Results 4,141-4,160 of 7,583 for speaker:Rónán Mullen

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: The intervention of Baroness Nuala O'Loan this morning on the "No" side of the marriage referendum debate will give encouragement to many people. The fact that a distinguished and credible person like her is willing to take a stand against what has really become a stifling and intolerant consensus is a really welcome development in the debate. What is even more important is her comment on...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: In legal terms, Senator van Turnhout is wrong on her final point. However, we will have plenty of time in the coming weeks to discuss how-----

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: -----the issue of surrogacy is intimately bound up with the choice the people will be obliged to make in the referendum. We have often had occasion to discuss the EU and our membership of it has been of great benefit to many people in various ways. However, EU bureaucracy can drive one nuts. It is particularly sad when our Government fails to spot the madness in proposed EU laws and to...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: I support what my friend and relation and colleague, Senator Michael Mullins, had to say about the banks in respect of small businesses. I certainly think that the banks are not playing their part in helping small businesses survive and thrive in our communities. Senator Mullins mentioned the charges involved. Recently when a person who was involved in a very important local community...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: Yes. If this was the Iona Institute under whose banner the Garda had appeared to register voters we would not be enjoying the sunshine today because the sky would be in the process of falling in the national media. It is really important that Senators in these days are heard on this point. It is our duty to comment on events of major public concern.

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: It would be appropriate for the Minister to communicate to this House and through this House what exactly she thinks of what has been going on.

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: That is a different point.

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: It is about the GRA.

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: That is the point. I hope now that the Leader will take a dim view of the gardaí taking sides.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: We have spoken many times in the House about the need for the Government to take a co-ordinated approach to the crisis in the rental sector. We have called on the Minister to tackle the problem of rising rents, in particular. While the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection has promised increased spending on social housing, it takes time to come through the system. Last year...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: It is understandable they want to sell them as soon as they are fit for habitation as they want to recoup the losses but I call on the Minister, and I ask the Leader for a response, to explore the possibility of making these unoccupied houses, when finished and fit for occupation, available as temporary rental accommodation. Ultimately they will be sold but in the short term we must seek to...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Higher Education Schemes (2 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: The Minister of State is very welcome. Much is said about the needs of young people in Irish society, but when it comes to young people returning to Ireland, either to work or further their education, having had to spend a period abroad because of economic failures, it seems there is very little sympathy for their plight. We see this when young drivers are hit with massive car insurance...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Higher Education Schemes (2 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: I would be grateful to hear the Government's response. This is an urgent and pressing issue.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Higher Education Schemes (2 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: I thank the Minister of State for her response. As always with these matters, it is a prepared response. It is not the Minister of State's fault that this is not nearly comprehensive enough to address the nature of my query. What of the student who is an Irish citizen who has been outside of the EU? It is quite clear from the Minister of State's script that it is only in the case where...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: I ask for a debate with the Minister for Finance about how the State Claims Agency defends litigation involving the State, in particular, the need to avoid unnecessary court cases. Guidelines may be needed. The State Claims Agency handles much of the litigation where the State is concerned.The agency is actually the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, operating under a different...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Rónán Mullen: On a point of order, I received a letter in regard to the ruling out of order of certain amendments-----

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Rónán Mullen: ----- and no reasons were given.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Rónán Mullen: I move amendment No. 5: In page 13, to delete lines 6 to 8 and substitute the following:“(2) A child born as a result of a DAHR procedure shall have two parents.”.It is clear to me that at the end of this process the Government will not have accepted a single reasoned amendment to blunt the radical agenda behind the legislation. This goes to show that it has no interest in...

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Rónán Mullen: It is not his real name. If the Senator had said Reg Dwight, it would be a problem.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Rónán Mullen: The Minister seems to be of the view that if one states often enough and at length that something is child centred, then this will somehow make it so. I have been involved in debates on one other issue in this House in respect of which I was on the same side of the argument as people who support the Bill before us. I refer to the debates in respect of the legislation relating to human...