My Career: Ivana Bacik TD

Did you always want to be an elected representative? 
I have been involved in political activism since I was a student, and it has always been an important part of my life. My mother Rina is a feminist herself, and I came to Trinity as a student in the late 1980s, already passionate about the need to change Ireland and create a more equal society. Trinity at that time was a hotbed of left-wing and feminist activism, and I quickly joined the Students’ Union, the women’s group and the Labour Society. I was elected President of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union in 1989, and my fellow officers and I were then taken to court and threatened with prison by the conservative group SPUC (Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child) because we were providing women with information on how to access abortion in England. That experience motivated me to remain politically active and I got involved in other socialist and environmental campaigns too. I first ran for the Seanad as a Trinity graduate in 1999, and was elected for the first time in 2007 – seeking election to our national parliament had felt like the next step, an exciting opportunity to bring about the changes I had been campaigning for as a student activist. In July 2021, after being re-elected over many productive years as a senator, I was deeply honoured and thrilled to be elected to the Dáil to represent my own community in Dublin Bay South. My favourite headline following that bye-election result was ‘Overnight success after 30 years’!

In college, I studied… Law at Trinity College Dublin, and then went on to do a Masters in Law at London School of Economics – an inspiring place to be a postgrad. I qualified as a barrister in London and Dublin, and more recently became a student again, researching for a doctorate in feminist criminology at Trinity. An interesting experience to return to studies in my 50s and a huge delight to have finally achieved the PhD in 2022.

My most formative work experience was… back in 1989/1990 as a young student, taking calls and visits every day at the Students’ Union office in Trinity from women and girls with crisis pregnancies who needed access to the phone number for abortion clinics in England. In those pre-internet days, when it was illegal to provide this information, and every women’s magazine imported into Ireland was even being censored, it was very difficult for women to find out how to access abortion in England. The experience of listening to and speaking with so many desperate and distressed women and girls was a formative one, and it strongly motivated me to stay involved in pro-choice and political activism. I was so proud when we finally voted for Repeal as a nation in 2018, and glad to have played my part in the long campaign for change.

My first real job was… as President of Trinity Students’ Union. That was my first full-time job but I had started getting paid work as a babysitter in my teens and did many other student jobs; I did waitressing jobs in Dublin, London, Boston and Toronto and also worked as a childminder, bartender, chef,  cleaner, and even a census enumerator, amongst other things. My first waitressing job was in MacArthur’s Steakhouse on Dame Street in Dublin (where the Mercantile is now); it had famously featured in the 1983 film Educating Rita, and tourists kept popping in to see if the actor Michael Caine was still on the premises!

The most invaluable thing I learned early on in my career was… that it is beneficial to have variety and diversity in your career path – it keeps things interesting and means you don’t get pigeonholed into one role. For many years, I practised as a barrister in the criminal courts, as well as teaching Law at Trinity and making law in the Seanad. They were exciting and busy times. When I was elected to the Dáil, I discovered that it’s very liberating to change career mid-life!

A common misconception about what I do is that… TDs have long holidays. We don’t! Our work in the Dáil is only part of what we do; even when the Dáil is not sitting, we are still working. A large amount of my working time each week is spent giving help and support to constituents and local communities. It’s my favourite part of the job!

My main responsibility in work is… to represent my constituents across Dublin Bay South as best I can, and to build and grow support for Labour values of equality, solidarity and fairness in order to create a more equal society.

Do you have a career mentor or someone you look up to/seek advice from?  
I have had several mentors over the years who have been incredibly supportive. In particular, I was always really inspired by the late Niamh Bhreathnach, former Labour Minister for Education, who introduced free third-level education in Ireland and introduced many other initiatives to create a more equal education system. Niamh was an amazing friend, mentor and adviser – she was also great fun. I miss her very much.

The biggest risk I have taken in my career so far is… to become a full-time elected representative. It’s not the most secure of careers as each election can lead to involuntary retirement! I loved teaching Law at Trinity and was sorry to give that up when I was elected to Dáil Eireann, but it’s an incredible honour to represent my constituency and to have become leader of the Labour Party. I am determined to give it my all.

I wake at… 7am, when the alarm goes off. I am naturally more of a late owl than an early bird, so it’s often a struggle to get out of bed.

The first thing I do every morning is… wake up my daughters if it’s a school day. Even if it’s not a school day, our dog Ginny tends to make her presence felt by ‘politely’ requesting to be let outside.

My morning routine involves… taking Ginny for a walk along the canal. It’s a great way to clear the head in advance of the working day, and both the dog and I invariably meet neighbours and friends while out and about.

I can’t go to work without… my Filofax, I bring it everywhere. I’m probably one of the last people in Ireland still to use an actual Filofax, but I love it! Nothing beats being able to flick through physical pages, and the iPhone calendar is a very poor substitute.

I travel to work by… bike. It’s by far the quickest way to get into the Dáil from our home in Portobello, and is a great way to get around the constituency as well.

On an average workday, I… will do a hundred different things, including meeting constituents, speaking in Dáil Eireann if it’s a sitting day, putting questions to the Taoiseach or Ministers, doing media interviews and liaising with Labour colleagues and party members on important issues.

I start my working day at… usually well before 9am, when I will be checking emails and social media. At the other end of the working day, I’ll usually still be checking emails and social media feeds at 10 or 11pm. It’s very hard to switch off from politics!

The first thing I do at work is… check my emails (again) and check in with my political adviser and the members of our great Labour team in Leinster House about our plans for the day.

I usually spend the first portion of the day… attending events and preparing speeches for debates in Dáil Eireann. I’ll often try and get out and about to visit constituents before I go into Leinster House if I have no formal meetings scheduled.

I break for lunch… whenever I have a spare minute and usually have a tuna or cheese sandwich at the desk – always with a coffee, preferably from the lovely Le Petit Café across the street from Leinster House.

The most useful business tool I use every day is… time management. I’ve always been good at managing time, and try to ensure that working time is used wisely and that tasks are delegated where possible. It would be great to have the skill of bilocation as a TD, but efficient time management is a good substitute.

I save time by… planning my days in advance with members of my office so that every minute is used effectively. Every Thursday we sit down and look at the diary for the following week, and allocate tasks and events so that everything is covered.

I rarely get through my working day without… tweeting photos or messages about events I’ve attended or issues I have been raising. We use social media all the time to get the word out about the work that I and the Labour team are doing – it’s an essential part of the job.

The best part of my day is… when I get to meet people out and about in the local community, when we succeed in getting something done for a constituent, or seeing some change introduced that we have been campaigning for. I love it when I get a message from a constituent telling me that our advocacy on their behalf has helped their situation.

The most challenging part of my day is… that I always have to be ‘on’ and ready to speak to the media on any topical issue, it requires a lot of focus – particularly with the frequent last-minute requests for live interviews.

I know it’s been a good day if… we’re still laughing in the office despite the inevitable stresses and challenges that come with political work.

I usually end my day at… about 11pm. I will try to stop checking emails and social media and start winding down. I’m not a great sleeper so the process can take some time…

I switch off from work by… taking the dog out for a walk, going for a swim or a cycle or even training for a triathlon. I am planning to do the Dublin City Triathlon again this year. It’s a great motivator! But I also love to switch off by going out for dinner, drinks and ideally also dancing with friends – we’ve been a few times now to the brilliant local La Gordita restaurant run by our friends from Las Tapas de Lola in the Camden Street area.

Before I go to bed, I’ll… usually watch some TV comedy with my daughters; we love Modern Family – it’s full of vital life lessons and fantastic dialogue. Then, I’ll always have a book on the go as I like to read a few pages before bed. The most recent is Sarah Gilmartin’s great new page turner Service.

I often prepare for tomorrow by… going over the schedule for the next day, and checking that I know where I have to be at each relevant time. I like to have every minute accounted for in advance!

After a long work week, I destress by… there’s nothing better than a sea swim. During the pandemic, a small group of us started swimming every weekend at the glorious Half Moon Club on the South Wall pier at Poolbeg. We’ve kept that up now through three winters, and after a long work week, I love to cycle down the pier and jump off the ladder into the sea. Floating in the (icy) water, staring up at the iconic Poolbeg Stacks, is the best way to shake off the challenges of work, and to provide a real sense of perspective.

The accomplishment I’m most proud of is… the fact that we achieved success in the Marriage Equality and Repeal referendums. I was very proud to play a role in both. But at a local level, I’m most proud of having succeeded along with other local parents in establishing a new multi-denominational school in Dublin 8 (Canal Way ETNS); it’s now a thriving and happy school and it gives me immense joy to remain involved with its progress.

If you want to get into my line of work, my advice is… to get involved with fantastic organisations such as Women for Election, who help and support women to develop the skills and confidence necessary to run for elected office. Research that I did some years ago shows that women face five obstacles in politics (the Five Cs): Lack of Cash; Lack of Confidence; Lack of Childcare; an Old Boys’ Culture; and Candidate selection procedures. But, increasingly, we are changing the way politics works through initiatives like the gender quota, to ensure that more women come forward as candidates. In Labour we are actively recruiting women candidates – you’ll see more at www.labour.ie/join.

I’ve just finished working on… my PhD thesis which was on prostitution law. At the moment, I’m working on a proposal for a book based on the PhD. If I ever get the time!

Imagery via Ivana Bacik