Results 25,461-25,480 of 26,630 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: Yes.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: No, that is what the Senator Harte's party leader said. The Senator said the opposite, namely, that no one will lend to us.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: Senator Harte is full of contradictions.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: The truth is in the opinion polls which have been quite consistent. The Labour Party should look at them. That is where the truth is.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: I ask the Minister to look at the merit of what we are calling for. People can disagree around whether pension companies can be compelled to invest. We are calling for a guaranteed and interest bearing green fund.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: It is typical of the Minister to be flippant about jobs and the need for this country to get people back to work. The Minister knows exactly what we are talking about, which is a green fund in the sense of a fund for Ireland to get people back to work, one which will enable us do much of what was in the Labour Party's pre-election manifesto, including the retrofit programme. The Labour...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: The Minister might spell out when and how it will work. The Labour Party also said it would put in place a retrofit programme which would get people back to work. I hope the Minister will appreciate the logic behind the amendment. We need to be creative and to think outside the box. There was constructive criticism of the legality of the amendments in terms of whether it is possible to...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: I would also ask the Minister to remove the section. My understanding is that under this section people will not get the mortgage interest supplement for the first 12 months of the arrears. A previous speaker mentioned FLAC. It also noted that by denying any access to mortgage interest supplement for 12 months from the date arrears arise, inevitably many borrowers in trouble will come out...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: I oppose section 16. When the Minister launched the Pathways to Work scheme, she stated: "I am trying to ensure that people don't find the security of the social welfare system more attractive than the risky world of work." This sits with the Minister's own lexicon when she used the term, "lifestyle choices" recently. This rationale ignores the reality that employers have been forced to...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: I move amendment No. 8: In page 8, to delete lines 33 to 51, to delete page 9 and in page 10, to delete lines 1 to 26 As the Minister is aware, this is essentially the same as section 4 with the exception that it relates to the transitional arrangements where categories of children may fall between stools because of their age. I accept we are making the same point again but I call on the...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: We do not like large elements of the Constitution. We are having a constitutional convention to undo many of the negative parts of the Constitution. I do not support the wording above but the thrust of it and the logic behind it is that parents should not be forced to go out to work to the detriment of caring for their children. Has consideration been given to this provision in the...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: I will withdraw the amendment given the Minister's response but we will oppose the section.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: I support that viewpoint and ask the Minister to provide some clarification. In my Second Stage contribution I mentioned that I would also support the introduction of a separate Bill dealing with pensions, although I know this Bill deals with certain elements, including defined pensions and so on. Earlier when the Minister of State, Deputy John Perry, was in the House, I mentioned an EU...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: My understanding of this section is similar to that of Senator Moloney. The section provides for the phased introduction from April 2013 to April 2015 of an increase in the number of contributions which a person must make prior to becoming a voluntary contributor. However, I have difficulty with the logic of this provision. The problem is that we are on the one hand making it more...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: I welcome the Minister to the House for this important debate. A number of Senators have mentioned lone parents on Second Stage and the need for proper child care. In the Dáil the Minister mentioned that there was a need for the Government to move on the issue of providing child care, and this would be linked to changes in the thresholds, particularly in reducing the age limit from 14...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: I am making the point in case the Minister argues that we are making amendments to section 1 but we are opposed to section 4. I am setting out our context. We have listened to the Minister's comments in the Dáil and it seems she will go ahead with her plans to reduce the qualifying criteria to the youngest child being seven years old. The Minister could accept amendments Nos. 3 and 4. We...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: I should say that last night I cracked a back tooth and am finding it difficult to speak. It is very painful.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: It is painful to speak but it may also be painful for those on the other side of the House when I do so.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: I apologise for my speech impediment. We all want to stand by the people who are vulnerable and try to make life as comfortable as possible for themselves and their families. We know lone parents are a vulnerable group which should be protected. For example, when the Labour Party was in opposition it opposed moves by Fianna Fáil to reduce the age threshold from 18 years to 14 years.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

David Cullinane: I accept that. The Labour Party opposed the measure and it must be even more difficult for Fianna Fáil Senators to sit here and have to listen to the Minister justify reducing the age threshold to seven years. She opposed the policy which the previous Government introduced. I hope the Minister will accept the bona fides of the arguments being put forward not just by Opposition parties but...