Ivana Bacik facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ivana Bacik
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Bacik in 2021
|
|
| Leader of the Labour Party | |
| Assumed office 24 March 2022 |
|
| Preceded by | Alan Kelly |
| Teachta Dála | |
| Assumed office 9 July 2021 |
|
| Constituency | Dublin Bay South |
| Leader of the Labour Party in the Seanad | |
| In office 25 May 2011 – 9 July 2021 |
|
| Leader |
|
| Preceded by | Phil Prendergast |
| Succeeded by | Rebecca Moynihan |
| Deputy leader of the Seanad | |
| In office 25 May 2011 – 6 May 2016 |
|
| Taoiseach | Enda Kenny |
| Leader | Maurice Cummins |
| Preceded by | Dan Boyle |
| Succeeded by | Catherine Noone |
| Senator | |
| In office 13 September 2007 – 12 July 2021 |
|
| Constituency | Dublin University |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 May 1968 Dublin, Ireland |
| Political party | Labour Party |
| Spouse | Alan Saul |
| Relations | Charles Bacik (grandfather) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Alexandra College |
| Alma mater | |
Ivana Catherine Bacik (born 25 May 1968) is an Irish politician. Since March 2022, she has been the leader of the Labour Party. She is also a Teachta Dála (TD), which is a member of the Irish parliament, for the Dublin Bay South area.
Bacik was first elected as a TD in a special election on 9 July 2021. Before that, she was a Senator for the Dublin University area from 2007 to 2021. She became well-known for her work on campaigns for women's health rights starting in the 1980s.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Ivana Bacik's grandfather on her father's side, Charles Bacik, was from the Czech Republic. He moved to Waterford, Ireland, in 1946 and helped start the famous Waterford Crystal company. Her mother's family came from County Clare.
Because her father was an astronomer, Ivana's family moved around a lot. She lived in London and South Africa before moving to County Cork when she was six. Later, her family moved to Dublin when she was a teenager.
She earned a scholarship to attend Alexandra College, a boarding school in Dublin. She then went to Trinity College Dublin, where she studied law. She also earned a master's degree in law from the London School of Economics.
Today, she lives in Portobello, Dublin, with her husband Alan Saul and their two daughters.
Start in University Politics
While at Trinity College Dublin, Bacik was elected president of the Students' Union in 1989. During this time, she was involved in providing information about women's health choices. A group that disagreed with her views, the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC), took her and other students to court.
The court case was about whether students could share certain types of information. The SPUC group won the case, but it happened long after Bacik had already finished college. She later said that Mary Robinson, who would become President of Ireland, helped her and the other students during this difficult time.
Political Career
Bacik first tried to get elected to the Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Irish parliament, in 1997 and 2002 but was not successful.
European and Local Elections
In 2004, she ran for a seat in the European Parliament for the Dublin area. She received many votes but not enough to win. That same year, she published a book called Kicking and Screaming: Dragging Ireland into the 21st Century.
In 2007, she ran for the Seanad again and was elected as a Senator for Dublin University. She first sat as an independent politician. In 2009, she joined the Labour Party group in the Seanad.
Joining the Dáil Éireann
Bacik ran for a seat in the Dáil Éireann, the main house of the Irish parliament, in 2011 but was not elected. She was re-elected to the Seanad instead and became the Deputy Leader of the Seanad.
In 2021, a seat in the Dáil became available in the Dublin Bay South area. Bacik decided to run in the special election to fill it. Her campaign focused on important issues like affordable housing, better healthcare, and fighting climate change. She pointed out that she had helped pass more laws than any other Senator on topics like workers' rights and equality.
Bacik won the election with over 30% of the first-choice votes. Many people were happy to see her elected, and it was seen as a big boost for the Labour Party.
Leader of the Labour Party
In March 2022, the leader of the Labour Party, Alan Kelly, stepped down. Bacik announced she would run to become the new leader. No one ran against her, and on 24 March 2022, she was officially named the new leader.
In her first speech as leader, she said she would focus on the rising cost of living and other serious problems facing Ireland. At the 2024 Irish general election, Bacik was re-elected to the Dáil.
Political Views
Bacik's political ideas are often described as social democratic and centre-left. This means she believes in creating a fairer society by having the government play an active role in helping people. She supports constructive politics, which means working to make positive changes by being part of the government.
Social and Economic Ideas
Bacik has called for the government to take action against religious groups that were found to have run homes where many children died.
In 2020, she helped pass a law that gives Irish citizenship to any child born on the island of Ireland. She also suggested that medical workers from other countries who helped during the COVID-19 pandemic should be able to become Irish citizens more quickly.
On money matters, Bacik supports a windfall tax on energy companies that make huge profits. She also wants to raise the minimum wage for workers. She believes in progressive taxation, where people who earn more money pay a higher percentage in taxes. She thinks this is a fair way to share wealth.
Foreign Policy
Bacik is a supporter of Palestine. After the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in 2023, she called for a ceasefire. She also questioned the position of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland.
She praised the Irish government for helping over 20,000 refugees from the war in Ukraine. She has called for stronger actions against Russia, including at the European Union and United Nations.
Housing Policy
Bacik has said that the government needs to do more to solve Ireland's housing problems. In March 2023, she stated that a temporary ban on evictions was meant to give the government time to build more houses, but that their building targets were too low.
Legal Work and Awards
Before becoming a full-time politician, Bacik was a professor at the Law School in Trinity College Dublin. She started in 1996 and taught subjects like criminal law and human rights. She resigned from her main role in 2022 but is still connected to the university.
Bacik also worked as a barrister (a type of lawyer). In 2006, she was part of the legal team for Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan. They were in a famous court case about getting their Canadian same-sex marriage recognized in Ireland.
In 2019, Bacik received two major awards. The Irish Women Lawyers Association named her Irish Woman Lawyer of the Year. The magazine Irish Tatler also chose her as its 'Woman of the Year.'
