Results 25,161-25,180 of 26,766 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I welcome the fact that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, has published his proposals for local government reform and call for a debate on the matter. I hope that we will have a constructive and informed debate. I accept that in order to do that we will need time to study his proposals. The Leader will be aware that there is a lot of concern in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals: COM (2011) 778 and COM (2011) 779 (16 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: My main point was the distinction between accountability and liability.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals: COM (2011) 778 and COM (2011) 779 (16 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: The report in The Irish Times and the Nyberg report referred to a failure of auditors to be liable for the accounts they stand over and publish. It is one thing to be accountable but another to be legally liable for the accounts that one signs off on. Is this something we should have examined in the context of reforming this area?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals: COM (2011) 778 and COM (2011) 779 (16 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: It is fair to point out that much of the commentary was not simply in respect of the failures of auditors but on a systemic problem generally that involved the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator. That is what the Nyberg report stated, namely, it was not simply in respect of auditing. Consequently, members' comments should be put into that context. I believe there was a failure in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals: COM (2011) 778 and COM (2011) 779 (16 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: The best I can say is that I welcome the fact we are at least having a discussion and that the COMs are here before us. We need an awful lot more discussion and debate on this because we have to work through the detail of it. We all have to accept the whole system of auditing in Ireland is a mess and needs to be reformed. We must not repeat the mistakes of the past. There is no doubt...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Institutes of Technology (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: The Minister of State is taking this debate on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills. The response says a lot, but says nothing. It speaks of more process, more delay and more analysing. That is the last thing the people of Waterford and the south east need. There is much in that Higher Education Authority report of which the Minister of State spoke. It talks about other...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Institutes of Technology (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I make a direct appeal, on behalf of the people of Waterford and the south east, to the Minister of State and the Government to expedite the placement of a university in the region. We have had a long-running campaign for a university for the south east, jumping over all the hurdles and through all the hoops over the years. Numerous reports, including the Hunt report, have been favourably...

Seanad: Radical Seanad Reform Through Legislative Change: Statements (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I hope not to be in the next Seanad.

Seanad: Radical Seanad Reform Through Legislative Change: Statements (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I am looking for a demotion to the Lower House. I commend all of the Senators who were part of formulating this important document that will act as a conduit for debate on the future of the Seanad. I thank all of those former Senators and individuals who took the time to be part of that consultation process. It is an important piece of work that should be supported. I do not agree with...

Seanad: Radical Seanad Reform Through Legislative Change: Statements (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: When viewers watch "Oireachtas Report", those who happen to stay up late enough to watch it-----

Seanad: Radical Seanad Reform Through Legislative Change: Statements (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: -----one of the matters on which they comment is the fact that the Dáil, when important debates are taking place, is often empty, and that is not an issue that is peculiar to the Seanad. We must look at a number of matters in looking at the future of the Seanad. There have been many position papers put forward in the past by individuals, political parties and organisations. Many...

Seanad: Radical Seanad Reform Through Legislative Change: Statements (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: Of course it is.

Seanad: Radical Seanad Reform Through Legislative Change: Statements (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: A Dáil, too.

Seanad: Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I have much sympathy for the Minister?s position of having to formulate words that strike a balance. This goes back to the previous amendment as well. I accept that when we propose to add a formula of words - whether a number of words or one word - to the amendment, there are repercussions and issues that must be examined and teased out. It is important that we are having the debate....

Seanad: Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I thank the Minister for her frank and genuine response. We accept that to interpret the wording that goes into the Constitution from a legal perspective might be different from the intent that any party or individual may have in terms of wanting to put a formula of words into the Constitution. It is then the Minister's responsibility to interpret what that will mean. I accept that. The...

Seanad: Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: Tairgim leasú a 1: I gCuid 1, leathanach 7, líne 6, ?go comhionann? a chur isteach i ndiaidh ?uile?, agus I gCuid 2, leathanach 9, líne 5, ?equally? a chur isteach i ndiaidh ?children?. I move amendment No. 1: In Part 1, page 6, line 6, after ?uile? to insert ?go comhionann?, and In Part 2, page 8, line 5, after ?children? to insert ?equally?.I move this amendment because it is important...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: I support the amendment that has been proposed to the Order of Business. I take the opportunity to inform Senator Hayden that everyone in the House accepts that we have a new coalition Government. However, that Government also promised us new politics. Unfortunately, the latter have not materialised. The former Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Shortall, described the...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: This morning it has been revealed that a supporter of the Minister, Deputy Reilly, owns the site on which the centre in Balbriggan is to be built. The former Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, who was given responsibility for drawing up the criteria to establish the locations where the various primary health care facilities would be built, resigned on a point of principle as a result of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2012)

David Cullinane: Fianna Fáil tabled a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Health.

Seanad: School Transport: Statements (26 Sep 2012)

David Cullinane: Cuirim fáilte roimh an tAire Stáit. We must accept that providing school transport for 130,000 children every day is a large logistical challenge for the State and requires a significant investment. However, I cannot join one of my republican colleagues in the Seanad, Senator Jim D'Arcy, in commending the Minister of State for cutting the budget for school transport by ¤17 million. Such...