Results 1,921-1,940 of 26,396 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Local Government Reform: Statements (22 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: The hook that the Minister is trying to hang this merger on is, again, as he puts it, saving money. Let us throw away the heritage of Waterford City Council to save a few bob. Let us undermine the gateway status of Waterford city to save a few bob.

Seanad: Local Government Reform: Statements (22 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: Let us undermine the ability of the people of Waterford and the democratically elected members of Waterford city and county councils to manage their own affairs and to drive the development of Waterford city. Let us undermine that to save a few euro. That is what this is about. The management of Waterford City Council is on record as saying it does not believe the savings in the Minister's...

Seanad: Local Government Reform: Statements (22 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: That is their view. The Minister has not spelled out to anybody exactly how those savings are going to be made. He plucked figures from the air because he wants to sell this as saving money, but money will not be saved. What he is doing is making it more difficult for the people of Waterford city and county to be able to drive forward the ability of Waterford city to develop, which is...

Seanad: Local Government Reform: Statements (22 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: I have spelled out what they are. They are the inability of many local authorities to provide the services they need because they do not have the funding and because many of the services are disjointed.

Seanad: Local Government Reform: Statements (22 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: I will finish on this point. The Minister had this big opportunity to reform local government and he flunked it. I would genuinely ask him to re-examine the merger of Waterford city and county councils but also to re-examine his overall reform of local government. I believe he will get the support of all parties and the people of this State if he is the first reforming Minister to give...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: He is the leader of the other rebels.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: I support the comments of Senator Gilroy. I remind the House and the Leader that this year is the centenary of the 1913 Lockout, which was a seminal moment in the struggle for workers' rights in this State and throughout the island. It is unfortunate and a scandal that in 21st-century Ireland there are still situations in which workers are engaging in sit-in protests to demand basic rights....

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: Second Stage (23 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister of State. Water charges are not something new as a subject for political discourse or debate. It is not a subject that fell into the lap of the Government as part of the discussions between Fine Gael and the Labour Party. The previous Government signed up to the national recovery plan for the period 2011 to 2015 which envisaged the introduction of water charges. The...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: Second Stage (23 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: Perhaps the Minister of State might charge us for the meters-----

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: Second Stage (23 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: There are a lot of leaks that need to be fixed in the Government's policies, of which water charges is only one. The Minister of State would be better off using the money to fix the problems in the mains system. He needs to understand many families simply do not have the money to give. At the end of this process, having paid more taxes than ever before, including the property tax and water...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Schools Building Projects (24 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister of State. Last March I raised the matter of capital funding for Gaelscoil Philib Barún. I put on record the long campaign waged by the board of management, the principal and the pupils at the school to have prefabs, which are in place at the moment to teach most of the pupils, transformed into buildings so that pupils can have proper accommodation. The project upon...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Schools Building Projects (24 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: In January 2003 Gaelscoil Philib Barún moved to the incomplete site. In the same year, the number of students in the school doubled. Since 2003, pupils have been in prefabs. That factor means the school should receive the appropriate funding and be in the capital programme. That is the Minister's call, not mine, and he must address that with the students and board of management. It is...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 2: In page 3, subsection (2), line 22, after "Act" to insert "other than section 24 ".I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, and express my disappointment that amendment No. 1 and some other amendments we tabled have been ruled out of order. The reason given is that they are in conflict with the principle of the Bill but it is still our right to table...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: We have just had a party political broadcast from the previous speaker but he might be unaware of the fact that the amendments are allied to poverty-proofing policy. While the Senator rose to his feet and was very vocal about the budget and the impact it would have on working families ---

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: The very families he spoke about then will be very conscious of all of the charges they are being asked to pay and of the fact that they are being asked to make a further sacrifice by paying water charges. While the Senator might not grasp the reality of that, I can assure him that his constituents, who have suffered enough and who have taken huge pain in the course of six austerity budgets,...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: There is a very real connection between what I am saying and the reality for people who have to pay these charges. I also remind the Senator that people pay income tax and they pay it for services. They are paying more taxes than ever before, which is the point we are making and that is why we want this to be poverty-proofed. Almost everyone now pays the universal social charge and only...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: I thank the Minister of State for his response and I concur with his views on water conservation. We should take whatever measures are necessary to encourage people to conserve water because there is an enormous cost to the State in making sure that people have good quality water. We must ensure that any mistreatment or misuse of water is dealt with properly. At the same time, we must also...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: The Minister of State raised the issue. On the amendment, Sinn Féin makes no apologies for seeking to delay the introduction of the commission powers to introduce water charges, which is essentially what we are trying to do. We also make no apologies for wanting to ensure a proper analyses-study is undertaken. The Minister of State said this has been done.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: Perhaps the Minister of State would work with us and demonstrate how it has been done. I would like to know the formula and methodologies used. I do not know how these functions are performed on behalf of the Government. I do not believe these analyses-studies take account of the issues raised by organisations such as Social Justice Ireland, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and many...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Jan 2013)

David Cullinane: -----would have a difficulty paying if they received similar services. I would welcome that type of debate. Perhaps the Minister of State would return to the House for a discussion on the issue of funding local government.