Senator Ivana Bacik: I ask the Deputy Leader for a debate on maternity services. Speakers have called for debates on other aspects of the health services but it is important for us to focus on the state of maternity services in our hospitals. I met last week with an organisation called the Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services - Ireland, a group formed last year by mothers dissatisfied with the services they had encountered in hospitals. They are a consumer-led campaign group, the members of which I understand have already met the Minister and who are prioritising, in particular, the publication of annual clinical reports and statistics on maternity hospitals. It is appalling that in 2008 we still do not have full statistics, for example, on rates of induction and Caesarian sections across our hospitals. Such a proper reporting system would also help us to pick up on serious deviations from the norm and bring about prevention of future appalling tragedies like the Dr. Neary tragedy. The creation of national guidelines for clinical practice in maternity care is another priority for the association. We should have a debate on that and on a national independent auditing body for maternity services.

We would do better in this House if we debated positive steps to improve maternity and reproductive health services rather than spending our time criticising and sniping at independent experts who have been appointed by the Government to deal with issues such as the bioethics issue addressed earlier. We should not impugn the integrity and independence of such experts simply because some Members do not like the results or outcome of their research. I do not believe there is such a word as “independability”. That amounts to impugning the integrity of experts and we should be cautious before we do that.

Senator Ivana Bacik: I support Senator Alex White’s call for a debate with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on the issue of Internet and e-mail data retention which is being reported on in today’s edition of The Irish Times. I am delighted that Senator de Búrca also has called for this and I ask her to use her influence within Government to ensure this statutory instrument does not see the light of day because it seems to me to encroach seriously on the constitutional rights of accused people and on the rights of us all in that it appears to enable the Garda Síochána to request access to Internet and e-mail data for the investigation of any sort of offence which carries of maximum penalty of six months or more. This would undermine all the legal understanding of what constitutes a serious offence. In all other legislation, including the Bail Act, it is defined as an offence carrying a five-year maximum penalty or more. This is also of concern to business because the proposed statutory instrument would impose onerous obligations on business to retain such data for a period 12 months. We need to have this debated urgently.

I also ask for a debate on another issue relating to pharmacies. There has been much discussion in both Houses about pharmacists and the Health Service Executive. I wish to raise an issue which has been brought to my attention by final year pharmacy students in Trinity College. They are very concerned about the lack of placements available to them for professional training. These are students coming to the end of their undergraduate course who need to have professional placements. Usually about 80% of the class would have obtained placements by now but this year only about 40% so far have obtained placements. They have contacted the Department of Health and Children about this issue and requested that more training placements be made available within hospitals, which is within the remit of the Minister for Health and Children to do, or that additional funding be made available to secure placements for them. This is a serious issue which will impinge on the future qualification of sufficient pharmacists in this country. I ask for a debate on this issue.

Senator Ivana Bacik: I thank Senator Norris for sharing time. I also welcome the motion and I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am delighted to have played a role in bringing about the unanimous motion that was passed in December calling for the release of Ingrid Betancourt and the other hostages being held in equally appalling and cruel conditions by FARC in Colombia. When I raised this matter in the Seanad in September as a matter on the Adjournment, I said at the time it seemed the release of Ms Betancourt and others was imminent. In the interim another hostage has been released by FARC. Sadly however, Ingrid Betancourt and others remain held by FARC and yet again we seem to be at a crisis point. As others have said, reports of her deteriorating health have caused great concern. This week France and other European countries have sent a humanitarian mission to Colombia to seek to see Ingrid Betancourt and assess her condition. Unfortunately FARC has rejected that medical mission and Paris has now called it off. Again we seem to be at a crisis point.

In a week when protests are being held in cities across the world, notably in France, it is appropriate that this House would express its deepest concern at the continued detention of a fellow democrat and a former senator, as Senator Norris has said. By highlighting Ingrid Betancourt’s case we do not belittle in any way the trauma and appalling conditions of the other hostages being held by FARC in Colombia. Pain is being felt by hundreds of other families whose loved ones are being held by FARC. As outlined in our earlier motion, the pressure being put on the FARC rebels and the Colombian Government to reach a solution for Ingrid Betancourt should also have a positive impact on bringing about the release of other hostages being held by FARC. To put it in crude terms, Ingrid Betancourt is a very valuable hostage for FARC. However, the conditions of the other hostages being held by FARC will also be affected by what happens in Ingrid Betancourt’s case.

As others have said, Ingrid Betancourt is a democrat. She was campaigning as a candidate in the presidential elections when she was kidnapped. She is being held in these appalling conditions because she believes in democratic rights. As democrats in this House we need to stand up in solidarity with her and to renew our call for the Government and the EU to put as much pressure as we can on the Colombian Government and the FARC guerrillas to negotiate to bring about the release of Ms Betancourt and other hostages.

The motion we passed unanimously in the previous term shows how strongly all of us on both sides of this House feel about the continued detention of Ingrid Betancourt and how strongly we feel sympathy on humanitarian grounds and great compassion for her two children, mother, husband and other family members who have been campaigning so strongly across the world for her release. We have already called on the Minister to do as much as he can to put pressure on the Colombian Government and on FARC. However, it goes further than that. On the tenth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, Ireland has much to tell other countries about how peace processes can be brought about. Senator Norris has mentioned the pressure Sinn Féin could bring directly. I believe the Government could do more than simply support the initiatives of others and should take its own initiative, if necessary including sending members of the Government to Colombia to seek to bring about Ingrid Betancourt’s release at the earliest possible opportunity.

Senator Ivana Bacik:  Those of us who have been calling for a debate on the Olympic Games have been calling for a debate on whether there should be a political boycott of the opening ceremony, not a boycott of the games or a boycott by athletes.

I renew my request to the Leader to ask the Minister for the Health and Children to come to the House for a debate on alcohol advertising, the issue of the football shirts from premiership clubs and the fact that replica jerseys with alcohol brands displayed across the front of them are still on sale in Irish shops. I raised this issue previously when Liverpool FC was not as much in the headlines as it is this week. I have since been assured by the Irish drinks industry that it operates a voluntary ban here on any alcohol branding on children’s jerseys or children’s merchandise. That is welcome but unfortunately it does not extend to products manufactured in the UK. I was informed only this week that Celtic and Rangers have stated they will withdraw their alcohol company sponsor from their children’s replica kits. This means we should put pressure on the Minister for Health and children to explain why there is not a similar ban in place here. If the industry here will not extend its ban to cover products manufactured in the UK, there should be a legislative remedy. I would like the Minister for Health and Children to come to the House to explain to us why that has not yet been done.

I also ask the Leader to arrange for a debate on the issue of childhood vaccinations, which a number of us raised here two days ago. I raise not only the issue of the take-up of the MMR vaccine and the concern many of us have about a measles epidemic, but that a pressing issue for many parents of very young children is the availability of the BCG vaccine. This vaccine protects against tuberculosis, a disease that is on the increase. The vaccination is normally given to babies or infants just after birth in maternity hospitals. There is a problem with the supply of the BCG vaccine with the result that newborn babies are not being inoculated in hospitals. I have been informed that the HSE is doing all it can to ensure every child is getting this vaccination but there is a backlog. The Minister for Health and Children should come to the House to allay the concerns of many parents about the availability of the vaccine and to reassure us that all children will be vaccinated.

Senator Ivana Bacik:  At the risk of making another gendered call, I support Senator Corrigan’s call for a debate on MMR because I share her concern about the low level of take-up of the vaccination. That is an important issue as we face into the disturbing prospect of a measles epidemic.

I was delighted with the move towards to an all-party agreement in on motion 32 calling for the release of Ingrid Betancourt and other hostages in Colombia. However, this week her detention has reached a crisis. Protests have taken place across Europe and in other countries and it is looking very bad for her. It would be important for the House to discuss an agreed motion or hold a short debate on the issue in order that we can add our voices to the pressure building for her release.

I support the call for a boycott of the opening ceremony at the Olympic Games in light of China’s treatment of Tibetan protestors. A surprising source suggested on a radio programme earlier that sport and politics are entirely separate. I was reminded of the old feminist slogan, “The personal is political.” Even a decision not to vaccinate one’s child is a political decision and we cannot separate the two. It is important that this sensible call for a boycott in light of the status of Tibet should be supported by us and we should have a debate in the House.

Senator Coghlan mentioned the electoral boundary commission and need for an all-party view to be taken on its report. Although I do not have a direct interest in this, I and the other Independent Members are conscious of the need to ensure the voices of Independent Deputies should be heard on whatever decisions are taken on the redrawing of constituency boundaries.

On 19^th March, 2008, Ivana raised on the Seanad Order of Business her concern at the continued sale in Ireland of replica children’s jerseys for English football clubs carrying names and logos for alcohol companies.  Shirts or jerseys in the name of clubs like Liverpool FC are on sale in children’s sizes in sports shops all over Ireland, bearing ads for well-known alcoholic drinks.  

These jerseys continue to be sold here in Ireland, despite the fact that they are no longer available in Britain since 1^st January 2008, when a new rule was adopted there forbidding replica sports kits in children’s sizes from carrying sponsors’ names, where the sponsor is an alcoholic drink company.  

Ivana commented in the Seanad: ‘At a time when we are clearly seeing the terrible violence and destruction caused by alcohol abuse on our streets, it is a disgrace that children who wish to wear football kit for particular clubs are walking around advertising alcoholic drinks. Just this morning, in a city centre sports shop, I bought a Liverpool FC jersey for a 9-10 year old bearing the logo of a well-known beer. The Minister for Health has responded to previous queries about this issue by saying that no legislative remedies are available that could restrict or stop the sale of these jerseys. However, this is simply not good enough.

Political leadership is needed to ensure that children are not exposed in this way to alcohol advertising. I call on the Minister for Health to take urgent action to ensure that this practice is ended in the same way that it has been ended in the UK.’ 

Click here to download the February 2008 newsletter in PDF format.

I am delighted to have joined Senators David Norris and Shane Ross in representing the graduates of Trinity College and the Dublin Institute of Technology.

Reform of the Seanad election system is long overdue, and I have consistently argued for change to make it more democratic. But despite the flaws in its structure, I believe that the Upper House can play a vital role in our parliamentary system.

Outstanding former representatives have used the Seanad as a platform to make valuable contributions to important debates on national and international issues. As a Senator, Mary Robinson famously pursued a radical agenda on issues like contraceptive reform in the 1970s and 1980s.

I would like to pay particular tribute to the great contribution of outgoing Senator Mary Henry, who retired in 2007. I hope to continue her campaigning work during the lifetime of this Seanad.

There is a view abroad that the liberal agenda has been achieved – but there is still so much to be done. I intend to use the Seanad as a launching pad for a new radical social agenda for this decade and beyond. I would really appreciate your support in this endeavour.

As a Senator, I am campaigning on issues such as the right to legal recognition for gay couples, childcare rights, abortion rights, paid paternity leave, educational equality, criminal justice reforms and environmental changes. I have been appointed as a member of the Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights and in that capacity will be working hard on a range of campaigns.

Since the Seanad began sitting in September 2007, I have already put forward a range of important and radical initiatives.

On 3rd October 2007, I launched a Climate Protection Bill which would bind the Government to making 3% cuts in carbon emissions every year between now and 2050. This Bill was backed by a whole range of environmental and development NGOs. For more information, see the Friends of the Earth website (www.foe.ie).

I have also called in the Seanad for the separation of Church and State, and the extension of multi-denominational schooling; for the introduction of paid paternity leave so that fathers could take time off work to help look after new babies; and for extension of universal child benefit payments to children of asylum-seekers.

I would be glad to raise these or other issues on your behalf in the Seanad – just email me on ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie if you are interested.

I am deeply grateful to have been elected to represent the Dublin University constituency in the Seanad. Trinity graduates have a proud record of electing articulate, passionate and effective Senators. I will endeavour to be a hard-working, radical and committed representative over the years ahead.

Regards,

Senator Ivana Bacik:  I second Senator Norris’s motion to amend the Order of Business to withdraw the civil partnership Bill, for the reasons he has mentioned. The Government has treated him extremely shabbily in respect of this Bill. I note the Deputy Leader’s comments about the time-frame for the introduction of Government legislation on civil partnership. It is the first time that it has been put on record that the heads of the Bill would be introduced in March followed by the Bill in September. That is welcome but time is slipping by. At this point same sex couples should seek and get full equality with opposite sex couples, nothing more and nothing less in terms of legal recognition. That is a core principle of equality.

I wish to renew a call I made last term for a debate on women’s representation in the Oireachtas. Senator Norris mentioned Barack Obama’s successful run in the US presidential election campaign. On behalf of women Members, I note that Hilary Clinton has also been doing extremely well and should not be written off yet as a Democrat candidate. Senator Clinton or Senator Obama would make a worthy and important replacement for the criminal policies of George Bush.

Senator Clinton’s candidacy has been a real inspiration for women in the United States and here, just as Senator Obama’s candidacy is an inspiration for African-Americans. Senator Clinton also speaks for an under-represented and disadvantaged group.

 

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