Results 2,461-2,480 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I am not leading that change, as it relates to another Department. I have given Deputies the answers. There is significant disagreement on this issue. There are strongly held views which have been directly expressed to me. I regret the great divergence in views because one would like to achieve consensus on some of these issues. Great fears have been legitimately expressed by both sides....

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Deputy used the example of a 17 year old. I would expect any family to send a 17 year old out to earn some money for himself or herself. That was the approach I took with my children. My 17 year old was working part-time to earn money. There is no shortage of work.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: Hold on one minute.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I do not accept that 17 year olds should be sitting at home on their backsides. Irrespective of the income levels of their families, be they good, bad or indifferent, they should be making a contribution.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I am sorry, a Cheann Comhairle. I did not interrupt.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I do not believe my children are different from the rest. They have the same problems and face the same issues as everybody else. They could have stayed at home because young people do not spend seven days a week studying for any exam. If they want pocket money, one has to teach them responsibility and values and allow them to earn some money. They do not have to work all the hours God...

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: Who said they were working to survive? The Deputy made the point that the only income a 17 year old had was €24. I disagree with her. She is wrong because the State contributes substantially more than that sum. It is perfectly reasonable for most, if not all, 17 year olds, barring a disability or other reason such as acting in the capacity of carer in a family, to go out at the weekend...

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: What I have said in response to the Deputy is valid. It is about time people started to say it. It is about time parents started to say that, with all the rights young people have, they have responsibilities. I hear about rights every day of the week but nothing about responsibilities.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: Who said they should?

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I am not.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: It is not an optional extra.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: It is not a case of luxuries. I simply made a point, not necessarily as a Minister but as a parent.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I take a simple view which has nothing to do with parents' income. At 17 years they are not children and would give an answer if they were called a child. There is nothing wrong with going out and supplementing one's income by earning a few bob. That opportunity prevails right across the spectrum today. I disagree with the basis of Deputy Shortall's point that we are expecting 17 years old...

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I never suggested that.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The danger in trying to have an open debate is that one will end up being misquoted. I was not suggesting that all children in school must go out to work. I was speaking about a kid working for a few hours on a Saturday morning.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: One ends up in a position where, because one says something in respect of which one has experience as a parent, it will suddenly be portrayed as something else.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I have suggested that there is no reason a 16 or 17 year old cannot work for a few hours on a Saturday morning to earn a few bob for himself or herself. That is all I suggested. It was as simple as that.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: It goes back to the point Deputy Shortall tried to make that we were expecting one child in a family to live on €24 a week. I explained why she was wrong and indicated that the supports payable by the State were more substantial. I went on to state there was nothing wrong with a 15, 16 or 17 year old working for a few hours, wherever it might be, on a Saturday morning. It might even be...

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I was only making a point, which is a simple one. I would make it anywhere.

Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: That is all I said.