Results 6,341-6,360 of 7,583 for speaker:Rónán Mullen

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (3 Nov 2010)

Rónán Mullen: I compliment Senators O'Toole and Ross on raising this issue again in the Seanad. Senator O'Toole did so previously, with the support of his colleagues on the Independent benches. However, I wonder whether it is an exercise in futility as this is the third such debate since I was elected in 2007. On the first occasion the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy...

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (3 Nov 2010)

Rónán Mullen: We have moved from being somewhat hopeful to very disappointed to massively disappointed and it seems that amounts to progress around here. It is regrettable that, given all the reports that have been produced during the years involving Members of this House and the efforts of Senator O'Toole and others to advance the issue, we are being mocked, not only by the failure to obtain clarity on...

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (3 Nov 2010)

Rónán Mullen: ----- it is a pathetically small constituency of people-----

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (3 Nov 2010)

Rónán Mullen: They are rotten boroughs. Of course, they must all vote because to my knowledge they must consult each other and sometimes I believe people are even made to show how they will exercise their franchise in what is a further mockery of democratic practice. It is true to state the current system of electing six university Senators in the way we do is a scandal and does look elitist. However,...

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (3 Nov 2010)

Rónán Mullen: Then we would have an acceptable third level graduate franchise. I will not make any claims about the particular contribution the university senators have made during the years; they have simply done their duty. However, it further brings the Houses and our system of government into disrepute that we had a referendum in 1979 providing for the introduction of legislation that would widen it...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: I am not sure that today is the day to debate this important report. It seems to me to be an exercise in window dressing because I wonder how many of us will have had an opportunity to give it the scrutiny it deserves. If we were operating in a mature fashion we would be debating this report early next week, having had an opportunity to consider it properly. Instead, we will have bland...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: -----by trying to use this to gain some political leverage for a constitutional referendum proposal which needs to be debated on its merits. There is a certain denial about the failure of people to simply do their duty. Red herring no. 1 is the Constitution. It is not an issue. The law was in place. People in this House have been quick to condemn the Church, and rightly so, for not...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: -----to act in the context of social welfare. There was a clear legal mandate to act and they did not do it.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: The second red herring is invoking the intermeddling family, the right wingers, as they are called.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: I do not care if they are left wing or right wing. They were no more than bar room chums in terms of the access they had to the courts. They had no standing.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: Their role is of irrelevance.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: The issue here was the failure to take action and we should stop making excuses for the people who failed to take action-----

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: -----by seeking to propose other agendas.

Seanad: Food Harvest 2020 Report: Statements (27 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. In concert with Senator Quinn, I congratulate the Minister and wish him well with the excellent work under way with Food Harvest 2020. The Seanad spends considerable time discussing the challenges facing the economy and the hard choices we need to make. We pin all our hopes on the key issue of achieving growth. Everything will change for the better if we can...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: The climate has changed in the Green Party.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: We have heard some very interesting points from Senators O'Toole, Harris and Regan. We should have a debate about the whole issue of savings. I hear, too, about many people who have accumulated large amounts of personal debt on credit cards and suchlike. I presume we are not talking about the same people. However, it is important that we have an informed debate in this House about the...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: Were we to be really honest, we would accept that we have very little choice regarding the tough things that must be done over the next few years. Moreover, I am afraid that it flows logically from this that much that will be said in these Houses will be superfluous. While Members will be engaged in much conversation that is necessary at one level, at another level it will be quite...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: I find myself in troubling agreement with both Senators Bacik and O'Toole on some of their comments on the question of education and religious ethos. They are both correct when they seek to vindicate the right of parents to access schools for their children which reflect their vision of life, their values and their ethos. In particular, I welcome Senator O'Toole's explicit support for the...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: This is an extraordinary form of discrimination. I conclude by saying, as I did yesterday-----

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2010)

Rónán Mullen: -----that we will have cutbacks to make-----