Results 25,081-25,100 of 26,766 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: I support the Government's amendments grouped with a number of others. I will speak to amendments Nos. 17, 23 and 30, which are in the name of the Sinn Féin Senators. Amendment No. 17 refers to subsection (2)(b), line 12, and proposes to delete ¤60 and substitute ¤80. The Fianna Fáil Party has a similar amendment that seeks to substitute ¤60 with ¤150. I expect the logic is the...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: This is a bit of a joke.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: Someone got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: The Minister spent ten minutes attacking Fianna Fáil. He is entitled to his views and I share many of the sentiments that he expressed. However, we have 120 amendments before us. I hope that this does not become a Punch and Judy show for the next couple of hours and that we can get down to the business of dealing with the amendments. The Minister needs to take some responsibility for his...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: This is a bit of a joke.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: Someone got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: The Minister spent ten minutes attacking Fianna Fáil. He is entitled to his views and I share many of the sentiments that he expressed. However, we have 120 amendments before us. I hope that this does not become a Punch and Judy show for the next couple of hours and that we can get down to the business of dealing with the amendments. The Minister needs to take some responsibility for his...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: I thank the Minister for undertaking to seek advice from the Parliamentary Counsel. From my perspective, I am not overly concerned about contracts of employment. I do not think it will be an issue on which employees will be fired. The amendment also refers to "or otherwise impair the employment status of the debtor or their spouse ". However there could be situations where unscrupulous...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: Senator Barrett has tabled an interesting amendment. With regard to the three new forms of voluntary debt settlement mentioned in the amendment - the debt relief notice, debt settlement arrangement and personal insolvency arrangement - which form the centrepiece of the legislation, the Minister will be aware from the Second Stage contributions by Members from my party that we have a...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: I accept that. I did not say there were many. The Bill we discussed last night sought to deal with a clear case of an unscrupulous employer who had victimised his employee. There are circumstances-----

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: I pose a question. It may not be entirely relevant to the amendment but the Minister can say whether it is or not. The Minister mentioned that Revenue debt is a priority debt. I accept that. How are employees who are owed unpaid wages, for example, by a company that has become insolvent classed in terms of priority? I raise another point in the context of the promised workplace relations...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency Bill 2012: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: A Bill to that effect was introduced in the Dáil but it was voted down.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (29 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: I call for a debate on alternative budgets. I called for it last year and I believe we should have had it again this year. It is not too late because we are sitting tomorrow and on Monday. It would also be important to discuss the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014, because that national recovery plan was drafted by the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government. It was signed off on by the then...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (29 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: When Fianna Fáil members are talking about their alternative budget, they should be reminded of the national recovery plan on which they signed off.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (29 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: Somebody mentioned fascism yesterday when people were being interrupted. I remember it was a member of the Fianna Fáil Party.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (29 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: With respect, when Fianna Fáil states it is in favour of a property tax but not just yet, this applies when it is in Opposition, but if it gets back into government, all the content of its national recovery plan, including property taxes, water charges and cuts to social welfare will be brought in.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (29 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: There has been no election called, as the Senator knows, so we will wait and see. On a related matter, a new survey by the Irish Dental Association shows that the changes made by the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government to the free treatment under the PRSI and medical card schemes has meant that more people are putting off going to a dentist and are only going when they are in severe pain....

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (29 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: The Department of Finance figures-----

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (28 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I warmly welcome the Bill and congratulate Senator Quinn for drafting the Bill and Senator Barrett for his assistance. Next year will be the 100th anniversary of the 1913 Lockout. I have no doubt the Minister of State's party, my own party and many people in the State will commemorate that event, and rightly so. It was a period when leaders...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2012)

David Cullinane: Yesterday I raised with the Leader the issue of Deputy Reilly's continuance in his position as Minister for Health and my view that he should resign or be sacked by the Taoiseach. In response, the Leader read into the record of the House the qualifying criteria used by the Minister for the selection of primary care centres across the State. What Senator Cummins did not explain, and what he...