Results 24,781-24,800 of 26,834 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: Those people live in poverty in this State, and I know Senators on the Government side might find that uncomfortable. I will not be changing my tune because it remains exactly the same.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Further Education and Training Programmes (13 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: I thank the Minister of State for his reply and acknowledge the fact that he has conceded that four teaching posts will be lost. The figure is actually 4.6. That will have a significant impact on the ability of the college to provide its courses. The Minister of State spoke about savings of ¤12 million in a full year and ¤4 million in 2013, which is not a huge amount of money in the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Further Education and Training Programmes (13 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister of State back to the house. He is taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills. He will be aware of the cuts announced in the last budget in regard to teaching posts for colleges of further education. For the information of the Minister of State and to do justice to the people who sent me correspondence, I want to read into the...

Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (13 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: This is unacceptable.

Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (13 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: The Minister has been shaking his head a great deal but it is sometimes wiser to listen. He has had an opportunity to speak and will have a further opportunity to respond.

Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (13 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: When introducing the 1986 legislation, the Minister of the day spoke of the need for public trust and confidence in the operation of a State lottery. In that respect, we have been served well by An Post. The Minister referred to EU competition law. In extending the term of the current contract by 18 months, did he breach EU competition law and, if not, why can the contract not be extended...

Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (13 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: A wealth tax would help.

Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (13 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: The Minister is embracing it now.

Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (13 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: I also welcome the Minister to the House. It is important that he came here for this debate. We are all rightly concerned about the future of the national lottery. The motion that has been tabled, and I fully support its thrust and logic, gives us an important chance to debate the future of the national lottery. It strikes me that there is nothing the Government will not privatise, there...

Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (13 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: Time will tell. Trees are to be privatised. Now the national lottery is to be privatised. It comes as no surprise to me but it comes as a surprise to many of those who voted for the Labour Party and perhaps that is one of the reasons why the party is now so low in the polls. I strongly support the core principle of the motion is that the national lottery licence must remain fully within...

Seanad: Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second and Subsequent Stages (13 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: Thank you, a Leas-Chathaoirligh, and I welcome the Minister back to the House to debate this important issue. I will be supporting the Bill because it is important that we continue to improve areas of child protection. Although the Bill is largely technical, it does tidy up some areas of child care policy, which I support. The Bill which amends the 1991 Child Care Act seeks to allow for...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: Yesterday was a bitter-sweet day for job creation in the State, including Waterford, my home city and that of the Leader. It was a good day in that Genzyme announced a welcome and significant capital investment in its Waterford plant, cementing hundreds of jobs in the city and south east. However, it was a bad day in that a large number of job losses were announced in B&Q stores across...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: I remind the Deputy Leader that this year is the centenary of the 1913 Lock-out. A number of weeks ago I asked the Leader whether the Oireachtas would consider marking the centenary in its own way. I put forward a proposal that this House could invite a senior trade union leader from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to address it on the subject of workers' rights and employment rights....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Rural Communities Report: Discussion with Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (12 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: Notwithstanding any concerns I have on the Government's action plan for jobs and the Minister's plan for putting people first, I welcome the establishment of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas, CEDRA. I hope it will be able to examine failures in the system and also to consider how we can tweak the action plan for jobs and build on some of its successes as well. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Rural Communities Report: Discussion with Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (12 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: I accept that. The final point I wish to make in order to reinforce what I said is that last year we had 341 IDA-sponsored visits across the State. A total of 212 of those were to Dublin and Cork.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Rural Communities Report: Discussion with Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (12 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: Areas such as Wexford, Kilkenny and places in the south east did not get the level of support they required. It is important that we re-evaluate what is being done. I accept the work of CEDRA will be important for rural development but we must acknowledge the regional disparities that exist. More must be done to ensure that where we have high levels of unemployment above the national...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Rural Communities Report: Discussion with Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (12 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: It might surprise the Minister to learn that the committee gave me the opportunity to be a special rapporteur to develop a jobs action plan for the south east. I am most interested in the south east.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Rural Communities Report: Discussion with Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (12 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: There is a big difference between that and bumping up capital projects for one’s own benefit.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Rural Communities Report: Discussion with Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (12 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: I want to ensure we have proper, balanced regional development.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Rural Communities Report: Discussion with Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (12 Feb 2013)

David Cullinane: Is the Minister present to talk about jobs or about his own constituency?