Results 3,601-3,620 of 26,396 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: Good on him.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: Did the Senator leave anybody out? What about the Reform Alliance?

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: It is Labour's tax.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I thought the Laurel and Hardy double act on the Water Services Bill, marks one and two, had ended when Laurel got his P45 and Hardy was sent to Brussels. However, the contributions from the Leader of the House, Senator Cummins, and Senator Mullins prove that the comedy act is alive and well. The statements by those Senators today were outrageous. Senator Cummins said the Government had...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: It is outrageous. I hope today goes down in history as the day the Seanad stood on its own two feet, acted independently and refused to be bullied by the Government.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I hope the Independent Senators stand up to the bully boys and girls on the other side of the House. Irish Water is a monumental failure and I hope they do not vote for it, because the Government should not celebrate today as a good day for the State. This legislation is an absolute monstrosity. The Minister should abolish Irish Water and the water charges, but that will not be done...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I am talking about the people and the decision they made.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I advise colleagues on the other side of the House to settle down and listen for a change. They have come in here with their scripted speeches attacking Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil because they cannot stand over their own policies. As I said, this could be a good day for the Seanad. I appeal to all Independent Senators to act independently and stand by the people who are being asked...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: That arrogance is the reason the Labour Party is so deeply unpopular.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: If the Minister really was listening to the people, he would abolish water charges. I urge him to do the decent thing now instead of coming in here with half-baked measures. The majority of citizens want him to abolish water charges. He should do that instead of engaging in this charade of so-called conditions and concessions. They are not worth the paper they are written on and the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Palliative Care Facilities (18 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I thank the Minister of State for taking this motion. I have tabled four Adjournment matters on this issue since being elected to Seanad Éireann, because it is important not just for the people of Waterford but those of the entire south east. A palliative care unit needs to be built on the grounds of University Hospital Waterford, formerly Waterford Regional Hospital. The last time I...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Palliative Care Facilities (18 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I thank the Minister of State for her response. When I raised this issue on 27 November 2013, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, responded by saying the enabling works for this development were being progressed, that it was expected the design team would be appointed in early 2014 and that it was anticipated construction would commence in early 2015. The Minister of State has...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister to the House. I expect the House will discuss the Bill for some time today and on Monday and I hope we will have constructive debates on the amendments and sections. While I accept that the fault does not lie with the Government, it is still outrageous that a number of amendments on the section have been ruled out of order and that Senators must confine their remarks...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: We have all day.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: No problem whatsoever.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: It is very easy for the Minister to come into this Chamber, take to his feet and say what he has said.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I did not interrupt the Minister and it is time he sat back and listened to the response. He made a lengthy and passionate contribution but, in reality, it was meaningless for the following reasons. It was easy for him to say, as a Minister, as a citizen and as a person, that "over my dead body will our water be privatised". Any Senator in this Chamber could stand up and say exactly the...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: I respectfully ask the Minister to listen to me. He will have a chance again to respond to me. What Parliament in its right mind would put €90 billion of taxpayers’ money into private banks, not public banks, to pay back private bondholders? We emptied the National Pensions Reserve Fund and borrowed money to put into the banks. Leading up to that, no one would have foreseen...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

David Cullinane: No, he did not. I will repeat the question and the Minister might respond. I accept that the Labour Party and the Government do not want to privatise water services at this point. What if, at some point in the future because of an economic crisis, a Government was minded to privatise water? Would it be possible for it to do so? Is it possible for a future Government to introduce an...