Results 1,601-1,620 of 26,887 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Institutes of Technology (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: The Minister of State is taking this debate on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills. The response says a lot, but says nothing. It speaks of more process, more delay and more analysing. That is the last thing the people of Waterford and the south east need. There is much in that Higher Education Authority report of which the Minister of State spoke. It talks about other...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I welcome the fact that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, has published his proposals for local government reform and call for a debate on the matter. I hope that we will have a constructive and informed debate. I accept that in order to do that we will need time to study his proposals. The Leader will be aware that there is a lot of concern in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals: COM (2011) 778 and COM (2011) 779 (16 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: The best I can say is that I welcome the fact we are at least having a discussion and that the COMs are here before us. We need an awful lot more discussion and debate on this because we have to work through the detail of it. We all have to accept the whole system of auditing in Ireland is a mess and needs to be reformed. We must not repeat the mistakes of the past. There is no doubt...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals: COM (2011) 778 and COM (2011) 779 (16 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: It is fair to point out that much of the commentary was not simply in respect of the failures of auditors but on a systemic problem generally that involved the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator. That is what the Nyberg report stated, namely, it was not simply in respect of auditing. Consequently, members' comments should be put into that context. I believe there was a failure in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals: COM (2011) 778 and COM (2011) 779 (16 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: My main point was the distinction between accountability and liability.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals: COM (2011) 778 and COM (2011) 779 (16 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: The report in The Irish Times and the Nyberg report referred to a failure of auditors to be liable for the accounts they stand over and publish. It is one thing to be accountable but another to be legally liable for the accounts that one signs off on. Is this something we should have examined in the context of reforming this area?

Seanad: Alcohol Consumption: Statements (Resumed) (17 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I was a member of the sub-group of the Joint Committee on Health that put together the report which the former Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, worked on with the joint committee. One of the things that struck me about the work not just of the sub-committee but of the committee itself, which signed off on the report, was that there was...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Hospital Services (17 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Reilly, to the House. The last time he was in the House when we had a discussion about a Bill to reform the HSE, I mentioned a working group that was established to look at hospital networks. The Minister will also be aware of a south-east hospital working group, which also sent a submission to him and which is headed up by Professor Fred Jackson. The...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Hospital Services (17 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I have no difficulty whatsoever with hospital networks and agree they are necessary, based on the rationale outlined by the Minister, in terms of getting managerial expertise across a network of hospitals. The point is that in the south east, we already have a highly-effective regional network of hospitals, which provides a whole range of services, from cancer care, cardiology, acute trauma...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: Which the Senator's party leader stated we should repay in full.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I refer to the most important issue facing the country, namely, the unsustainable levels of debt. Much has been made about the joint communiqué issued by the Taoiseach and Chancellor Merkel in which she describes Ireland as a special case. What constitutes Ireland being a special case? The reason we are so described is because billions of euro of taxpayers' money has been put into toxic...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: Nowhere in the communiqué does it say it will deal with legacy debts. Having photographs of the kissing cousins, the Taoiseach and the Chancellor, will not bring about any deal. I want to hear from the lips of Chancellor Merkel that the deal will involve dealing with legacy debts of this country. Unless it is said clearly and explicitly, we have no deal.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: We all want to see a deal for the people of this country but 20 months have passed since the general election. Mention has been made of game playing. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste hyped up the deal done last year and oversold it as a game changer, which it was not. They want us to go along with the pathetic attempt to talk up a deal, which is not in place, and to support them when we do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Micro-Enterprise and Small Business Unit: Discussion with EI, ISME and SFA (23 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I thank Mr. Hayes for the presentation. One of the areas on which I wanted to focus was regional development and regional disparities in respect of the work of Enterprise Ireland and this new unit, because we all want better outcomes. The three issues I will raise are funding, networks and clusters and the concept of incubation centres. Mr. Hayes stated in his presentation that Enterprise...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Micro-Enterprise and Small Business Unit: Discussion with EI, ISME and SFA (23 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: Consider the most recent figures received from Enterprise Ireland on grant aid. County Kildare, for example, received €30.6 million, whereas the figure for Sligo was €7.9 million. In Tipperary, €43 million was received and in Waterford €19.6 million was received. I take the point that inputs and grant aid do not in themselves paint the full picture, but they do...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I take this opportunity to welcome a decision by the European Parliament to grant additional funding to former TalkTalk workers in Waterford as part of the EU globalisation fund and to praise the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, officials in his Department, all the public representatives in Waterford, European Parliament Members, the employee representative groups and the body set up to...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012: Report and Final Stages (24 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I second the amendment and seek clarification. When the amendment refers to Ireland, we want to be sure it means the island of Ireland. People living in Down and Armagh work for the HSE across the Border. The wording of the amendment concerns us but I would be happy if we get clarification from the proposer. I am also conscious that when we talk about Ireland in legislative terms, we must...

Seanad: National Dementia Strategy: Motion (24 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister of State. I commend Labour Party Senators for tabling a motion which has strong sentiments which I fully support. It is encouraging when Government representatives have an opportunity to table motions in Private Members' time, that they have substance and deal with important issues. I am impressed by the wording of the motion which I do not think anybody in...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Marine Safety (24 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank the Cathaoirleach for giving me the opportunity to discuss this important issue. Fishermen being lost at sea is a major issue on the south-eastern and southern coast of Ireland, as it is across the entire country. We have lost many fishermen all around Ireland and I know many families personally who have been affected by this in the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Marine Safety (24 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I welcome that, as per the Minister of State's reply, the Minister and Department intend to introduce legislation which will make personal locator and vessel beacons mandatory and further to introduce a code of practice for the safety of fishing vessels of less than 15 metres, which is a significant improvement in terms of where we were on this six months ago. It is hoped the relevant...