Results 341-360 of 10,683 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I am very heartened to hear the Minister of State say he is discussing this issue with the Parliamentary Counsel and in particular discussing whether further detail might be put into subsection (3) as to what should be included in an anti-social behaviour strategy. I note from the Minister of State's comments on the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords. He might note that I...

Seanad: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: Will the further provisions be introduced on Report Stage in the Seanad? If that is the case, I will not press the amendment. I would be grateful if the Minister of State could give some indication on this.

Seanad: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: In that case I will press the amendment.

Seanad: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 80: In page 35, subsection (5), between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: "(c) relevant residents, community and voluntary sector organisations,". This amendment seeks to insert a further list of groups with which there should be consultation by a local authority in the development of its anti-social behaviour strategy. There is already provision for consultation...

Seanad: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: There is not sufficient consultation provided for with local groups and relevant organisations. It is an important principle but I will not press the amendment at this stage. However, I reserve the right to do so on Report Stage.

Seanad: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I am grateful to Senator Burke for raising again the issue I raised in amendment No. 80. I have reserved my position on that and we may debate it again on Report Stage. It is an important principle that there would be consultation with local residents in the community, where appropriate, in drawing up an anti-social behaviour strategy. In general, regarding section 34 it is a shame the...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: It is up to individuals to decide.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I always get slightly alarmed when I hear people stating, "political correctness gone mad" because that has become such a cliché. Every year in the recent past I have heard people bemoaning the absence of cribs at Christmas. It does not appear to me as though any individuals, certainly not the new communities in Ireland, have been asking for cribs to be removed. Nobody has been asking for...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: It is up to individual businesses, organisations, agencies and families whether they want to have cribs. It is entirely a matter for them and I do not hear anyone demanding that a crib be removed from any place. As somebody who was brought up Catholic but is now an atheist, I am delighted to see how much celebration there is of Christmas and how much Christmas has become an inclusive event...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I do not see any sign of a reduction or dilution in the celebration of Christmas, far from it. We celebrate it far more openly and inclusively now than we did before. I support the words of Senator Norris on the Pamela Izevbekhai case. I wrote to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform asking him to consider allowing her to remain on humanitarian grounds with her young daughters....

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: The apparent leak from the immigrant authorities is very disturbing. All of us on both sides of the House would express concern at that. Pamela has received a great deal of support, not only from people on the Opposition side but also from the Government side. Is a cross-party motion possible in this case? We had one on the Ingrid Betancourt case and on other issues.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: As we are about to celebrate the 90th anniversary of women voting for the first time in this country and the 90th anniversary of the election of Constance Markievicz as the first woman to be elected to the Dáil and as an MP, I call for a debate on gender equality. We have a particularly poor record of women's participation in the Oireachtas. With 13% in the Dáil, we rank at 87th...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: We could also examine the culture. When, 90 years after the election of Markievicz, we still provide in the Constitution that women's place is in the home, there would be cross-party support for removing that provision from the Constitution and changing our culture to make it more positive so that women would choose whether to enter public life, stay in the home or do both. We need to make...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I want to speak on this group of amendments. My amendment is No. 14, but clearly amendments Nos. 9, 11, 14, 15 and 16 all seek to do the same thing, which is to place as one of the charitable purposes in section 3(10) the advancement or promotion of human rights. It is an important principle that a purpose that is of benefit to the community should include the advancement of human rights....

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: Will the Minister of State explain why he is leaving this proposal out, given that there is such broad support for it with five different amendments all purporting to do the same? Will he justify why he is not accepting this amendment?

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: Like so many others I have welcomed this Bill. As I pointed out on Second Stage, it is much needed and the charitable sector does require regulation. For far too long, there has been inadequate regulation. The Revenue had to step in and take over a role for which it was not designed. As Senator Buttimer stated, most of the Bill's provisions are supported by the Opposition. This is an...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: Or the Attorney General, as I asked.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: I ask the Minister of State again for a specific response to my question. Does he have advice from the Attorney General on this issue and if the Attorney General has advised against including advancement of human rights in the Bill, what is the reason for that? We deserve to know that rather than having the formulaic answer that this is how it has always been.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: It does not quite sit, that is the point.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

Ivana Bacik: Did the Attorney General advise and, if so, what was the advice?