Results 25,321-25,340 of 26,610 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Business of Seanad (20 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: It is inappropriate for a Senator to come into this House and engage in hearsay.

Seanad: Business of Seanad (20 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: It is inappropriate for any Member of this House to abuse their position and to engage in hearsay and then not even substantiate the claim that he made, and hide behind the fact he cannot name the member.

Seanad: Business of Seanad (20 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: It is inappropriate and despicable for the Senator to do so.

Seanad: Business of Seanad (20 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: He should be ashamed of himself.

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (20 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: I welcome this opportunity to debate the important issue of the future of one of the Houses of the Oireachtas. My party has long held the view that the constitutional convention is the best place to examine Seanad reform. In examining the issue of Seanad reform, it is important to put it in wider context. It would be a mistake for the Government and the political establishment of the...

Seanad: Business of Seanad (20 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: On a point of order, I seek clarification as to whether a Sinn Féin representative will have any speaking time on Nos. 1 and 2.

Seanad: Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion (20 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: Given that organised crime is a serious issue in the State it is worth reflecting on the damage it does to communities and individuals who are victims. Many of the criminals have no respect for law and order or citizens and citizens' rights. However, that is no excuse for abuse of human rights by the State or draconian legislation. We do not support the renewal of this legislation. The...

Seanad: Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion (20 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: I apologise, I understood we were debating the two motions together and had referred to the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009. It was my mistake.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Search Warrants) Bill 2012: Second Stage (19 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister back to the House. We will spend the greater part of this week and perhaps next week in the Seanad debating what I would see as one of the most draconian pieces of legislation on the Statute Book, namely, the Offences against the State Act. It is an embarrassment to any state which claims to be a modern progressive democracy and republic that we would have such a...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: It was announced yesterday that resource teaching time for children with learning difficulties is being reduced by 15 minutes per week, or 5%. This is on top of the 10% cutback from last year, which means each child with a special need will lose 45 minutes of learning support. I have spoken to many teachers in Waterford over the last few months and years on this issue, and they are very...

Seanad: Seanad Report on the Rights of Older People: Statements (13 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: Could I ask the Leader to give me four minutes, if that is possible?

Seanad: Seanad Report on the Rights of Older People: Statements (13 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: With respect, the process in the House is that we engage with people outside the House. Parties, organisations and people who are represented in this House should be given the same opportunity. I commend the report and the work undertaken to bring it about. It also highlights the role a second Chamber can undertake and I have long made the point that the Seanad can be a place to give us a...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Second Stage (13 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister of State back to the House and I give a broad welcome to the publication of the Bill. I am in favour of this type of legislation as part of a package of re-integration of former prisoners into society. The Bill provides for a non-disclosure regime whereby certain convictions are considered spent or do not have to be disclosed to a prospective employer after a set...

Seanad: Regional Development (13 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: The purpose of this Adjournment matter is to evaluate the performance of the national spatial strategy and Waterford as the gateway city to the south-east region. A recent ESRI report entitled, Enterprise and Labour: Hubs, Gateways and Inter-regional Specialisation, measured the progress made in the ten years since the publication of the national spatial strategy. The figures give rise to...

Seanad: Regional Development (13 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: I thank the Minister of State for his response, which cites better alignment and prioritisation of scarce infrastructural investment, better governance locally and in the region, and the promotion of more sustainable patterns of development. It does not deal with the critical ingredients we need, such as positive discrimination by the enterprise agencies, their performance for the region and...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: I thank the Leader for undertaking to examine my request yesterday for a debate on the issue of poverty. I hope it will happen in the coming weeks. Like Senator Rónán Mullen, I have concerns about the report of the Economic and Social Research Institute which was subject to some discussion in the House yesterday. The inferences flowing from it were that the 440,000 people out of work in...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: The author might stand over it, but the ESRI has withdrawn it and stated it cannot stand over its findings.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: The ESRI is a Government-funded body, yet we are told that the report was subject neither to internal nor external peer review, the accepted norm for all such reports, and that although it was available on the ESRI website for three weeks, it did not adhere to the process of refereeing, to which this type of academic research was usually subjected. The question arises as to whether the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: I wish to comment on a number of points. In his response, the Minister mentioned unhelpful media coverage and the range of different opinions expressed in the media. I agree that these are unhelpful but that is outside our control. In this House we are concerned about the direct question, and Senator Hayden's comments go straight to the heart of the issue. The Minister stated earlier,...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

David Cullinane: They may be summaries. Perhaps some of the uncertainty has come from us being guided by what is in the document. The Ombudsman for Children and other parties have made submissions on this. I fully accept the Minister's response, which was very comprehensive and should allay any concerns we have. Some states in the United States go further. They specifically deny both clergy-congregant and...