Results 6,901-6,920 of 7,585 for speaker:Rónán Mullen

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (24 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I welcome what the Minister of State is seeking to do in regard to this amendment. It is certainly a sign of her openness, which she has shown on at least two other occasions today, to take on board specific, constructive suggestions, albeit in fairly technical matters. We would certainly have liked more of those suggestions to have been taken on board but I do not want to take from my...

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (24 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I will start on a positive note by welcoming the Minister of State's amendment. I may be jumping ahead slightly but it is relevant to what we are discussing. It follows from a request I made last week and I thank the Minister of State for following through on her commitment in that regard. That was essentially to move from the singular to the plural in dealing with the assessment issue. I...

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (24 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: While I do not fault the Minister of State, there is an absence of good faith on the Government's part and, therefore, to call it a fair deal is something of a euphemism. It is a fair deal given what is available to people, but it is not a fair deal compared to their entitlements. That is why we are concerned about a situation where four fifths of a person's income is to be taken in payment...

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (24 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I move amendment No. 12: In page 16, line 26, after "Act." to insert the following: "The percentage value accruing to the Executive under this part shall not exceed 15 per cent of the estimated market value established under section 10.". This amendment attempts to set out what will happen when a house that was valued when its owner entered a nursing home loses some of its value thereafter....

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (24 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: As I said during the debate on earlier amendments, something dramatic seems to be at work in this legislation. It seems the State is to be permitted to appropriate a significant portion of a person's property to itself. If, as a result of a change in the market value of housing, the amount being taken were to be more punitive than 15% of the value of the property at the time the State is...

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (24 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I also thank the Minister of State for tabling amendment No. 17 which goes some way towards making the relevant provision more humane and personal. It is important that the expressed verbal or written wishes of a person be taken into account. I welcome the comprehensive nature of amendment No. 17 in this regard.

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (24 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: May I comment on that?

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (24 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: May I make a point of order? I am not sure if it is a point of order but perhaps the Acting Chairman can rule on it. I want to express my disquiet that substantial amendments which touch on how things are to be done to ensure fairness in the system cannot even be discussed by the Seanad.

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (24 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I know Senator Norris has already made this point regarding several other amendments. This is not the first time that one of my amendments has been nobbled today. I tabled an amendment seeking to include other categories of persons under the definition of couple, for example. Some of these amendments go to the heart of what the Bill is supposed to cover. I want to register my disquiet.

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (24 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I move amendment No. 31: In page 50, to delete lines 31 to 35 and substitute the following: " "(3) Where the Board has formed the reasonable view that the price at which long term residential care services is proposed to be provided by a particular nursing home is, all things being equal, materially in excess of the price at which long term residential care services are provided by other...

Seanad: Multi-Unit Developments Bill 2009: Second Stage (23 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I welcome the Multi-Unit Developments Bill to the Seanad. Unfortunately, it is long overdue for many young people who had to suffer the exorbitant costs of apartments over the past six years and who also had to suffer further at the hands of certain unscrupulous developers even after they bought them. Buying a unit in a multi-unit development raises complex...

Seanad: Night-time Rural Transport: Statements (23 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Ba mhaith liom mo chuid ama a roinnt leis an Seanadóir Doherty.

Seanad: Night-time Rural Transport: Statements (23 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Is mian liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire. Nuair a sheol sé an scéim phíolótach — an scéim oíche iompair tuaithe — bhí mé an-tógtha le cé chómh líofa agus paiseanta a labhair sé faoin rationale a bhí laistiar den scéim. Dúirt sé go raibh sé tábhachtach go mbeadh ceannaireacht ag teacht ón phobal chun seirbhísí taistil a chur ar fáil chun cabhrú le daoine dul go...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I note what Senators Regan and Ross had to say about the Lisbon treaty, and they are always eloquent and compelling. I want to put it on the record that whereas some newspapers are numbering people who, allegedly, are going to jump ship into the "Yes" camp, it is certainly not based on anything I said. I shall do what I said I would do all along, namely, look at the guarantees in detail,...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: It is interesting to note a very eloquent and tragic piece by Carl O'Brien in The Irish Times where he talks about people in the Leader's area of Castlepollard who are still stuck in institutional settings, people with intellectual disabilities who should be at the top of the queue in our society but who are, yet again, being placed at the bottom. Shame on those responsible for such a...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: Did the Senator go to Specsavers?

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I am always pleased to see good ideas taken up and I compliment Fine Gael and, in particular, Deputy Denis Naughten, for his comments on the need to criminalise the purchasers of sexual services from people in prostitution. As Members will be aware, last week I brought forward this idea as part of a more wide-ranging Private Members' motion on the needs of victims of human trafficking. I am...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: It is wonderful to have such harmony because this is what Archbishop Martin was rightly getting at when he suggested it would be untenable for there to be such a predominance of Catholic schools in circumstances in which the same percentage of people did not wish for it. We must examine honestly and carefully at the issues of parental choice. I note and recommend to Members the comments of...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I concur with Senator Hanafin and others regarding the racist attacks in Belfast, which yet again demonstrate that we have a long way to go before full respect for the dignity of the person is enjoyed by all members of society. They underline the need to promote values of tolerance at all levels, but mere tolerance will not suffice. We need to emphasise the ethical absolute of the right of...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jun 2009)

Rónán Mullen: I fully support the comments of Archbishop Martin in this regard. We must move to a situation in which people have access to ownership models of schools in proportion to their aspirations as parents. If we pursue that aim rather than a statist, one size fits all model, we will achieve social justice while acting harmoniously with the wishes of parents.