Results 6,221-6,240 of 7,583 for speaker:Rónán Mullen

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: We will not be well served by a future Seanad composed of members of the governing parties who seek only to do the wishes of the rulers of those parties.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: Tá an ceart ar fad ag an Seanadóir Quinn nuair a luann sé an cheist faoi na damáistí a thugtar i gcás leabhail i gcomparáid le cásanna eile. D'ardaigh mise an cheist seo le linn dúinn an reachtaíochta maidir le clúmhilleadh a phlé agus mhol mé, agus bheadh go leor daoine ar aon tuairim liom, gur chóir an cúram a thabhairt do na breithimh damáistí a dhámhachtan do dhaoine i...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: There was another fine hearing yesterday when the Irish Human Rights Commission appeared before the Joint Committee on Health and Children in light of the commission's report into services at the John Paul Centre for intellectual disability in Galway. Key recommendations of that report have not been acted on by Government, including in regard to problems of overcrowding, under-funding,...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: I will finish on the this point. Mr. Maurice Manning, a former Senator, and Professor William Binchy attended yesterday. They deserve to be complimented on their work but they also deserve to be supported by this House in asking those kinds of questions. It is greatly to be regretted that we are not in a position to ask the hard questions in the way we need to because of the chaos that has...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: The Senator can go to the Visitors Gallery to pay tribute to him.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: Like many people, I watched in disbelief at the succession of events in recent days. Nothing pained me more then watching international news programmes and seeing the turmoil of our political events being featured in the manner they were. The only conclusion I can draw is that all the political parties put selfish, short-term political objectives ahead of the needs and interests of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: How can Members ask the people to respect the institutions of State at a time of crisis when the people in charge of our political parties constantly belittle them and bring them into disrepute? We have no reason to be optimistic about the calibre of leadership entering Government if this is the manner in which they intend to treat the people and the institutions of this State by putting...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: I was taken by Senator Daly's reference to John Fitzgerald Kennedy's inauguration speech. It is appropriate that we mark the anniversary, but I was waiting for him to tell us that the Taoiseach was also thinking about the matter. Other words from the speech spring to mind in the context of ministerial resignations and the forthcoming injection of new blood.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: Kennedy's words, "let the word go out ... to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation," remind me that the dead wood of the Cabinet is to be torched and that the torch will be passed to a new generation of Ministers for only a few weeks. I have been critical of the Green Party, but it is being unfairly blamed for its decision to go into government in order to...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: Some 150 academics have written an open letter criticising proposals made in the Croke Park agreement which they claim pose a serious threat to academic freedom. They state: "The right to permanency and tenure to retirement age is the bedrock on which academic freedom rests." We should not undermine academic freedom, given that some of the more important criticisms of what has occurred in...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: In defending the right to tenure as a prerequisite to protect academic freedom, we must not lose sight of the fact that many academics employed on a temporary basis do not enjoy the same rights in our colleges. They have been done an injustice during the years. We must find a way to protect the rights of existing academic staff in a way which will not be at the expense of those who have...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: The Leader might mention that she came from Ahascragh in County Galway.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: The Leader has my phone number, if he wants to pluck me from the relative obscurity of the Seanad.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: It will be on "Oireachtas Report" tonight.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: I should be very careful in case I say too much about the outcome of the High Court case, as the matter may well be referred to the Supreme Court, but it is appropriate that something should be said about the High Court's decision last week with regard to the Seanad and the payment of expenses.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: I will defer to the Cathaoirleach for the moment, but it is important to make certain points. There is an issue in the public mind about the quality of the Seanad, its ability to investigate its own affairs——

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: ——and what happens when claims or allegations are made against politicians.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: We will need to debate it. I am putting the Cathaoirleach on notice that I will be raising it in due course.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: No matter how bad the national finances are, the fact that the funding for Operation Anvil, the Garda Siocháná's biggest ongoing operation to tackle organised crime, has been cut by more than 50% should not be let go unchallenged or without criticism. When I raised the matter a number of weeks ago, I said that no matter how bad things got, it would still be necessary to prioritise in...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jan 2011)

Rónán Mullen: While a number of prosecutions are being pursued, I ask the Leader when we will see progress on the promise by the Minister for Justice and Law Reform to consider the issue of prostitution and the need to criminalise the purchasers of sexual services.