Results 23,241-23,260 of 26,795 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: The Senator's colleagues voted with the Fine Gael councillors.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: It was not my intention to get involved in a party political debate, but we are here to scrutinise legislation and also to hold the Government to account. Very often when Ministers are trying to bat away criticism, the notion of a party political debate is peddled. It very much depends on what side of the Chamber one is sitting on.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: We have a job to do, to critique the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014 and to critique the Government's approach to social welfare. This recommendation goes back to 2011 and asks for a review of all the reductions that have taken place and the impact they have had on citizens. The Minister of State said in response that getting people back to work is the best way to lift people...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: This is a clever amendment and one that should be supported, although it states that we should review all the social welfare cuts since 2011. I would go back to 2007 because there were many cuts made by the previous Government as well-----

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: -----but I fully accept the thrust of the amendment which I support. I said on Second Stage when the Minister was in the House that the test of any Government is whether, at the end of its term, it has increased or reduced poverty and inequality. In terms of all the reports, even the right wing ESRI, which is so-called independent, has indicted the Minister's Government with regard to the...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: It is obvious that the Government has a contempt for the Seanad. We have seen it several times attempt to trample all over the rights of the Seanad, one of the institutions of this State. We saw it with the botched referendum campaign. We saw it with the botched by-election campaign. This was one they could not lose but they did, and Senator Craughwell is sitting here today as a...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: No.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister to the House. This is a Bill that Sinn Féin and I will support. However, I wish to make some comments about the health service, private health insurance and the Government's model. The legislation aims to update the regulation regime for the health insurance sector. Some elements, community weighting, for example, are necessary in the delivery of our health...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: The Labour Party is welcome to come on board with Sinn Féin and be a crutch-----

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: -----for Sinn Féin rather than a crutch for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, as it has been in the past. It is an issue to which Sinn Féin is committed. If the Labour Party is committed to it, that is great and we will see what the other parties offer in the lead-up to the general election. It is obvious that we cannot move to universal health care in a single tier system...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Second Stage (11 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: It is not very often that I support a Social Welfare Bill, as we certainly were not given that opportunity in the past few years. However, I am supporting the Bill, not because I think it is fantastic or that the Government has done anything of significance for those on social welfare payments, but because it does provide for some increases for people whom we obviously need to support....

Seanad: Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 1: 1. In page 4, after line 38, to insert the following:“Amendment of Act of 1992 3. The Act of 1992 is amended by the insertion of the following new section after section 61:“Common good 61A. The achievement of the common good may require permanent or temporary interference with the rights, including intellectual property rights, of persons or corporate...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: It is interesting that a number of Government Senators this morning called for a debate on the right to protest. It is not surprising given that over the last two months we have seen three of the biggest protests that have taken place in this State in decades. In October we had the big rally in Dublin, when 100,000 people marched. On 1 November, we had the local and regional rallies, when...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: The Government says it is in listening mode. There was, yesterday, a small group of maybe a hundred protesters that had a different agenda and broke away from the Right2Water group. The Right2Water group would condemn the actions of anyone who did not engage in peaceful protest yesterday.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I was at the protest outside Merrion Square. There were music and songs, but that is part of a rally. Rather than talking about the right to protest, what we need from the Government Senators is a call for a debate on the right to water. That is what people were protesting about. They see water as a human right. There are people within the Right2Water campaign who are against water...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: -----and the protesters said 100,000 - it was the biggest midweek rally or mobilisation of people, possibly in decades, in this State. That says a lot about how people feel about this issue. People are energised, mobilised and determined not to allow this or any future Government to privatise our services. There was also a very real anti-water-charges sentiment. The majority of those on...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I thank the Senator.