Results 22,381-22,400 of 26,610 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Report of Working Group on Seanad Reform 2015: Statements (8 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: No, he did not. This is a political Chamber.

Seanad: Report of Working Group on Seanad Reform 2015: Statements (8 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: We are here to practise politics. We tried to turn the Seanad into something that it was never meant to be. As one of the Houses of the Oireachtas, it is a political Chamber. Senator Mooney made an interesting contribution. He started by saying that he did not want to rain on anyone's parade but he gave us a monsoon of criticism of elements of the report. I agree with him regarding many...

Seanad: Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Second Stage (8 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: I cannot welcome this Bill and will not be supporting it. There is no doubt that it represents a sleight of hand on the part of the Government. Rather than bring forward legislation in the correct manner, once again it is abusing the parliamentary process for its own ends. It should have introduced a stand-alone Bill to deal with water charges. This legislation, which the Government...

Seanad: Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Second Stage (8 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: There is no point of order. We are entitled to make our political charges.

Seanad: Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Second Stage (8 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: As a previous Senator has stated, this Government has caused enough damage to the Seanad already this week. We are entitled to make whatever challenges we want in this House and it is about time Senators on the Government side of the House accept the democratic right of people to have their say. If they do not like it, they should leave the Chamber. I am entitled to have my say and I will...

Seanad: Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Second Stage (8 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: I understand this is very difficult for Senator Landy and his party but those are the choices it made.

Seanad: Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Second Stage (8 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: His party made those choices and the people will make their choice in the next election, which I am sure they will, and I very much look forward to having that discussion over the next number of months, but today is about the sneaky, underhanded attempt by this Government, this Minister of State and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government - a Labour Party Minister -...

Seanad: Conditions of Work: Motion (8 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: The Senator is speaking on a different matter.

Seanad: Conditions of Work: Motion (8 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: He was speaking on the wrong business.

Seanad: Conditions of Work: Motion (8 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister. I commend the Independent Senators on bringing forward this motion. It was bizarre earlier that we had a Labour Party Senator who gave us a Second Stage speech on a Bill we had discussed last week, and we had what can best be described as a Thatcherite speech from one of the Fine Gael Senators, so the debate did not get off to a good start. However, some very good...

Seanad: Conditions of Work: Motion (8 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: They have done precious little to reverse inequality and poverty. In fact, they have deepened it, as all the evidence shows. This is a matter for all of us.It does not matter who is in government; the facts speak for themselves. At some point my party may be in government and will have to make tough decisions. All of the reports that have been published on the issue of low pay by...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: I commend the Greek people on showing courage and voting decisively against what was a very unjust-----

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: I am not a Communist.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: Can I first of all speak uninterrupted? I did not interrupt anyone on the other side of the House when they were speaking. I commend the people of Greece on the way they have voted. They have showed real courage in voting against what has been described by other Senators in this House as an attempt by the European elites to force upon the Greek Government and people unsustainable debt,...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: -----and sitting Ministers are in for substantial pay increases. We also know that despite the facade of fairness which the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is trying to present as underpinning the Lansdowne Road agreement, higher earners, those with more than €65,000, including Deputies, are in line for a €7,000 pay increase over the next two years. What of those...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: The Senator should ask his Workers Party colleagues about that.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: A helmet.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2015)

David Cullinane: I remember their charge about economic treason.