has suggested we are obsessed with the assets and liabilities of the institutions. However, it is appropriate and responsible to examine the potential exposure of the taxpayer to liability under the Bill in the terms of the guarantee scheme proposed by the Minister. While we accept and all hope that...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I support this amendment which goes to the heart of providing a safeguard and an adequate degree of oversight to the guarantee the Bill provides. It would address some of the concerns we have with the legislation. The Minister has already indicated he would like to see a representative of the public interest appointed to the boards of institutions receiving financial support. Will he...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Committee Stage. (1 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: This is an important measure as, presumably, were financial support to be provided, this would be a matter of public record. Therefore, were financial support to be provided for an institution, it would be in the public domain. Consequently, it makes sense that if financial support is being provided for an institution, there should be a report, at least on a monthly basis.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: On a point of order, I referred yesterday to my Climate Protection Bill. However, I thank the Leader for returning to the matter today.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I apologise but yesterday I sought to have the debate on my Climate Protection Bill resumed.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: It is wonderful to hear Senator Mary White joining the ranks of the Opposition.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Oct 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I agree with Senator Mary White. The cost of child care is a subject very close to my own heart as a mother of two children, one of whom is just over two years and the other under two years. I hope she will vote with us the next time I or anyone else on this side of the House calls for a debate on child care.