Results 2,441-2,460 of 26,396 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Tackling Bullying in Schools: Statements (Resumed) (26 Sep 2013)

David Cullinane: First, I wish to welcome some visitors from Australia who are in the Public Gallery today with Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn. I welcome the Minister to the House to discuss this important issue. I am sure, like me, the Minister has met parents and pupils in his constituency office who present with a case of bullying. It is a very difficult problem to deal with as a public...

Seanad: Tackling Bullying in Schools: Statements (Resumed) (26 Sep 2013)

David Cullinane: I accept that. I welcome the recent announcement that parents are to receive special training in an effort to crack down on bullying in our schools. I also support the Minister's decision to allocate €40,000 to an anti-bullying project. Any steps taken by the Minister and his Department to deal with this issue will have the full support of my party. Like the parents' and teachers'...

Seanad: Tackling Bullying in Schools: Statements (Resumed) (26 Sep 2013)

David Cullinane: I am presenting the figures ---

Seanad: Tackling Bullying in Schools: Statements (Resumed) (26 Sep 2013)

David Cullinane: There may be examples of that. There may be imbalances in the system but it is the Minister's job to address that. I am presenting the figures for over-sized classes, which are an obvious problem and an obvious reality. Nobody can say that we have not had cutbacks in our education system. We have had many cutbacks and the Minister will say that they were necessary, as part of our economic...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: It is with sadness again that I note we are faced with a case in which the HSE's action, or rather lack of action, in how it dealt with a child abuse allegation has come in for criticism by the Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan. In upholding a complaint by a family, she found that the HSE's actions had negatively affected the child involved. She was critical of the HSE's failure to...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (1 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: Last night, I attended a public meeting in Dungarvan, County Waterford, that was attended by approximately 500 parents and teachers from schools across Waterford city and county. I note the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO, has organised similar meetings throughout the State. A strong sense of solidarity was evident at the meeting, at which parents showed solidarity with teachers,...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (1 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: I thank the Minister of State for taking the Adjournment matter but I strongly object to the comment that those who suggest consideration be given to providing additional teachers in order to reduce class sizes do not live in the real world. That is an appalling statement. It is a just demand made by parents and teachers that we should at least meet the international average and the average...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: I intended to raise a different issue but I must support the comments of the previous speaker. I was completely unaware of that situation. I also have organised a number of events and meetings at which NGOs were to come in and brief Oireachtas Members on different issues, as I am sure have other Senators and Deputies. It would be appalling and bizarre if Oireachtas Members were prevented...

Seanad: County Enterprise Boards (Dissolution) Bill 2013: Second Stage (2 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and warmly welcome the publication of this Bill which, as he will accept, is long overdue. I raised at the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovations on several occasions the need for this legislation to be put in place as soon as possible. Obviously there was uncertainty around what was going to happen and the city and county enterprise...

Seanad: Upward Only Rent (Clauses and Reviews) Bill 2013: Second Stage (2 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I commend Senator Quinn on tabling the Bill. It gives us the opportunity to discuss this issue. We had some conversation with the Minister of State with responsibility for small business, who was in the House today. He was dealing with the legislation to put in place the local employment offices. The issue of upward-only rents was one of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: Tomorrow is an important day for the future of the House. Now that academics, campaign groups, political parties and the rest of the political classes have completed their debate, the people will have their say tomorrow. I hope they will come out in large numbers to vote in the referendums on the future of the Seanad and the establishment of a new court of appeal. Whatever they decide in...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: I commend all of those people who voted both in the Seanad referendum and in the referendum on the court of appeal. There is a message for all of us inside and outside the political system that 65% of the people of the State did not vote either on the future of the Seanad or on the court of appeal.

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: I am sorry. More than 60% of people did not vote, which is a significant section of the population. We must reflect on that; not just in terms of the referendum but also in terms of future elections as well because we must mobilise people and encourage them to vote. I said as well on the Thursday before the referendum that the vast majority of people outside the four walls of this House...

Seanad: Issues Facing Small and Medium Enterprises in Rural Towns: Motion (8 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, back to the Chamber. I look forward to seeing her here on many occasions in the future. I commend the Labour Party Senators on the motion before us today. Opposition Members often table amendments to motions from the Government side, but this particular proposal is worthy of standing on its own and offers scope for a comprehensive...

Seanad: Issues Facing Small and Medium Enterprises in Rural Towns: Motion (8 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: I will refer to local government because the Senator and I served on local authorities for many years. We know the importance of local government. In the context of political reform discussions that I hope we will have in this House and generally in the coming weeks and months, we should also look at strengthening and empowering local government to deal with the issues we are discussing.

Seanad: Political Reform: Statements (8 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: I commend Senator Cummins on his ordering of this debate. It is important, in the wake of the referendum, that Members of this House reflect on the outcome of the referendum and the messages both sides sent to all of us and the political system itself. Referendum day is the people's day. The people spoke and the people are sovereign. We all regret that the majority of people entitled to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Pathways to Work 2013: Discussion with Department of Social Protection (8 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: I apologise for missing the presentations. I had a speaking engagement in the Seanad and could not attend. I welcome the delegation to the committee which published a report a number of weeks ago entitled, Southeast Economic Development Strategy 2013-2023. It made a number of recommendations for the south east, although it would be logical to apply some of these across the State. Some of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Pathways to Work 2013: Discussion with Department of Social Protection (8 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: As an aside, an issue about which service providers feel strongly is that the greater the collaboration between some of the schemes, the more we can get from them. Sometimes there is not that collaboration.

Seanad: County Enterprise Boards (Dissolution) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (9 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: I apologise to the Minister of State for my late arrival. I got here as soon as I could from another meeting but am disappointed to have missed the debate on the earlier amendments. We received the clár for this week very late and there were a couple of errors in tabled amendments. We did not get ours in on time and will, therefore, be tabling several proposals on Report Stage. The...

Seanad: County Enterprise Boards (Dissolution) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (9 Oct 2013)

David Cullinane: The thrust of the amendments will be to tie support for grant aid with compliance with labour law.