Results 521-540 of 7,637 for speaker:Rónán Mullen

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (3 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I respect that the Cathaoirleach has a job to do. The problem is that others get to gallop away to the races constantly and are barely interrupted. That makes it difficult. I conclude——

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (3 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: ——by asking for a debate on that——

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (3 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: ——and also encouraging people to buy U2's new album because the Dutch economy needs the money.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (3 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: There is plenty of time for us to speak today.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: It never gives me satisfaction to visit this issue because it is deeply personal for many. I recognise Senator Norris's particular knowledge of the issue and his attachment to his views which many support. I disagree with these proposed amendments. This is a sensitive, personal issue. I have friends who are homosexual who do not agree with my views on this issue and there are those who do...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Indeed.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: It is very hard to have this debate because, despite the many welcome advances we have made in our ability to discuss a range of issues openly, people on both sides of the argument, particularly those with a traditional view such as mine, can easily and quickly feel demonised. They sometimes feel bullied into not expressing their views. I would like for people never to abandon values of...

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Before the break I made the point on these amendments that we should not look at people's views on this matter on the basis that they are likely to be sectarian or religious if they come from a traditionalist position. People of different religious views will be on both sides of this argument and there are people who would be concerned about allowing same-sex adoption for reasons that have...

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I thank my colleagues for their courtesy in their responses. I recognise that the position I advocate in the current climate is not the position that enjoys majority support in the media. It tends to be the view that is considered not to be politically correct. In a society where people who have a traditionalist world view presume to speak there can sometimes be a tendency to be intolerant...

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: There is no time limit.

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Senator Healy Eames and I will have a glass of milk about it in the Dáil bar later and make up in due course.

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Whose saucer?

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Senator Fitzgerald said she did not believe we would quote any study that shows what works best for children. There might have been an unconscious glibness about what I had to say about surveys and statistics. While surveys clearly help to determine what assessment people have reached on an issue, they do not prove whether they are right or wrong in that assessment of a situation at a given...

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: The Senator referred to Professor Susan Golombok. Will we be so mindless as to ignore statistics? Surely we must factor them into the debate and consider the evidence. As to different types of family form and outcomes for children, other countries, including Britain and the United States, tend to be far ahead of us. I am concerned that, as a small community, Irish academia may be...

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: My contribution is relevant to the points made in response to my earlier contribution and I have not strayed from those points. I am trying to bring about circumstances in which respect as distinct from mere lip service is shown to different points of view. Senators Bacik and Norris are correct that there is a degree of unenforceability about a child's right to his or her biological...

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: On a point of order, I did not say that.

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I call on Senator Norris to withdraw that remark.

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I will place on record the precise circumstances of the conversation.

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I, too, am happy to place on record the details of the conversation. I call on Senator Norris to withdraw the untruthful version of events he provided.

Seanad: (4 Mar 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I am sorry, but I must respond to what Senator Norris has put on the record. The Senator was being rather uncharitable about certain people whose traditions and views——