Results 4,501-4,520 of 7,583 for speaker:Rónán Mullen

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Dec 2014)

Rónán Mullen: It will take away from people the right to opt out, if they so wish, of participation in the broadcasting architecture. It is effectively a communications tax. Communication is something very basic to people and something they should be allowed to make decisions on. It certainly should not be another stealth tax on people.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Dec 2014)

Rónán Mullen: At this point, I am merely asking for clarity. I would like to know, not before the next general election but now, what are the Government's intentions in regard to the broadcasting charge.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Dec 2014)

Rónán Mullen: If the Minister knew at that time that there had already been a significant breach, a serious issue is raised by his not adverting to that fact. If it happened subsequently, what does that say about the attitude of this particular hospital group to the question of appropriate tendering and procurement requirements? It would raise questions if there was any conflict of interest or commercial...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Dec 2014)

Rónán Mullen: I am asking for the Minister to come to the House because if there was any commercial connection, whether as a consultant at any stage or whatever, between any member of senior management of those hospitals and the company that received the contract, it would raise serious issues. The current CEO is due to finish his term as CEO of the north west hospital group, Saolta, at the end of this...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Dec 2014)

Rónán Mullen: At the very least, it seems that there would have to be a suspension of the appointment until there was full clarity that nothing inappropriate has taken place. I ask the Leader to bring the Minister in. I would be delighted if he would address Senator Crown's serious issue, but there is a serious issue of-----

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Dec 2014)

Rónán Mullen: I am seconding Senator Crown's amendment-----

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Dec 2014)

Rónán Mullen: -----and I am asking the Leader if the Minister for Health could come to the House to discuss the serious issue that I have also raised.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Dec 2014)

Rónán Mullen: I am very happy to second Senator Crown's amendment. He has expressed the issue of urgency very clearly. Creidim féin gur chóir don Aire sinsireach teacht isteach, mar tá ceist tromchúiseach eile ardaithe anois faoi bhronnadh na gconarthaí le haghaidh seirbhísí a sholáthar do na hospidéal san iarthar. I would like the Minister for Health to come...

Seanad: Report of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges on the Proposal for a Banking Inquiry: Motion (26 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: I oppose the motion. It is the wrong time to carry out this inquiry and Members of the Oireachtas are the wrong people to do it. It is the wrong time because it is too late. Putting elected representatives of the people into the difficult and dubious task of trying to answer some very complex questions to satisfy people's legitimate and understandable outrage about everything that went on...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: I absolutely agree with the congratulations to Katie Taylor, who is an excellent ambassador for Ireland, for women and for Irish sport. I am not surprised that so many people on the Government side seem to see her as a patron saint these days. To judge by the shifting of offices going on within Fine Gael, they will be doing very well to get to five years in a row. In recognition of Katie's...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: It is generating widespread confusion. Will a parent who covers the cost of a wedding reception now have to declare this to the Revenue Commissioners? I would be grateful if the Minister could attend the House to provide some clarity on this matter.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: Last week in the Seanad I raised on the Adjournment the need for the Government to promote a very promising autism teaching technique called the rapid prompting method. This is a method for gradually teaching a child with autism to point to letters on a letter board to spell out answers. It leads to a child expressing his or her own thoughts by spelling sentences on a letter board and he or...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: Yes, I am leading to a question. It was not clear from what the Department said whether it had even heard of the rapid prompting method. I informed the Department of the families whose lives had been transformed and the children who had gone from needing special treatment situations into more mainstream schooling as a result of the very promising method. There are very courageous families...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: The plot is thickening in the Irish Water fiasco as it appears from the latest reports that Irish Water staff will not be paid any bonuses for 2014 and that the entire pay structure is to be reviewed. We have had the Minister, Deputy Kelly, expressing a personal view in the Dáil that the charges for fitting a water meter are too high and we have had the Tánaiste express what was...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Autism Support Services (13 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: Thank you very much.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Autism Support Services (13 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: I thank the Minister for being present, but I am very disappointed by the response she has been given. It is full of Civil Service speak and passes the ball completely to the NCSE and presumes that it will look at the issue. I do not know from the speech the Minister has delivered whether the Department or the NCSE has one iota of knowledge of the existence of the rapid prompting method. I...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Autism Support Services (13 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: According to the definition of the American Psychiatric Association, autism is a neuro-developmental disorder characterised by impaired social interaction, impaired verbal and non-verbal communication and restricted and repetitive behaviour. The rapid prompting method, which is the subject of this Adjournment matter, is a method for teaching a child to respond to his or her teacher by making...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: One cannot represent the leaving certificate oral as an internal exam. It was external and objective, which is what we need.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: We do not know that.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: The Deputy Leader is missing the point.