Ivana Bacik
TD
Bacik in 2021
Leader of the Labour Party
Assumed office
24 March 2022
Preceded byAlan Kelly
Teachta Dála
Assumed office
9 July 2021
ConstituencyDublin Bay South
Leader of the Labour Party in the Seanad
In office
25 May 2011 – 9 July 2021
Leader
Preceded byPhil Prendergast
Succeeded byRebecca Moynihan
Deputy leader of Seanad Éireann
In office
25 May 2011 – 6 May 2016
TaoiseachEnda Kenny
LeaderMaurice Cummins
Preceded byDan Boyle
Succeeded byCatherine Noone
Senator
In office
13 September 2007 – 12 July 2021
ConstituencyDublin University
Personal details
Born (1968-05-25) 25 May 1968
Dublin, Ireland
Political partyLabour Party
SpouseAlan Saul
RelationsCharles Bacik (grandfather)
Children2
EducationAlexandra College
Alma mater
Websiteivanabacik.com

Ivana Catherine Bacik[lower-alpha 1] (born 25 May 1968) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Leader of the Labour Party since 24 March 2022 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay South constituency since winning a by-election on 9 July 2021. Bacik previously served as Leader of the Labour Party in the Seanad from 2011 to 2021, and a Senator for the Dublin University constituency from 2007 to 2021.[2] She previously served as Deputy leader of Seanad Éireann from 2011 to 2016.

Bacik is known in particular for her abortion rights campaigning since the 1980s, and her high media profile.[3]

Personal life

Bacik's paternal grandfather, Charles Bacik, was a Czech factory owner who moved to Ireland in 1946.[1][4] He eventually settled in Waterford and in 1947 was involved in the establishment of Waterford Crystal.[1] Her mother's side of the family are Murphys from County Clare. Her father was an astronomer and was employed in a number of locations. As a result, she lived in London and South Africa, before moving to Crookstown, County Cork, twenty miles west of Cork City, aged six, when he became a physics lecturer in the Cork Institute of Technology. She attended the nearby national school in Cloughduv. When Bacik was 11 years old, her family moved to the Sunday's Well area of Cork City.[5][6] At the age of 14, she moved to Dublin.[7]

She won a scholarship to board at Alexandra College in Milltown, Dublin.[8][5] She lives with husband Alan Saul and their two daughters in Portobello, Dublin.[9][10][11]

University politics

Bacik resigned as president of Trinity College Dublin Students' Union in 1990, after breaking the mandate from the Union membership regarding voting for candidates at a Union of Students in Ireland conference.[12] Despite 13 TCD representatives being mandated to vote for one candidate, Martin Whelan, a former TCD SU president, it transpired that he received only 12 votes, Bacik's vote instead being given to the feminist former UCD SU officer, Karen Quinlivan. A controversy erupted in the Students' Union and a subsequent internal investigation led to Bacik's resignation.[13]

She was taken to court by the anti-abortion group, the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC), for providing information on abortion. SPUC were successful in the court case, although that success came in the 1990s, long after Bacik had graduated from Trinity College.[14] A High Court injunction had been ordered against Bacik and other members of the TCD Students' Union in October 1989.[15] In November 1989, Bacik was informed by the Gardaí that the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and the TCD Students' Union were under investigation following complaints that "they were corrupting the public morals by disseminating information on abortion."[16] In an article she wrote for the International Planned Parenthood Federation, she said it was soon-to-be Irish President Mary Robinson that prevented her and students' union members from going to prison.[17]

Political career and campaigns

Bacik contested the Seanad Éireann elections in 1997 and 2002 as an Independent candidate in the Dublin University constituency but was not successful in these outings.

She ran as a Labour Party candidate at the 2004 election to the European Parliament in the Dublin constituency.[18] She ran with sitting MEP Proinsias De Rossa, who was also the party president, on the same ticket.[19] She polled 40,707 first preference votes (9.6%) but was not elected.

In 2004, her book Kicking and Screaming: Dragging Ireland into the 21st Century, was published by O’Brien Press.[20]

In 2007, she contested the Seanad Éireann elections for the third time in the Dublin University constituency, and was elected to the third seat, behind sitting Independent senators Shane Ross and David Norris. She initially sat as an Independent senator.

In February 2009, Bacik was included in an 'All Star Women's Cabinet' in the Irish Independent.[21] In March 2009, Bacik confirmed claims made on a TV programme that she had taken two voluntary pay cuts of 10% in addition to a pension levy.[22] In June 2009, Bacik was the Labour Party candidate for the Dublin Central by-election she came in third with 17% of the first preference votes.[23][24] She joined the Labour Party group in the Seanad in September 2009,[25] and became Labour Party Seanad spokesperson for both Justice and Arts, Sports and Tourism. In November 2009, a feature by Mary Kenny of the Irish Independent included Bacik in a list of women who "well deserved their iconic status."[26]

Bacik campaigning with Michael D. Higgins during his successful 2011 presidential bid

In May 2010, she sought Labour's nomination to contest the next election in the Dublin South-East constituency but was not selected.[27] In December 2010, she was added to the ticket as the second candidate beside Labour Party leader, Eamon Gilmore, in the Dún Laoghaire constituency for the 2011 general election. Gilmore topped the poll, with Bacik receiving 10.1% of first preference votes but she was not elected.[28] She was re-elected to Seanad Éireann at the subsequent election, after which she became Deputy Leader of the Seanad.[29] She held her seat in the Seanad in 2016 and in 2020.

On 27 April 2021, after the resignation of Eoghan Murphy from his Dáil seat in Dublin Bay South, Bacik announced her intention to stand in the upcoming by-election.[30] She campaigned with an emphasis on providing affordable housing,[31] as well as improving healthcare and childcare, tackling climate change, and achieving "a true republic in which church and state are separated". During the campaign, she described herself as having "more bills passed into law than any other Senator, on issues such as workers' conditions, women's health rights, and LGBT equality".[32] Bacik also campaigned on increasing the number of sports amenities for children in the area, calling for unused Defence Forces football fields at the Cathal Brugha Barracks to be freed up for local sports, with the suggestion rejected by Fine Gael Minister for Defence Simon Coveney.[33][34] Fine Gael complained to RTÉ after she featured prominently on National Treasures, a prime-time TV show broadcast by RTÉ during the campaign. RTÉ has strict rules about fair coverage of candidates during campaigns. The national broadcaster blamed an "inadvertent error" for the programme being shown three days before the election. A steering group within the broadcaster told Fine Gael that "the broadcast should not have happened." Consequentially, RTÉ had to show a special report on the by-election on Prime Time to "ensure fair coverage is given to all candidates".[35]

Bacik won this election, receiving 8,131 (30.2%) first-preference votes. It was her fourth attempt as a Labour candidate, and she expressed her delight at the success at the count centre in the RDS.[36] Following the election, she was described by the Irish Times as "a formidable activist and public intellectual" and that Fine Gael's perceived antipathy towards their former TD, Kate O'Connell, may have contributed to the surge in support to Bacik from women voters. The newspaper claimed that her election was "a long overdue morale boost" for Labour.[37]

In August 2021, Bacik apologised for attending Katherine Zappone's controversial party in the Merrion Hotel, Dublin, in July of that year. She stated that she believed that it took place within existing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.[38][39][40]

In March 2022, she confirmed she would run to succeed Alan Kelly as Labour Party leader.[41] Kelly stated that he believed that Bacik would succeed him.[42] On 24 March 2022 she was confirmed as Labour Party leader unopposed at a party conference in Dublin. In a speech, she said she would focus on the rising cost of living and the serious and global problems facing the country.[43] Bacik pledged that Labour would fight the next election as a "standalone party" rather than joining any left-wing alliance.[44]

Political views

Bacik's policies have been described as liberal and social democratic;[45] In 2004 she was described as "Labour's queen of political correctness" in an Irish Independent opinion piece.[46]

Since 2007 Bacik has spoken in support of the legalisation of cannabis.[47] She has proposed that cannabis should be sold under license at music festivals in Ireland such as Electric Picnic, calling for a "rational" approach to drugs.[48]

In September 2006, Bacik was one of the 61 Irish academic signatories of a letter published in The Irish Times calling for an academic boycott of the state of Israel.[49] In January 2009, she declared that she wants Ireland to break off diplomatic relations with Israel[50] and in February 2009 called for a general boycott of Israeli goods.[51]

In May 2019, following the results of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation which found that hundreds of children had died while in the care of homes run by the Catholic Church, Bacik called for the government to take financial action against the religious orders involved.[52]

In 2020, she sponsored legislation in the Seanad to grant Irish citizenship to any child born on the island of Ireland,[53] which resulted in the Irish citizenship laws being changed in March 2021.[54]

In December 2020, she called for foreign frontline medical workers fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland to be rewarded with fast-tracked citizenship applications, as has been done in France.[55]

In 2022, Bacik called for a pay rise for workers and a windfall tax on energy companies,[56] and an increase in the minimum wage.[57]

In March 2023, she stated that the year's eviction ban was intended to provide the government breathing space to increase housing supply and that the government's targets fell short.[58]

In 2006, Bacik acted as junior counsel in Zappone v. Revenue Commissioners,[59] the unsuccessful High Court case brought by Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan over the non-recognition of their Canadian same-sex marriage by the Revenue Commissioners.[60]

She has an LL.B. from TCD and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics. She practises as a barrister and taught courses in criminal law; criminology and penology; and feminist theory and law at Trinity. She was Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Law School from 1996 to 2022,[61] and was a made a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin in 2005. Her research interests include criminal law and criminology, constitutional law, feminist theories and law, human rights and equality issues in law.

Awards

In 2019, Bacik was chosen by the Irish Women Lawyers Association as Irish Woman Lawyer of the Year.[62] In 2019, she was selected as Irish Tatler's 'Woman of the Year.'[63]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Both Ivana and her father Charles spell their surname as "Bacik" in English to conform to the Latin Alphabet, but the family surname was originally "Bačík" when using Czech orthography.[1] Had Ivana been born in the Czech Republic, her surname would actually have been "Bačíková" per the Czech cultural custom of adding a feminine suffix. See Czech name for more.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cox, Catherine (October 2009). "Bačík, Charles". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  2. ↑ "Ivana Bacik". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  3. ↑ Collins, Liam (4 April 2004). "Ivana Bacik, the media supergirl". Sunday Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0039-5218. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012.
  4. ↑ Sheahan, Fionnán (5 July 2021). "Dublin Bay South by-election: Fine Gael complains to RTÉ after Ivana Bacik's TV appearance three days before by-election". Irish Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0021-1222. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Ivana Bacik". The Irish Times. 23 November 1999. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "Labour leader Ivana's childhood in Crookstown". The Southern Star. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  7. ↑ "Labour leader firmly focussed on reinvigorating the party". independent. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  8. ↑ Holden, Louise (21 January 2014). "Single-sex or co-ed?". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  9. ↑ Lord, Miriam (12 December 2020). "Eamon Ryan basks in the sunshine of Seanad's love". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  10. ↑ "Has back-to-work Dati set a bad example for women?". Irish Independent. Dublin. 13 January 2009. ISSN 0021-1222. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
  11. ↑ "Freedom, equality, Liberties". Sunday Tribune. 16 May 2004. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  12. ↑ Cullen, Paul (13 August 2005). "Legal Eagle Swoops". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  13. ↑ McNamee, Kathleen (19 October 2017). "Amidst Ascough Controversy, a Look Back at Student Impeachments". The University Times.
  14. ↑ McNamee, Kathleen (26 February 2016). "From TCDSU to the Seanad, How Student Politics Reach the National Stage". The University Times. Dublin. ISSN 2009-261X. Archived from the original on 27 February 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  15. ↑ "Spuc gets injunction against students' union over abortion guide". Irish Times. 4 October 1989.
  16. ↑ "Student unions face Garda inquiry". Irish Times. 18 November 1989.
  17. ↑ Kennedy, Jason (9 July 2021). "5 things to know about Ireland's newest TD Ivana Bacik". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  18. ↑ "Ivana Bacik". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  19. ↑ "Ireland: Interview: Ciaran Byrne meets Ivana Bacik". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  20. ↑ Bacik, Ivana (2004). Kicking and Screaming: Dragging Ireland Into the 21st Century. O'Brien. ISBN 978-0-86278-860-5.
  21. ↑ "My all-star women's cabinet". Irish Independent. 28 February 2009.
  22. ↑ Molony, Senan (14 March 2009). "Greens fail to take pay cut despite 'tighten belts' plea". Irish Independent.
  23. ↑ "RTÉ's Lee to stand for FG in Dublin South". RTÉ News. Dublin. 5 May 2009. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  24. ↑ O'Halloran, Marie (8 June 2009). "O'Sullivan dedicates her victory to Tony Gregory's legacy". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
  25. ↑ McGee, Harry (16 October 2009). "Government moves to fill two Seanad vacancies". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  26. ↑ Kenny, Mary (28 November 2009). Irish Independent. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. ↑ "Quinn and Humphreys to run for Labour". The Irish Times. Dublin. 26 May 2010. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  28. ↑ "Ivana Bacik to run for Labour in Dún Laoghaire". RTÉ News. 10 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  29. ↑ "Election of Cathaoirleach; Wednesday, 25 May 2011". Seanad Éireann Debate, Vol. 208, No. 1. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  30. ↑ Bray, Jennifer. "O'Connell, Chu and Bacik among possible candidates for Dublin byelection". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  31. ↑ Molony, Senan (17 May 2021). "Government parties squabble while their policies are failing, says Labour by-election hopeful Ivana Bacik". Irish Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0021-1222. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  32. ↑ Murray, Sean. "Bacik outlines Labour's vision for post-Covid Ireland and attacks government 'shambles' in bye-election bid/". TheJournal.ie. Dublin. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  33. ↑ Blaney, Ferghal (12 May 2021). "Election shots fired as Minister Simon Coveney and Labour candidate go to blows". DublinLive. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  34. ↑ Molony, Senan (17 May 2021). "Fine Gael's by-election frontrunner Cllr James Geoghegan faces Labour senator Ivana Bacik in bid for seat in Dublin Bay South". Irish Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0021-1222. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  35. ↑ Sheahan, Fionnán (5 July 2021). "Red-faced RTÉ admits showing Ivana Bacik TV programme before by-election was an 'inadvertent error'". Irish Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0021-1222. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  36. ↑ Murray, Daniel (5 July 2021). "Dublin Bay South: Fourth time's the charm for Bacik as FF and FG lick their wounds". Business Post. Dublin. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  37. ↑ "The Irish Times view on the Dublin Bay South byelection: Ivana Bacik triumphs". The Irish Times. Dublin. 9 July 2021. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  38. ↑ Ryan, Philip (9 August 2021). "Ivana Bacik apologises for attending Katherine Zappone's party at the Merrion Hotel". Irish Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0021-1222. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  39. ↑ "Labour TD Ivana Bacik apologises for attending Merrion Hotel party". TheJournal.ie. Press Association. 9 August 2021. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  40. ↑ "Bacik issues apology for attendance at hotel event". RTÉ News. Dublin. 9 August 2021. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  41. ↑ Gataveckaite, Gabija (7 March 2022). "Ivana Bacik confirms she will run for Labour party leadership". Irish Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0021-1222. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  42. ↑ Clarke, Vivienne (4 March 2022). "Alan Kelly believes Ivana Bacik will be the new Labour Party leader". BreakingNews.ie. Archived from the original on 8 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  43. ↑ McNally, Tadgh (24 March 2022). "Ivana Bacik confirmed as new leader of the Labour Party". TheJournal.ie. Dublin. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  44. ↑ Brennan, Michael. "Bacik rules out joining left-wing alliance ahead of the next general election". Business Post. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  45. ↑ "PROFILE: IVANA BACIK". The Phoenix. 3 June 2021.
  46. ↑ Anderson, Nicola; Bielenberg, Kim (27 May 2004). "Bacik should beware the German Oger". Irish Independent. Dublin. ISSN 0021-1222. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013.
  47. ↑ Connolly, Johnny (2007). "Minister's contribution to Trinity cannabis debate". Drugnet Ireland. Issue 24, Winter 2007: 21. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  48. ↑ Loughlin, Elaine (25 March 2023). "Labour leader Ivana Bacik backs licensed sale of cannabis at festivals". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  49. ↑ Landy, David (16 September 2006). "Irish academics call on EU to stop funding Israeli academic institutions". Scholars for Peace in the Middle East. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  50. ↑ Kenny, Mary (15 January 2009). "The puzzle of Obama's pro-abortionism". The Irish Catholic. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011.
  51. ↑ Bacik, Ivana (5 February 2009). "Letters: Aftermath of Gaza offensive". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  52. ↑ O'Toole, Lucy (2 May 2019). "Frontlines: Senator Ivana Bacik on the Mother and Baby Homes Commission's Report". Hot Press. Dublin. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  53. ↑ O'Halloran, Marie. "Government to work with Labour on citizenship Bill for stateless children". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  54. ↑ "Minister McEntee to make it easier for children to secure Irish citizenship" (Press release). Department of Justice. 23 March 2021. Archived from the original on 21 February 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  55. ↑ McNeice, Stephen (24 December 2020). "Frontline workers should get citizenship for their efforts during pandemic - Bacik". Newstalk. Dublin. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  56. ↑ Brennan, Michael. "New Labour leader Bacik calls for pay rise for workers and windfall tax on energy companies". Business Post. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  57. ↑ Wilson, James. "Ivana Bacik calls for minimum wage boost". Newstalk. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  58. ↑ Clancy, Paddy. "Irish government under fire over plans to lift eviction ban". Irish Central. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  59. ↑ "Lesbian couple's landmark case to begin in October". The Irish Times. Dublin. 1 August 2006. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  60. ↑ "Zappone & Anor -v- Revenue Commissioners & Ors [2006] IEHC 404". Judgments & Determinations. Courts Service of Ireland. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  61. ↑ Bray, Jennifer. "Ivana Bacik resigns role as associate professor in Trinity College". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  62. ↑ "Ivana Bacik is IWLA lawyer of the year". Law Society Gazette. 1 August 2019. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  63. ↑ "Ivana Bacik Wins Irish Tatler's Women Of The Year Award". Irish Tatler. 22 November 2019. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2022.

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