Results 21-40 of 7,637 for speaker:Rónán Mullen

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Rónán Mullen: Could the Minister of State go back to what he said about age verification? Is this in the context of pornography because that is an area-----

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Rónán Mullen: I have a particular concern about the need to take more seriously the need for strict age verification in the context of those who purvey pornography. As the Minister of State will be aware, Coimisiún na Meán has a certain function to regulate in this area but it only relates to large providers whose EU headquarters are in this country. There is a wider question of the potential...

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Rónán Mullen: I thank the Minister of State. Under the Lisbon treaty, the EU has the competency to legislate on criminal matters. There is the cross-border dimension. Recently, an amendment was proposed in the European Parliament about making disseminating pornographic content online without the age verification tools that effectively prevent children from accessing such content potentially punishable....

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Rónán Mullen: On the subject of grid stability, the recent blackouts in Spain seem to illustrate that investment in renewables is one thing but unless there is serious investment in the grid, the change in the source of energy will cause problems. This is an area I imagine will have to be a priority.

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Rónán Mullen: It seems to be the case that the mix of sources is causing problems around the functioning of grids.

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Rónán Mullen: I was fascinated by the Minister of State's divergence from the Macron agenda for strategic autonomy when he said that what Ireland favours is "open strategic autonomy". Is that saying that Ireland favours modified black but really means white. What is "open strategic autonomy" as opposed to "strategic autonomy"?

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Rónán Mullen: That is the idea of Europe being able to fend for itself, so to speak.

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Rónán Mullen: It could be one of those cases where a nuance amounts to a contradiction. I am not sure on which side I would stand.

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Rónán Mullen: As Bono says, "Sometimes you can't make it on your own." My last question is about Irish people not getting into the institutions. That is fascinating. What are the specific problems or is it the way things are being done that are militating against Irish people getting roles within the institutions?

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Rónán Mullen: Do they bypass the language requirement if they do that?

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Rónán Mullen: Tell us more.

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Rónán Mullen: I thank the Minister of State.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 May 2025)

Rónán Mullen: There are many issues that the Department of Health should be grappling with as we all know, not least a lack of oversight of children's healthcare, the scoliosis issue and the endless saga around the national children's hospital. There are a range of issues that should be top priority, but when one looks at some of things that have been prioritised, it should really make us all wonder....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Policy, Governance, Expenditure and Administration at RTÉ: Discussion (28 May 2025)

Rónán Mullen: The delegates are all very welcome. Many of the issues around governance, expenditure and administration have been well and rightly ventilated. I want to turn to an issue of policy, and it is probably most appropriate to direct my question to Mr. Bakhurst and Ms McCarthy. Many are critical of RTÉ because they feel it fails to reflect the variety of perspectives of a silenced,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Policy, Governance, Expenditure and Administration at RTÉ: Discussion (28 May 2025)

Rónán Mullen: I accept that there is always a degree of subjectivity regarding these issues but believe the answer given is the standard defensive boilerplate answer that RTÉ has been giving for years. Let me give one example. Today there was a discussion on Claire Byrne’s programme about an often-ventilated issue, namely the need for daycare and childcare in this country, yet the perspective...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Policy, Governance, Expenditure and Administration at RTÉ: Discussion (28 May 2025)

Rónán Mullen: Does RTÉ do any staff research? Does it ever investigate whether too many people think the same way about certain issues in the organisation? Many think that is the case.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Policy, Governance, Expenditure and Administration at RTÉ: Discussion (28 May 2025)

Rónán Mullen: I think there is a cultural elite, and I think Mr. Bakhurst needs to ask the question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Policy, Governance, Expenditure and Administration at RTÉ: Discussion (28 May 2025)

Rónán Mullen: One of the great ironies of our time is that there is so much talk about unconscious bias practically everywhere except where it matters – in our public service broadcaster. I invite the delegates to reflect on this issue and ask whether what they are hearing from me is just the subjective view of a small number of individuals or whether there is a wider concern. I suggest that they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Policy, Governance, Expenditure and Administration at RTÉ: Discussion (28 May 2025)

Rónán Mullen: I am happy to audition.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Policy, Governance, Expenditure and Administration at RTÉ: Discussion (28 May 2025)

Rónán Mullen: They say politics is showbusiness for ugly people.