Ivana Bacik

Senator Ivana Bacik: I support the request by my colleagues, Senators Norris and McCarthy, for a debate in this House on the Civil Partnership Bill. We should all support the Civil Union Bill which the Labour Party is to bring before the Dáil today but it should be also noted we have a Bill on the Order Paper for this House which deals with the same matter and which would also give a route to legal recognition for same-sex relationships. This is a matter in which Ireland lags behind other progressive countries and we urgently need that debate.

I also support Senators Buttimer, Twomey and Mary M. White in seeking a debate on child care. In examining the provision of child care, Ireland lags very badly behind other progressive and developed countries, as there is a lack of support for parents who work outside the home. I have raised this issue previously and we should consider it as part of an overall package of measures, including paid paternity and parental leave, which we do not yet have.

I note the National Women’s Council of Ireland, in its pre-budget submission launched last week, called for a package of measures to support parents who work outside the home in a variety of different ways, including a greater provision of child care and support for child-care facilities. The Irish Examiner report demonstrates the need for regulation of existing child-care facilities. That is a vital issue, particularly for parents who work outside the home.

I will mention the debate on crime sought last week. In particular, comments were made on the other side of the House about the need to introduce draconian measures to fight gangland crime. There were even calls to bring back internment. It is important we do not succumb to that sort of knee-jerk reaction to the appalling gangland murders we have seen in recent weeks.

Last week, the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill was rushed through because it was necessary to correct an inadvertent slip made in earlier criminal justice legislation rushed through without adequate debate. On the criminal justice side it is important we consider much more comprehensive and long-term measures to fight the spectre of organised crime in Ireland. Knee-jerk calls, such as for bringing back internment, are not the correct answer.

Senator Ivana Bacik: I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to enable the House to debate Private Members’ motion No. 30 on the Order Paper. The motion, which is proposed by me and seconded by my colleague, Senator Norris, is to annul the Cockle (Fisheries Management and Conservation Regulations) (Waterford Estuary) 2007. To give a little background, the regulations were signed by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in the summer and have been laid before the House. However, a provision in the enabling legislation allows either House of the Oireachtas to annul any regulations made under the relevant legislation provided the annulment is done within 21 sitting days. By my calculation, this is the 11th sitting day since the regulations were signed.

It relates to the Suir Estuary at Passage East, a special conservation area in County Waterford which many Senators will know. The regulation in question allows dredging for cockles within certain insufficiently restricted time periods. The national co-ordinator of Coastwatch Ireland, Karen Dubsky, has briefed me on the matter. Coastwatch Ireland has monitored the area and has found that enormous damage is being done to the seabed in the Waterford Estuary as a result of dredgers moving into the area on foot of this regulation and dredging up not only cockles but also other seabed life and matter. The practice is seriously damaging seabed life in the region and may be in breach of the Habitats Directive. If the Seanad agrees to annul the regulation, a more restrictive regulation could be introduced which, in keeping with European Union law, would prevent dredging for cockles in this manner.

I understand Ireland is out of line with other countries where dredging for cockles has been banned and cockle fishing is only allowed by hand. This does much less damage to the seabed, although it has resulted in cockles becoming very expensive. Virtually all cockles from Ireland are exported. The practice of dredging for cockles should not continue and the relevant regulation is too broad. I would be grateful if time were made available to debate the issue.

Senator Ivana Bacik: I support Senator O’Malley in her comments about CURA. The concern is that CURA is not co-operating with the Crisis Pregnancy Agency policy and that it is not providing women in crisis pregnancy with all the information on all the options available to them. I would be concerned that an organisation should receive State funding if it is not co-operating with an agreed body such as the CPA.

I also echo the comments by Senators O’Malley and Corrigan regarding the family. The calls made yesterday for debates on parenting may have missed the point. I have already called and I again reiterate a call on the Leader to institute a debate about how the Legislature can support parents through the provision of paid paternity leave to enable fathers to take time off from the workplace. It is a scandal that fathers have no right to paid paternity leave at present. It is also a scandal that we have such a poor provision of pre-school child care. As a Legislature we should be concerned about the quality of provision for children and the best interests of the child. I was very concerned at views expressed yesterday that showed a certain prejudice towards a particular type of parent, which is not helpful in a debate. We should consider what is in the best interests of the child, which is the quality of the parenting, and not who the parents are or the nature of their relationship and whether it is based on a legal bond. We should call for a debate on what the Legislature can do to support parents, be they single, married, same sex or opposite sex parents.

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.

Senator Ivana Bacik: Will the deputy leader consider holding a debate on abortion, a topic of ongoing concern, particularly to women? Politicians have ignored and overlooked the topic. Governments have failed to legislate for abortion, particularly to provide for the circumstances in which an abortion may be carried out in line with the Supreme Court judgment in the X case, whereby continuing a pregnancy poses a real and substantial risk to a woman’s life.

In a recent poll in The Irish Times 69% of women surveyed said they would favour the Government’s legislating to provide for the X case circumstances. A total of 54% said they would like to see abortion legalised.

Last week, a senior Church of Ireland bishop justifiably criticised politicians for their spinelessness and hypocrisy in failing to face up to this issue. In respect of the X case in 1992, a Supreme Court judge was similarly critical of politicians for failing to legislate and leaving the matter to judges. In this context, I ask the deputy leader to try to face up to the collective cowardice of politicians regarding this issue and to consider holding a debate.

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

“With Strike a Balance as this year’s theme, Health Week aims to help staff and students find a balance between work and relaxation,” stated Aileen McGloin, Trinity College’s Health Promotion Officer. “It is all about getting the right amount of work, rest and play, eating good food and minding your health. We also hope that Health Week will encourage students control exam stress through physical activity and healthy eating.”

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Pictured: Launching College Health Week 2007 - Ivana and Fr Paddy Gleeson on their bikes, Front Square, April 2007

Senator Ivana Bacik:  I second the motion proposed by Senator Norris to have a debate on Seanad reform. I thought Senator Hanafin might have got there before me when he spoke in favour of a debate on Seanad reform, but he seemed to refuse at the last hurdle and not second Senator Norris’s motion. We had much discussion on the matter on the first sitting day of this Seanad. The Leader among others was very vocal on the need for Seanad reform and it is important that we give it more than token attention and have a debate.

I also thank Senator McDonald for again calling for a debate on gender equality, an issue to which I intend to return. From looking around this House and the other House it is clear that women’s representation in Ireland is very poor. It is an important matter for a further debate.