Results 24,741-24,760 of 26,610 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: I ask the Chair to be consistent. I was ruled out of order.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: It is more Labour nightmare land.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: We were ruled out of order.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: It is never too late to do the correct thing. It is the responsibility of the Minister and Government Senators to do the right thing by carers. I have received many e-mails from people who care for children, those with profound disabilities and older people. Some, although not all, are in receipt of a payment, but they genuinely depend on the respite care grant. They are distraught at the...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: I accept that.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: Middle income families had their income cut by just under 1%, while high income families had their income cut by only 0.5%. The budget has impacted on people, including carers, disproportionately.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: I am providing the Minister with alternatives. There was an opportunity for the Minister and the Government to increase taxation on higher earners to prevent the need to cut the respite care grant. With respect, that was the point I was making. All Members of the Oireachtas must stand by their principles. They must stand by what they were elected on. I have listened to the leader of the...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: The agreement.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: Lloyd George was not around last year.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: I did not say that at all, with respect.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: The Minister did not listen to a word I said. She came in with a prepared script.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: The Minister has not listened to a word I have said.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: Section 4 goes right to the heart of the issue.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: I have not even spoken. This goes to the heart of the issue of forcing legislation through without proper scrutiny. We raised issues on the subject matter of section 4 last year. Section 4 deals with pension contributions. The issues I wish to discuss arise from legislation passed in 1997 which provided that the number of contributions required was to be doubled from 260 to 520. Last...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: I want to speak to the section. Our amendments were ruled out of order but we wanted to include in this section the retention of the back to school clothing and footwear payment which has been cut. As the Minister is aware, many families are dependent on this very important allowance. It ensures that families either in poverty or barely struggling to survive have some means of support to...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: It was ruled out of order.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: As I want to move the debate on, I will not dispute the Chair's ruling. Under this section, our amendments, in agreement with the Minister, sought to reform the social protection system to cut down on fraud and waste. The majority of cases of overpayments are not due to fraud but errors on the part of the Department or the recipient. On Second Stage, the Minister stated the current...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: I will come back on the section.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: That is fair enough. I will come back to speak on the section if that is better for everybody. However, I again make the point that we contend this Bill is about more than the social welfare cuts. That is why we seek that the Bill be changed to include "Miscellaneous Provisions".

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

David Cullinane: With respect to the Chair, I was ruled out of order for raising the amnesty and was told to speak to the section. The Minister might wait until we get to the section and I will explain why we want an amnesty.