Labour Party Seanad leader and Spokesperson on Justice

Thursday 2nd February 2012

SENATOR BACIK WELCOMES INTRODUCTION OF GENDER QUOTA ELECTORAL BILL

Senator Ivana Bacik today will speak on the introduction of Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011. This bill will require political parties to select at least 30% of their candidates of each gender at the next general election, subject to financial penalties. It is being introduced in the Seanad today Thursday 2nd February at 12 noon.

Welcoming the introduction of this legislation, Senator Bacik will say:

“I am delighted that this legislation is being introduced today and also delighted that it is being introduced in the Seanad. The Seanad is the only House of the Oireachtas ever to have debated the issue of women’s participation in politics, and the proportion of women in the Seanad is already at 30%, double the representation of 15% in the Dail.

“A report on women’s participation in politics which I authored, published by the Justice Committee in 2009, found that legislation like this is one of the most effective ways to ensure that more women become active in politics. Given Ireland’s very low rate of participation by women, it is vital that we take positive steps to encourage more women to come forward. This legislation is essential to increase women’s representation in the Dail, and to make our democracy more representative.”

ENDS

Senator Ivana Bacik
Labour Party Seanad leader and Spokesperson on Justice
27th January 2012

Speaking tomorrow Saturday 28th January at a conference on criminal law organised by the Bar Council in Dublin, Senator Ivana Bacik will speak on the need for greater use of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act in the prosecution of white-collar crime, and crimes committed by those engaged in fraud in the banking sector in particular.

Speaking about recent legislation on white collar crime, Senator Bacik will say:

“There is grave public concern about the delays in the criminal investigations into white collar crime; and at the lack of prosecutions arising from what happened in the banking sector. Reckless bankers went on a testosterone fuelled lending spree, which resulted in disastrous consequences for the economy. It should be possible to bring prosecutions in respect of some outrageous malpractice in the banking sector, under section 10 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001, which provides for the offence of false accounting. Simpler offences such as that could be prosecuted more swiftly than the complex corporate offences that are also under investigation arising from the actions of certain individuals within the banking sector.

 “While the Criminal Justice Act 2011 has strengthened garda powers for dealing with white collar crime, existing laws could have dealt with such crime before now. Part of the problem has been a lack of enforcement and the absence of a culture in which white collar crime was taken as seriously as street crime.”

  ENDS                              

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Senator Ivana Bacik:     I welcome the Government’s debt and bankruptcy relief plan and the publication of the draft general scheme of the personal insolvency Bill. I have the draft scheme here. It is a very lengthy scheme. It was circulated yesterday to the members of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. We will be conducting public hearings on the Bill. To follow what Senator O’Brien said, the scheme is still in draft format.

…     It is subject to legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General, to a report by the joint committee and to submissions from anyone who has an interest in the area. The Minister has let that be known. Changes may still be made.

From my first reading it is not my understanding that it gives powers to the banks. Rather, it will assist the 30,000 home owners who are in arrears and provide, for the first time, a series of measures.

…     They include a State-run insolvency service, a system of debt release certificates for forgiveness of debt for those who have no assets and no income and are unable to meet qualifying debts totalling up to €20,000, a debt settlement arrangement scheme and a personal insolvency arrangement. A series of measures are set out in the scheme.

The joint committee has been told we have a tight timeframe to report to the Minister. We will be having meetings with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, and with the Irish Society of Insolvency Practitioners on 15 February and we will be preparing and publishing a report on the heads of the Bill by the end of February. A meeting for that is scheduled for 22 February. Things are moving very swiftly. There is also a need for consultation on the Bill.

My own reaction to the report on trust in the banking system was amazement that as many as 9% of people still have trust in the banks. I thought it would have been closer to zero.

I welcome the news that the first sale of Irish bonds since 2010 was made yesterday by the National Treasury Management Agency, which sold just over €3.5 billion worth of three year debt.

…     This is the first time any of the three eurozone economies in bailout has succeeded in selling bonds of this maturity. That is an important point. It is welcome, particularly on the day when an unwelcome repayment was made. Those of us on the Government side are, of course, most unhappy at paying the Anglo Irish Bank bond.

…     We saw it as a necessary evil. That was clearly set out by the Tánaiste and by the Minister for Finance yesterday. It is very much an evil and we do not like to have to do it. However, it is a strategy that appears to be working and we are going to work with it in an attempt to ensure that we achieve growth. No real or practical alternative has been offered by those who have been shouting about repaying this bond.

Senator Ivana Bacik
 Labour Party Seanad Group Leader
20th January 2012

Speaking at a conference convened by Minister Kathleen Lynch TD on ‘How to Elect More Women’ in Dublin Castle today, Senator Ivana Bacik will outline the recommendations of the Oireachtas Justice Committee’s 2009 report on women’s participation in politics. Senator Bacik will say:

“The research I did for the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality and Law Reform clearly shows that positive action measures are necessary in order to increase the levels of women’s participation in politics. Ireland ranks at 79th in the world rankings of women in parliament – an appalling figure at the bottom of the European league tables. Our position has actually worsened over the last decade because we have not taken action to encourage more women to enter politics; while other EU countries which have adopted positive action measures have seen women’s participation rates improve dramatically.”

Welcoming the introduction of legislation as recommended in the 2009 Report, Senator Bacik will say:

“The report recommended that political parties should be obliged to take gender balance into account in selecting candidates for local, general and European elections. I am delighted that legislation providing for a minimum proportion of candidates of each gender will be introduced in the Seanad on 2nd February. The measures on gender in the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011 should significantly improve the levels of women’s participation in politics.”

ENDS

Thursday, 19 January 2012

Senator Ivana Bacik:     I note the reaction of the children in the Visitors’ Gallery to Senator Crown’s suggestion that the study of science the whole way through school should be compulsory. It is certainly an innovative suggestion.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. It is a new departure for the Seanad to hold an idea-sharing or, as others have described it, a “think-tank” session in which we can generate ideas and new concepts on job creation which we will then share with the Minister and will feed into the policy process on job creation. I agree with those colleagues who pointed out how important and vital job creation is for the future of our economy and in terms of us pulling ourselves out of the current economic crisis we are experiencing. Some excellent ideas have been already put forward. This shows the strength of the Seanad and the wide range of different experiences and expertise which each Senator brings. I note, as I look around the Chamber, the number of people here who could be described as entrepreneurs, social or commercial or both.

Some of the ideas put forward, including the social innovation office and job supremo, are useful ideas that will help the Government in facilitating the creation of jobs. As Senator Gilroy stated, we must be mindful of Government’s role in this. I would like to address two points. My first is an idea not for job creation but for job support and retention of jobs. This was referred to in the Unite trade union’s submission of May last to the Government’s job initiative. It is a concept I came across with the German model — its car manufacturing industry in particular — and what happens when there is a downturn in consumption and the purchasing of cars, as happens from time to time internationally. One finds that in certain Lånder, or states, there is a very well developed subsidy scheme where employees are kept on, retaining the jobs in car manufacturing, but there is a subsidy from the state. It saves the state having to support the payment of redundancy and people from going on social welfare. The state ends up subsidising private industry to some extent. Unite has referred to this as the “exceptional short time working scheme” and points out that it has worked in other European countries, and as I mentioned, I am familiar with the German scheme. It allows employees reduce working hours without loss of job or income. Essentially, individuals employed in the car manufacturing industry go on shorter weeks of two to three days and are paid a reduced wage topped up by the state. This keeps people in work and the employer’s business going while saving the state in the long term by retaining jobs. We should consider it here for certain areas and sectors.

Another idea comes from my background in legal training and education. To those who believe the public sector is bereft of entrepreneurial ability, I argue there are many examples of entrepreneurs created from the university sector. Some of our most successful indigenous companies have come from academia. I am currently on unpaid leave from the law school in Trinity and colleagues some years ago set up a very successful masters in law programme that has generated a significant amount of income for the university and the law school.

Having spoken to legal colleagues, I wanted to try to use that experience. A key idea would be to export legal services, particularly in legal education, in which we have a very good reputation. I trained at the bar in London and saw that at the Inns of Court School of Law, a large number of people — generally from the Commonwealth but also from other countries — came to London not just to study academic law but also to take a professional training course that would qualify them for the bar of England and their home countries. It occurs to me it would be very useful model for us to use as an English-speaking country steeped in the same common law tradition. We could consider such markets, many of which are emerging, and the universities are already targeting those student numbers. We could also consider this in light of professional legal training. Universities are already looking to build on that process.

We will have a debate on the Legal Services Regulation Bill, which envisages the opening up of professional legal training to the university sector beyond the current professional bodies. There are also opportunities for expanding the body of students we envisage teaching. There is a very sad fact of life in legal training currently in that we are educating many of our own students for export, and it is very hard for recent graduates in Ireland to get work in the legal professions. We must consider how to take a positive from the level of legal education we can offer by looking to offer it to people from other countries, in anticipation that such people would return to their countries with the benefit of legal training here. We could expand the legal education system in that way, not only creating jobs but a great deal of good will. It would strengthen our links with many countries.

Somebody mentioned earlier our trade links with Libya and there are immense opportunities for us in developing further links with countries in the Middle East, north Africa and in the Far East, where there are many emerging markets, as others have said.

Wednesday, 18 January 2012

Senator Ivana Bacik:     I join Senator O’Brien in conveying the sympathies of the Labour Party Members to the family of the former editor of the Sunday Independent, Aengus Fanning, and to the families of the fishermen lost in the tragedy at sea off west Cork. We all commend the bravery of the search and rescue teams and the immense solidarity and bravery of the local communities in Union Hall.

I take this opportunity to commend the Oireachtas library and research service on its excellent briefing on trends in the economy. It managed to make the statistics and figures understandable and accessible. It is important that it should provide such a service to us, particularly in light of the ongoing crisis at European level. I note the reports today on the attempts at European level to avert default by Greece. It is of immense concern to us all that such a default be prevented.

I welcome the establishment by the Government last week of the expert group on the ABC case, in which the European Court of Human Rights found against Ireland in December 2010 in respect of our abortion law. It is very welcome that this Government is finally grasping a nettle which previous Governments failed to grasp. The expert group will examine how to implement the judgment and avoid future litigation against Ireland on this subject. The group, which is made up of eminent individuals from a range of disciplines, will report within six months. I ask the Leader to allow for a debate on that report following its publication.

Will the Leader arrange for a debate on waste strategy in light of the huge concerns of Dublin residents regarding the takeover of the city’s waste disposal service by a private contractor, Greyhound? There has been immense confusion, a lack of notice to residents and the wishes of councillors has been overridden, as city managers are legally entitled to do. The process has not been well managed and there is great concern about the need for upfront payments to Greyhound and for people to maintain money in an account before their refuse will be collected. This could lead to a serious crisis for litter collection in the city.

Thursday, 12 January 2012

Senator Ivana Bacik:     As with Senator O’Brien and all other Senators, I am very concerned by the announcement of prospective job losses in Ulster Bank and by the news that there are likely to be other job losses in other banks. It is a matter of real concern and emphasises the importance of the jobs strategy the Government announced yesterday. It will be launching a more detailed plan in the coming week. We must feel sympathy for the staff who face potential job losses. This prospect obliges all of us to think more creatively about job creation and activation measures.

The Minister, Deputy Burton, has spoken persuasively about the need to ensure social protection strategies are geared towards retraining, activation and getting people back into the jobs market. I agree with Senator Darragh O’Brien that the Members of this House will have an opportunity to engage in some brainstorming on this matter next week. As part of a new method of debate, no Minister will be present for the discussion. I have been reflecting on the experience of my legal background to consider how the high level of legal knowledge and training in this House can be used to try to generate jobs and resources for society. We can all come up with interesting and creative ideas that are informed by our particular backgrounds. A particular strength of the Seanad might be as the forum for such a constructive debate.

I would like to call for a debate with the Minister for Education and Skills. I assure my colleagues that I have been trying to ensure the Minister, Deputy Quinn, comes to the House for a general debate. The Minister will be present for legislative debates, but Senators would like him to come here for a more general debate as well. We were all glad to hear the Minister announce last night that the impact of budgetary changes on DEIS schools will be reviewed. He said the Department of Education and Skills will report on the position of DEIS band 1 and band 2 schools within four weeks. I was particularly pleased to hear that the report will focus on how the loss of posts under the older schemes will affect such schools. I think we will see a renewed commitment to the maintenance of supports for students in DEIS schools. We need a bigger debate in light of the reports that have been commissioned by the Minister on the extent to which programmes like DEIS ensure greater educational opportunity for students. I understand the reports in question are being published today. We need to examine carefully the impact of DEIS and the other schemes. We should reflect on whether, in some ways, we are allowing for the segregation of economic classes within our schools. We have to be careful about the way our school system is run.

I welcome the presence of officials from the Revenue Commissioners and other bodies at yesterday’s meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform. It was an important demonstration of the exercise of the investigative powers of Oireachtas committees. The ham-fisted attempts of the Revenue Commissioners to inform people of potential tax liabilities have been the subject of significant public concern. The failure of the Revenue Commissioners to stay on top of this matter on an ongoing basis clearly points to an inefficiency in the system. Many people felt shock and unnecessary fear when they considered their possible tax liabilities.

Wednesday, 11 January 2012

Senator Ivana Bacik:     I join with others in welcoming everyone back after the break and wishing colleagues a happy new year and a busy and productive session ahead.

I mention the untimely deaths of two very noted and respected journalists, Caroline Walsh of The Irish Times, and Mary Raftery, whose brave investigative work for RTE, and “Prime Time” in particular, exposed some shameful abuses of individuals, children and those with psychiatric illness in the past. They are sad losses to note over the period.

I welcome the new Jobs initiative announced today led by nine different Departments. It is vitally important that such initiatives are established, particularly given the news over the break of the difficulties experienced by workers who have lost their jobs in companies like Vita Cortex in Cork and La Senza at various locations around Dublin where workers were told of the loss of their jobs at outrageously short notice and are still owed back pay by companies which in other aspects are still trading. It is an issue we need to debate. The Leader has announced the debate tomorrow on the report on small business, which was sought at the end of the last session, and we will have other debates also on jobs initiatives over the coming weeks. I very much welcome these debates because we must be creative in our thinking about job creation and trying to stem the rises in unemployment.

As part of the debate on children’s rights I ask that we also incorporate a debate on adoption. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, is in Vietnam this week and I very much welcome the announcement that she is there to seek to conduct the bilateral agreement with Vietnam necessary for adoptions to continue from that country. We had an excellent debate in the previous session of this Seanad on the Adoption Bill which came into force at the end of last year but huge concerns remain. Many of us will have heard from individuals who have friends or family who are very concerned about the issue of adoption and the way adoption law is now operating under the new and much more child friendly regime established by the Adoption Act. It would be useful, given that the Minister will attend the House to debate children’s rights, to also have her deal with the issue of adoption, particularly when she returns from Vietnam.

Thursday, 15 December 2011

Senator Ivana Bacik:     I support what Senator Norris said about the need for recognition of children of civil partnerships. This is an issue I, Senator Norris and a number of others made at various times during the Civil Partnership Bill debate. I am aware it is not directly concerned with this issue, but I want to mention it.

I am hugely impressed by the detailed knowledge Senator Moloney has of social welfare schemes and entitlements. She has brought a great deal of knowledge and expertise to bear on this debate and I could not possibly come near that.

It is very hard to sit and listen to Fianna Fáil Members attacking the Minister, Deputy Burton, for what has been an incredible achievement in protecting the social protection budget and in reducing the level of cuts that has been applied to far less than the level applied by the Fianna Fáil Government in its last budget last year. We should also remember the budget in which the Christmas bonus was abolished. It is very difficult to listen to Fianna Fáil talk about cuts and attack this Government.

Thursday, 15 December 2011

Senator Ivana Bacik:     I agree with Senator O’Brien that we need a debate on the issues around the EU deal done last week and the question of whether we will have a referendum in the new year. I am delighted we will have the opportunity tomorrow, when the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton is here, to try to tease out the question of whether a referendum will be necessary and, if it is to be held, what it will be seen as. I did not hear the Minister for Finance’s initial comments, but I read the interview he gave to The Irish Times in which he says that the practical politics - the shorthand - will be whether we want to maintain Ireland’s position as a eurozone country. We need to tease out whether that is a correct interpretation of how it will be seen and that is a different question to the one as to the content of the referendum. We need more time to debate those issues.

I renew a call for a debate on an issue I raised earlier in the week, on Tuesday, on the ESRI-UCD report on changing family forms. This important report looks at the changing demographic in Ireland and the changing make-up of family and there are political consequences from this. One of these is the need for more flexible work practices and the case for paid paternity leave, even just for a short time, to enable fathers get greater recognition in the workplace. I seek a full debate on this in the new year. I noticed that during the debate on the Social Welfare Bill on Tuesday, the Minister, Deputy Burton, pointed out that the report has implications for social welfare policy and social protection and how payments will be made in the future. A debate on this would be very useful.

I also seek a debate on education. A report from the CSO today indicates that Ireland is joint first in the European Union for third level attainment among those aged between 25 and 34. Some 48% of these have a third level qualification, well above the EU average of one-third. This is interesting and a debate on the issue would be beneficial.

All of us will have huge concerns about the report from the historical inquiries team yesterday, on the Miami showband massacre in 1975, which showed the team found RUC special branch involvement. This is something we need to debate in the House.