Results 6,701-6,720 of 7,583 for speaker:Rónán Mullen

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Yes, I am asking the Leader when there will be a Government initiative that acknowledges it was partly the irresponsibility of Government policy in recent years that allowed so many ordinary people to get into situations that now prove untenable. We need something as far-reaching and innovative as NAMA to deal with the extraordinary situations in which ordinary people find themselves. I seek...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: There is no point whingeing about aspects of the budget. It is like trying to change the weather in this country. However, it must be said that there are aspects of the budget that are profoundly regrettable. We knew what would happen with child benefit but that is no consolation. The cut in child benefit is inappropriate and redolent of the attack on families by the Government through...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Will the Leader arrange a debate at the earliest opportunity on the need to enhance the treatment of stroke, so that it can become as treatable a condition in Ireland as it is elsewhere?

Seanad: Dental Services (8 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire. Tá brón orm nar thug sí oiread agus leid dom fé céard a bheadh i gceist ag an Aire amárach, ní amháin maidir leis an scéim seo ach le go leor scéimeanna fiúntacha eile. Fanfaimid le h-aghaidh an scéal amárach ar aon nós.

Seanad: Dental Services (8 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Táimid uilig ag súil le cloisteáil cad iad na himpleachtaí dá Roinn ón cáinfhaisnéis amárach. The background to the matter I am raising is the proposal made in the McCarthy report that the dental treatment benefit scheme, DTBS, or the PRSI scheme as it is commonly known, should be abolished. The scheme is an insurance scheme that operates on the...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Senator Norris spoke about other Senators speaking for their parishes. I do not know much about that, but one payment we should all support is child benefit. Last week I met the group Protest Against Child Unfriendly Budget and spoke to Treasa Dovander. I believe most sensible people recognise the folly of attacking child benefit. In 1986 the report of the Commission on Social Welfare...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: It attacked families through the introduction of tax individualisation at the beginning of this decade. It should not now attack families by attacking child benefit.

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I would like to refer briefly to a point raised by Senator Norris who wastes no opportunity to suggest the church is somehow above the law in certain areas. That is not true. The legislation on equality in employment has been drafted to allow organisations in the health and education sectors to protect their ethos. Nothing could be more consonant with reason than this. For that reason,...

Seanad: Mental Health (Involuntary Procedures) (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (2 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: As the Green Party has withdrawn certain aspects of its original proposals in this Bill, I will confine my comments to what remains, essentially whether ECT should be permitted in the absence of the patient's consent. I admire the animating spirit behind this initiative and believe it is right and proper that we think long and hard in terms of human rights and dignity when we consider any...

Seanad: Mental Health (Involuntary Procedures) (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (2 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: We are talking about rarely used treatments, that are strictly regulated but where a treatment is evolving, it is not the place of this House to substitute its judgment for that of medical professionals who might in the future develop a type of psycho-surgery or other treatment that could be beneficial. These matters must always operate within constitutional and legal parameters. I...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I second Senator Quinn's amendment to the Order of Business. When that debate took place last year I was very pleased at the support which came from different sides of the House for that particular Bill. I would be hopeful if at some future date it is discussed in the House that we may have more support from both sides of the House and that people might like to join me in proposing the...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: And UCD.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: There is constitutional provision for an extension.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (1 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I believe it is very important that we debate the Murphy report on Thursday. These are heavy days for people of goodwill at all levels of the Catholic church and outside it because of the abuse and the fact that the handling of these cases was characterised by massive incompetence, and sometimes more than that, and ineptitude farther back in the past. Like Senator O'Sullivan, I have had the...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (1 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I hope we can have a debate on the fair funding of all educational institutions by the Department.

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Really.

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. In 2008 the economy entered the worst recession in 80 years, sparked by the global credit crunch and the collapse of the domestic property bubble. The scale of the economic collapse was staggering. In 2006, at the height of the boom, the private sector was a net borrower to the tune of €10 billion. In 2009 the private sector will be a net saver of...

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Dec 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I thank the Cathaoirleach for his indulgence. It is crippling the management of schools. I make no apology for saying that education should be excepted in any cutbacks. As it stands, with the Government slow to pay grants, schools are being pushed into bad management practices where they must borrow from banks in order not to be in the red. The articles of management require them to run...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I welcome the comments of Senator Healy Eames about the misuse, effectively, of what is called the student services charge. I raised this matter on the Adjournment last night. Despite the fact that the Minister for Education and Science said recently that the student services charge is for the purposes of registration, examinations and facilities and services for students, the reality is...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2009)

Rónán Mullen: When I was in charge of student services in the then Dundalk Regional Technical College we had a hardship fund from which chaplains would disburse moneys to students who were hard up. We now find out that some students are still waiting to find out, at this late stage of the year with Christmas examinations approaching, whether they will receive a higher education grant. Some students are...