Results 1,001-1,020 of 2,118 for speaker:Michael Mullins

Seanad: Housing (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (26 Jun 2013)

Michael Mullins: I also welcome the Minister of State to the House. I welcome the Bill, which brings fairness and a much clearer understanding of the rent situation. A situation pertained where rents varied from county to county and local authority to local authority. It makes total sense that rents would be assessed solely on income so I very much welcome that provision. I join with my two colleagues in...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2013)

Michael Mullins: I have great sympathy with the amendment tabled by Senator Paschal Mooney. Certainly it is an issue that has been raised on many occasions with me by hard-pressed taxpayers. There appears to be something fundamentally wrong that benefit is being paid to children who are not living in our country but in a country where the rate is much lower. Another issue about which we spoke yesterday is...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jun 2013)

Michael Mullins: As we discuss all our own problems it is very easy to lose sight of problems and difficulties in the world as a whole. I renew my call for a debate before we rise for the summer on the ongoing crisis in Syria and the lack of progress being made in any peace process to help resolve the difficulties there. To date more than 100,000 people have lost their lives, 5 million people are internally...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (2 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: The Phoenix must have been right.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: I am pleased to note that the issue I wish to raise this morning is also the subject of an Adjournment debate tabled for this evening by Senator John Crown. I refer to the lack of regulation of sunbeds in the State, despite commitments to regulate them by previous Governments and the current Government. Children under 18 and people with very fair skin can use sunbeds without any proper...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: I join in the congratulations to Senator Kathryn Reilly and her committee on the production of the timely report Guaranteeing Our Future - a report on the need for a youth guarantee. The employment issue dovetails with a call this morning by Senator John Whelan for a debate with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government on the revival and rejuvenation of town centres....

Seanad: An Bille um an Dara Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Deireadh a Chur le Seanad Éireann) 2013: An Dara Céim (Atógáil): An Dara Céim (Atógáil) - Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed): Second Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He is showing the stamina that he displayed in his first Seanad election. I can confirm that I helped give him his first break in politics, and I am very honoured to have done so.

Seanad: An Bille um an Dara Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Deireadh a Chur le Seanad Éireann) 2013: An Dara Céim (Atógáil): An Dara Céim (Atógáil) - Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed): Second Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: They all add up. I could not but support him, given his Ballinasloe and Garbally connections at the time.

Seanad: An Bille um an Dara Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Deireadh a Chur le Seanad Éireann) 2013: An Dara Céim (Atógáil): An Dara Céim (Atógáil) - Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed): Second Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: I certainly made a very wise decision. The Minister of State has learned his skill well and made a major contribution to Irish politics since he first became a Member of this House and subsequently a Member of the Dáil. I was present on the night in 2009 when our party leader announced the decision to hold a referendum on the future of the Seanad. I remember the shock and horror on the...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: I welcome the JobsPlus initiative announced yesterday by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton. This is a very progressive scheme which will hopefully encourage many employers to take on additional staff. It will also give hope, courage and confidence to those who have been unemployed for a long time. I accept...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: I echo the call made by the Taoiseach yesterday for anybody with information on the disappeared victims of the Troubles and conflict in Northern Ireland to come forward to the victims remains commission and give such information in confidence. It is barbaric that many people who have lost loved ones are not allowed to bring closure to their grief. They should be allowed to organise a decent...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee Report (10 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: At this late hour, I would like to welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd. I call on Senator Thomas Byrne.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Mortgage Arrears Proposals (10 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: I thank the Minister of state, the Senator and the officials for facilitating us at this late hour.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Unethical Organ Harvesting in China: Discussion (10 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: I strongly support the motion. The presentation made by our visitors makes it imperative that we strongly support this. I hope there will be an opportunity at the UN periodic review scheduled for October to provide further strength and support for this campaign. What we heard today and what we have been reading about is an appalling abuse of human rights. Every right-minded Member of our...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: There has been much discussion this morning about rural Ireland issues. We need to have a debate in the House with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, as a matter of urgency, on the Leader programme and the performance of local development companies. Figures recently published by the Minister show that last year only 60% of the funding provided...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: I strongly support Senator O'Donovan's call for a debate on the PULSE system. The examples he has given the House this morning are very worrying. It would be a major injustice if somebody's access to employment or somebody's career prospects were endangered in any way simply because information of a minor nature is held on a computer system. The Minister for Justice and Equality needs to...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: The winds of Donegal.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (15 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: I support Senator John Kelly's call for the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, to publish the recently compiled report on the investigation into the death of Fr. Niall Molloy. Many aspects of the case are seriously troubling. It is wrong that the Molloy family should have to wait 25 years to have certain aspects of the case investigated properly. It reflects badly on...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (16 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: I welcome the Minister of State to this debate. The Bill deals with a sensitive and controversial issue and I am very conscious the country is watching as we discuss the most sensitive piece of legislation to come before the House for many years. As a strong pro-life supporter, I want to believe the Taoiseach when he says this Bill will not lead to abortion, but will clarify the very rare...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Medical Card Eligibility (16 Jul 2013)

Michael Mullins: Does Senator Moloney have a final question for the Minister of State?