Results 701-720 of 26,396 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: It is in German also.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Amendment No. 6 provides that the sum may be revised by the Oireachtas. This is an important amendment and I ask the Minister of State to consider it. We are arguing that the Houses of the Oireachtas should in the first instance decide whether to increase the charge. It should not be the prerogative of a Minister to increase the charge. I will not rehearse all the issues arising because I...

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: It is not just the ESRI. I hope the Senator is not sneering at people in poverty.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: It was about putting more people into poverty. The Senator is right.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Which the Government did.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Is the Senator saying that if somebody aspires to end poverty, they have a vested interest and should not aspire to it because they might lose politically?

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: That is an extraordinary statement.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Absolutely.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Is the Senator speaking to the amendment? I was ruled out of order for raising the North earlier.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Will I have a chance to respond? I was ruled out of order for setting the record straight.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: We wish to respond but we were ruled out of order. Impartiality should be shown by the Acting Chairman.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: This is a very good Second Stage speech.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: We will get a chance to respond.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: People cannot afford to buy a new overcoat. There is nothing wrong with buying second-hand.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: I think people should understand clearly what this motion is calling for. We are calling for the social inclusion division of the Department of Social Protection to carry out a poverty impact analysis study. We are essentially calling on the Government to start poverty proofing policies. There is nothing wrong with that. We could have a whole raft of anti-poverty organisations - people...

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: I am just making the point that this is the purpose of what we are trying to do. Senator Bradford asked whether Sinn Féin was serious about this amendment. We are absolutely serious about it. We are absolutely serious about dealing with poverty.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: It is the main reason I got involved in politics. I can see people, including children, who are living in poverty. I deal with it every single day of the week and it motivates me to come into this House when I know that people are struggling out there. I hear politicians say that €100 is only €2 per week but that may be the case for somebody on €70,000, €80,000, €100,000 or...

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Or €75,000. That is a separate issue and I will deal with that in a moment. For people living in poverty, €2 per week is a huge amount of money. In a previous debate today, we had a discussion about the pay and pensions of very senior civil servants and Ministers. I made all those points about difficult times, the hard decisions that had to be made and that we had to find the money...

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: The social development fund, the social inclusion fund.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: They opposed water charges. I was interrupted.