In this episode, Senator Barry Ward speaks to Senator Pauline O’Reilly, Vice Chair of the Join Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality (https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/committees/33/gender-equality/), which has been established on foot of the recommendations of the Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality (https://www.citizensassembly.ie/en/previous-assemblies/2020-2021-citizens-assembly-on-gender-equality/about-the-citizens-assembly/meetings/the-citizens-assembly-publishes-final-report-on-gender-equality/the-citizens-assembly-publishes-final-report-on-gender-equality.html). The discus ..read more

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 Mater ..read more

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 https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/bill/2021/55/passed 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 https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Stephen-Donnelly.D.2011-03-09/ , originally sponsored the Prohibition of Above-cost Ticket To ..read more

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. 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 https://twitter.com/jerrybuttimer, on Instagram @jerrybuttimer https://www.instagram.com/jerrybutti ..read more

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 Inst ..read more

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

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 Traf ..read more

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 ..read more

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 iss ..read more

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 ..read more