Ivana Bacik

Order of Business:

Senator Ivana Bacik:  I join with other colleagues in congratulating Senator Norris on the launch of his archive. I attended the event yesterday, which was a great occasion.

I wish to raise two issues on which we have held debates before and which I hope may be debated this week. The first is a motion seeking the release of Íngrid Betancourt, which I believe has all-party agreement in the House. If it could be laid before the House this week we could agree it before Christmas. Íngrid Betancourt has been detained by FARC guerrillas in Colombia for some years and is facing into another long time in detention unless strenuous international efforts are made to secure her release. It is vital for us to play our part in that by putting this motion together and resolving it before Christmas.

I regret that the Climate Protection Bill I introduced in Private Members’ time on 3 October has not been given time for debate this week. I have had communications with the Deputy Leader and the Leader of the House about the matter. It is very disappointing especially for groups such as Friends of the Earth and the Stop Climate Chaos coalition which have been campaigning so hard for legislation on the issue. It is most disappointing, especially in the wake of the Bali talks, that the Bill cannot be given Government time this week as we were promised. When will we get Government time to debate that Bill? Colleagues will remember that 20,000 e-mails supporting the Bill were sent to us by individual members of non-governmental organisations.

I do not want to precipitate such a flood of e-mails again. However, there will be real concern among the groups supporting the Bill. We can blame the Leader and not me if that is the case.

Senator Ivana Bacik: We all saw the announcement in today’s newspapers that the European Commission will take legal action against the State over the failure to protect adequately sites of national heritage. This is in the context of the Hill of Tara and the fiasco of the motorway going through this national monument. It is timely to call for a debate on the lack of protection we give to our national monuments and our heritage generally and the failure by the previous Government to implement a proper plan for the protection of heritage in light of the closure of Dúchas.

Senator Quinn called for a debate on parenting and marriage. Research on parenting in Trinity College and elsewhere shows what matters is the quality of the parenting and not the legal bond or otherwise between the parents, be they same sex or opposite sex couples or single parents. It is not the case that married parents are better parents.

I have introduced a Private Members bill, the climate protection bill 2007 – which if passed would commit this and future governments to make specified annual reductions in carbon emissions. The Bill was debated on 3rd October 2007, debate was adjourned and it will be debated further. The Bill is supported by Friends of the Earth (Ireland) and the stop climate chaos coalition. For more information on these and other issues in which I have been involved, see the Oireachtas website, www.oireachtas.ie. For more information on the Climate Protection Bill, see the Friends of the Earth website, www.foe.ie