In this episode, Senator Barry Ward speaks to Senator Pauline O’Reilly, Vice Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality, which has been established on foot of the recommendations of the Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality (read the report here). The discussion deals not just with what the Committee will do and how it will operate, but how it was established, who is on it, and the time frame within which it hopes to report to the Oireachtas.

You can follow the Oireachtas Gender Equality Committee here.

You can read the Committee’s work programme here.

The members of the Gender Equality Committee are: Ivana Bacik TD (Chair); Senator Pauline O'Reilly (Vice-Chair); Ciarán Cannon TD; Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD; Sorca Clarke TD; Senator Lisa Chambers; Senator Regina Doherty; Senator Alice-Mary Higgins; Neasa Hourigan TD; Paul McAuliffe TD; Bríd Smith TD; Niamh Smyth TD; and Senator Fintan Warfield.

 

The Irish Legislation Podcast is presented by Senator Barry Ward. Follow Barry on Twitter @barrymward; Instagram @barrym_ward; Facebook at BarryWard.ie; or his web site: www.barryward.ie.

E-mail [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.

In this episode, Senator Barry Ward talks to his Seanad colleague, Independent Senator Eileen Flynn, about her private member’s bill to remove the term “child pornography” from Irish legislation, and replace it with the more appropriate term “child sexual exploitation material”. Also in the podcast are Emer Taylor and Jessica Bray, who worked on the Bill with Senator Flynn. This is a first for Irish legislation because it alters the title of an existing act without repealing it; the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 will become the Child Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation Material Act 1998. You can read the Bill here.

You can read the second stage debate on the Bill in the Seanad on 2 February 2022 here.

Media coverage of the Bill can be seen here:

Senator Eileen Flynn is an Independent Senator and a member of the Civil Engagement Group, which can be found on Twitter @SeanadCEG, and on Instagram @SeanadCEG - the Bill was co-sponsored by Senators Eileen Flynn, Alice-Mary Higgins (@aliceeire), Lynn Ruane (@SenLynnRuane) and Frances Black (@frances_black). You can follow Eileen on Twitter @love1solidarity or find out more about her on the Oireachtas web site.

Emer Taylor is a legislative consultant working with Senator Eileen Flynn and Independents 4 Change, and Jessica Bray works directly with Senator Flynn in her office.

The Irish Legislation Podcast is presented by Senator Barry Ward. Follow Barry on Twitter @barrymward; Instagram @barrym_ward; Facebook at BarryWard.ie; or his web site: www.barryward.ie.

E-mail [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.

This week, Senator Barry Ward talks ticket touts with former Fine Gael TD Noel Rock, and barrister and law lecturer, James McDermott. The Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Act 2021 all stages and was signed into law last July and is now facing its first real life tests as live events return. Then TD for Dublin North-West, Noel Rock, along with Stephen Donnelly TD , originally sponsored the Prohibition of Above-cost Ticket Touting Bill 2017, which fell with the 32nd Dáil and was re-entered as the Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Bill 2021 by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Leo Varadkar TD.

Previous private members’ bills on this issue also include:

the Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill 2017 by Maurice Quinlivan TD of Sinn Féin;

the Prohibition of Ticket Touts Bill 2005 by Jimmy Deenihan TD  of Fine Gael;

the Prohibition of Ticket Touts Bill 1998 by Alan Shatter TD of Fine Gael; and

the Sale of Tickets Bill 1990 by Pat Rabbitte TD of Labour.

You can read the debates and details of the Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Act 2021 as it passed through the Oireachtas, here.

Noel Rock is a former Fine Gael TD for Dublin North-West. You can follow Noel on Twitter @noelrock  on Instagram @rockdublin, and on Facebook, or find out more about him on his web site. Noel is the founder of Pixel Consulting, a technology-focused consulting firm (Twitter @pixel_ie; Instagram @pixel_consulting).

James McDermott is a practising barrister and Assistant Professor in the UCD Sutherland School of Law. You can read some of James’ articles in The Irish Times here and in The Sunday Business Post here.

The Irish Legislation Podcast is presented by Senator Barry Ward. Follow Barry on Twitter @barrymward; Instagram @barrym_ward; Facebook at BarryWard.ie; or his web site: www.barryward.ie.

E-mail [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.

This week, Senator Barry Ward looks at a private members bill to ban so-called “conversion therapies”, which seek to change a person’s . Barry is joined by one of the sponsors of this cross-party legislation, Senator Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael – Cork South-Central), and practising psychotherapist Stella O’Malley, who is opposed to the bill.

You can read the Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill 2018 and track its progress here. 

Jerry Buttimer was Fine Gael’s first openly gay TD and the first Chair of the Fine Gael LGBTQ+ group. You can follow Jerry Buttimer on Twitter @jerrybuttimer, on Instagram @jerrybuttimer, on Facebook, or find out more about him on his website.

Stella O’Malley is an author and practising psychotherapist in County Offaly; she is the founder of Genspect, an organisation for parents of gender-questioning children. Stella is a member of the Association of Professional Counsellors and Psychotherapists.

[Erratum: Please note that the podcast contains a mistake in saying that Stella is a member of the Irish Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists, when she is, in fact, a member of the Association of Professional Counsellors and Psychotherapists (please see a detailled explanation here); we are happy to clarify this.]

You can follow Stella on Twitter @stellaomalley3, on Facebook, or find out more on her website. She also presents the “Secrets of the Motherworld Podcast” with Lisa Marchiano.

The Irish Legislation Podcast is presented by Senator Barry Ward. Follow Barry on Twitter @barrymward; Instagram @barrym_ward; Facebook at BarryWard.ie; or his web site: www.barryward.ie.

E-mail [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.

In Episode 1 of Season 2, Senator Barry Ward talks gender quotas in business and the Irish Corporate Governance (Gender Balance) Bill 2021 with Fine Gael TD for Dublin Mid-West, Emer Higgins, and Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council. This episode covers gender quotas, how they will work for boards of Irish companies, how to address gender imbalance and whether gender quotas are a fair approach.

Emer Higgins is a Fine Gael TD for Dublin Mid-West and former Chief of Staff, Global Operations, Europe, for PayPal. You can follow Emer Higgins TD on Twitter @EmerHigginsTD, on Instagram @emerhigginstd, on Facebook at EmerHigginsTD, on LinkedIn, or on her web site: www.emerhiggins.com.

Orla O’Connor is Director of the National Women’s Council, the leading national women’s membership organisation in Ireland, with over 190-member groups. She was Co-Director of Together For Yes, the national Civil Society Campaign to remove the 8th Amendment in the referendum. For her role in Together for Yes, Orla was recognised as one of the 100 Most Influential People by TIME magazine in 2019. A feminist and expert in the policies needed to progress women’s equality in Ireland, Orla has led numerous high level, successful campaigns on a wide range of issues on women’s rights, including social welfare reform, pension reform and for the introduction of quality and affordable childcare. Orla is passionate about ensuring access to women’s reproductive rights; about ensuring more women are in leadership positions; about ending violence against women; and increasing women’s economic equality. You can follow Orla O’Connor on Twitter @OrlaNWCI or find out more on the National Women’s Council’s web site. You can follow the National Women’s Council on Twitter @NWCI, on Instagram @womens_council_ireland, on Facebook @NationalWomensCouncilofIreland, and on its web site.

The Irish Legislation Podcast is presented by Senator Barry Ward. Follow Barry on Twitter @barrymward; Instagram @barrym_ward; Facebook at BarryWard.ie; or his web site: www.barryward.ie.

E-mail [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.

A quick recap of season 1 and preview of what's to come on season 2.

The Irish Legislation Podcast is presented by Senator Barry Ward. Follow Barry on Twitter @barrymward; Instagram @barrym_ward; Facebook at BarryWard.ie; or his web site: www.barryward.ie.

E-mail [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.

In Episode 14, Senator Barry Ward talks electric scooters with Fine Gael Spokesperson on Climate Action and TD for Dublin Fingal, Alan Farrell, Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Dublin and TD for Dublin South-West, John Lahart, and former Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government and former Fine Gael TD for Dublin North-West, Noel Rock.

This episode goes through the issue of regulating electric scooters and electrically assisted pedal cycles, and other “personal light electric vehicles” and examines two bills introduced in March 2021:

Alan Farrell’s Road Traffic (Amendment) (Personal Light Electric Vehicles) Bill 2021;

John Lahart’s Road Traffic (Amendment) (Electric Scooter Trials) Bill 2021.

You can follow Alan Farrell TD on Twitter @AlanFarrell, on Instagram @alanfarrelltd, on Facebook at Alan Farrell TD, and you can learn more about him on his web site: alanfarrell.ie

You can follow John Lahart TD on Twitter @JohnLahart, on Facebook at John Lahart TD, and you can learn more about him on his web site: johnlahart.com.

You can follow Noel Rock on Twitter @NoelRock, on Facebook at Noel Rock, and you can learn more about him on his web site: noelrock.ie.

The Irish Legislation Podcast is presented by Senator Barry Ward. Follow Barry on Twitter @barrymward; Instagram @barrym_ward; Facebook at BarryWard.ie; or his web site: www.barryward.ie.

E-mail [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.

This week Senator Barry Ward talks to Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD, and criminal barrister Jane McGowan, about the Criminal Procedure Bill 2021, which has passed the Dáil and is just starting its journey through the Seanad.

You can read the Criminal Procedure Bill 2021 here.

You can follow Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD (Fine Gael - Meath East) on Twitter @HMcEntee, on Instagram @helenmcentee, on Facebook at HelenMcEnteeTD, and you can learn more about her on her web site.

Jane McGowan BL is a member of the Bar of Ireland and the Bar of Northern Ireland, and is a practising criminal barrister in Dublin. She is a former Chair of the Irish Criminal Bar Association (Twitter @irishcrimbar, a professional association for practising criminal barristers, associated to the Bar of Ireland. You can follow her on Twitter @janeymc_ie; on Instagram @janemcgowan.

The Irish Legislation Podcast is presented by Senator Barry Ward. Follow Barry on Twitter @barrymward; Instagram @barrym_ward; Facebook at BarryWard.ie; or his web site: www.barryward.ie.

E-mail [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.

This week Senator Barry Ward talks climate change legislation with former Minister for Communications, Climate Change and the Environment, Richard Bruton TD (Fine Gael – Dublin Bay North), and Attracta Uí Bhroin, Environmental Law Officer with the Irish Environmental Network (IEN), specifically the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021, which is currently before the Dáil. Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Change, Brian Leddin TD (Green Party – Limerick City) also gave his views on the various aspects of the Bill and how Ireland should approach the issue of climate change.

You can read the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 here.

You can read a government summary of the provisions of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 here.

You can follow the meetings of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Change, here, and read its report on which gave rise to the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021, here (and watch the launch on Twitter by Brian Leddin TD, here.

You can follow Richard Bruton TD on Twitter @RichardbrutonTD, on Instagram @richardbruton_td, on Facebook at richardbrutontd, and you can learn more about him on his web site: richardbruton.ie.

Attracta Uí Bhroin (Twitter @attractaub) is the Environmental Law Officer of the Irish Environmental Network (web site: ien.ie; Twitter @IrishEnvNet; Facebook: IEN.Fans) and also acts as the facilitator for the Environmental Law Implementation Group (ELIG) – a joint initiative with the Government to support the proper transposition and implementation of environmental law, including the further development of eNGOs’ capacity to leverage the law to support their missions. She is also a Vice-President and the Irish Board Member of Europe’s largest environmental NGO, the European Environmental Bureau (web site: eeb.org; Twitter: @Green_Europe; Facebook: EuropeanEnvironmentalBureau).

You can follow Brian Leddin TD on Twitter @BrianLeddin, on Instagram @brianleddin, on Facebook at Leddin4Limerick, and you can learn more about him on his web site: brianleddin.ie.

The Irish Legislation Podcast is presented by Senator Barry Ward. Follow Barry on Twitter @barrymward; Instagram @barrym_ward; Facebook at BarryWard.ie; or his web site: www.barryward.ie.

E-mail [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.

This week Senator Barry Ward speaks to two new TDs Francis Noel Duffy TD, Green Party TD for Dublin South-West and the Green Party Spokesperson on Housing, and Cian O’Callaghan TD, Social Democrats TD for Dublin Bay North and the Social Democrats Spokesperson on Housing, about the Land Development Agency Bill 2021, which is currently being considered by the Dáil.

 

You can read Land Development Agency Bill 2021 here: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/bill/2021/11/

You can read an analysis of the Land Development Agency Bill 2021 here: https://t.co/RAlaxzal1w

You can follow the debates on the Land Development Agency Bill 2021 here: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/bill/2021/11/?tab=debates

 

You can follow Cian O’Callaghan TD on Twitter @OCallaghanCian, on Instagram @cian_ocallaghan_td, on Facebook at ocallaghancian.

 

You can follow Francis Noel Duffy TD on Twitter @FNDuffy or on Facebook at FrancisNoelDuffy.

 

The Irish Legislation Podcast is presented by Senator Barry Ward.

Follow Barry on

Twitter twitter.com/barrymward;

Instagram www.instagram.com/barrym_ward;

Facebook at www.facebook.com/BarryWard.ie;

or his web site: www.barryward.ie.

E-mail [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.