Results 3,561-3,580 of 26,396 for speaker:David Cullinane

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

David Cullinane: I move recommendation No. 7: In page 4, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following:"Amendment of Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 3. Schedule 5 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 is amended in paragraph 1(4) by deleting the words "Irish Water," (inserted by section 20 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2014).".

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

David Cullinane: I am afraid that has not allayed peoples' concerns as the Minister of State would have, noisily, heard last Wednesday when ten of thousands of people gathered outside Leinster House to voice their frustration in respect of water charges. He referred to the water conservation grant which this recommendation is about. This is not a conservation grant at all - let us be honest about it. Let...

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: I am. I want to make a brief point.

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

David Cullinane: No. The reason we have Committee Stage is to tease out all these issues.

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

David Cullinane: You are an outstanding Leas-Chathaoirleach who is very aware of the importance of Committee Stage in scrutinising legislation. I will not hold up the House at all on this issue. I asked one specific question about the water conservation grant. How will it conserve water?

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

David Cullinane: I thought I was allowed to make a contribution and the Minister of State would respond.

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

David Cullinane: In any event, I enjoyed the interruption. That is not the point at all.

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

David Cullinane: The Minister of State missed the point entirely.

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

David Cullinane: The Minister of State may be able to afford to use that €100 to invest in water conservation measures, but the vast majority of people will not. That is the reality. That is not what this is designed to be. If the Minister of State from the Labour Party is saying to people who genuinely cannot afford to pay water charges that the €100 could be spent on rainwater harvesting,...

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

David Cullinane: I am trying my best to sink the Government's propaganda on the issue.

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

David Cullinane: I made my point and I will press the recommendation.

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

David Cullinane: I welcome the Tánaiste. We had a very interesting debate with the Minister of State prior to the vote. This discussion is going to be a continuation of that. I appreciate that the Tánaiste may not be up to speed on what was said earlier. In that context, a number of recommendations relating to section 3 were ruled out of order, which is fine. However, we engaged in a discussion...

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

David Cullinane: The section provided an opportunity for the Government to make changes but it made only one. The recommendations we tabled were ruled out of order. There is potential for the Minister-----

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

David Cullinane: With respect, the debate on the section provides us with the opportunity to raise such issues. I will not be prevented from making my point because-----

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

David Cullinane: I am not making a Second Stage speech. This matter relates to the budget.

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

David Cullinane: There is not much evidence of that latitude, all I can hear are interruptions. The Leas-Chathaoirleach, when he was in the Chair, allowed for a proper and free-flowing debate. When we seek to highlight such issues, namely, the need for proper pre-budget debates, we are informed that we should raise them when the legislation comes before the House. When we do that, we are informed that our...

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

David Cullinane: The Tánaiste did not address the point about the overpayments. It was presumably just an oversight, and I ask that she would come back to me on that issue and the report I cited. To pick up on the previous discussion with Senator Mooney on this section, Irish Water is still referenced in the Bill and it is linked to the water conservation grant on which the Tánaiste spoke. I...

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

David Cullinane: The points I have raised on overpayments have been raised in the past and we will continue to raise them. I found the Tánaiste's response to be somewhat flippant and in stark contrast to the Minister of State's, who was quite engaging on the issues. The Tánaiste knows full well from previous discussions we have had on this that there is a clear distinction between those who are...

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

David Cullinane: The Tánaiste is not dealing with the point. I did not mention people engaged in fraud. What about people who make genuine mistakes?