Results 781-800 of 3,519 for speaker:Michelle Mulherin

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015: Statements (29 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I will conclude.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015: Statements (29 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I am just concluding. We are to the fore of the top countries in Europe in terms of having the most carbon efficient way of producing beef and dairy, but that is not praised. I have one question for the Minister. Is he satisfied that none of the experts in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine who present to us on the agriculture committee and tell us the challenges and the...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015: Statements (29 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I welcome the Minister to the House. I am interested in the delivery of public transport to rural areas, particularly train services into the west. The NTA published a report last year suggesting that train services to the west of Ireland could be shut down because of the lack of money at Iarnród Éireann. I do not know if this is just scare tactics or is something that is really...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015: Statements (29 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: The people carrying the can for that are those with older vehicles from 2008 or prior to that. Many people who have older vehicles probably do not travel very much and sometimes they pay more tax on their vehicles than the car is worth. There is an inherent unfairness in that somebody can buy a top of the range BMW or Mercedes and he or she will pay less tax than somebody who has a...

Seanad: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund 2017: Motion (29 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I move:That Seanad Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft:Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2017,copies of which were laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 13th November, 2017.

Seanad: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund 2017: Motion (29 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I welcome the Minister to the House. I also offer my condolences to him and his family on the loss of his father, Donal Creed. We all know that whatever one's personal circumstances, politics just keeps rolling on and does not stop for anything, even significant personal events that can happen in our lives. I offer the Minister my sympathies today. It is very appropriate that we are here...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2017: Second Stage (28 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He is a regular here. It is always good to see him. I welcome many of the provisions in the Finance Bill. They have been outlined very eloquently by many in the House, including our own spokesperson. I am disappointed, however, that an exemption from the local property tax is not being extended to people in Mayo with pyrite in their homes and...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Defective Building Materials (23 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: Fáilte. I welcome the Minister of State. My request is simple in many ways. I ask that the local property tax, LPT, exemption that exists in Leinster in respect of homes affected by pyrite be extended to cover homes in Mayo that are similarly affected and those in Donegal affected by problems with mica. An expert report on concrete blockwork in homes in Mayo and Donegal was published...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Defective Building Materials (23 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I thank the Minister of State. I know that he has answered as best he can. The reality is that I have been in contact with the Revenue Commissioners in respect of two distinct occurrences of pyrite, one in the foundation and another in the blockwork. I have been told that the exemption as described in the legislation does not cover blockwork. The reply the Minister of State has given to...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: This week is alcohol awareness week on an EU-wide basis. We spent many hours last week discussing the issue of binge drinking and alcohol abuse, and the terrible consequences of this for society. Last Sunday, an advertisement was placed in the Sunday Independentby one of Ireland's multiple retailers advertising the sale of 24, 500 ml cans, of Bulmers cider for €25. The cost to a...

Seanad: Defence Forces (Veterans Lapel Badge) Bill 2017: Second Stage (22 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I call on Senator McFadden. She has eight minutes.

Seanad: Defence Forces (Veterans Lapel Badge) Bill 2017: Second Stage (22 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I call on Senator Diarmuid Wilson. He has eight minutes.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: Today sees the commencement of the global forum on human resources for health. This is a four-day conference that will begin in the RDS. No doubt the World Health Organization, which is one of the co-sponsors, will be pointing out to us that the problem of a shortfall in health care workers is worldwide. There are some other issues. The WHO will also tell us, by reference to reports in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Issues: Discussion (14 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I wish to voice my concern about what I see as the general bashing and hammering of agriculture in public and media commentary and, at times, at EU level in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. When one looks at it in the round, and Mr. Callanan has described the layers of effort that are being made at every level in terms of farming practice and feed, one can see that every other aspect of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Issues: Discussion (14 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I specifically asked Mr. Callanan if he or anybody else from the Department, or Teagasc, was invited to give evidence to the assembly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Issues: Discussion (14 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: Was anybody from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine invited to make a presentation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Issues: Discussion (14 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I was involved in the Constitutional Convention. There were a number of citizens and only a small number of politicians on that convention. There are no politicians on the Citizens' Assembly. The citizens' representative group relish the opportunity to ask questions and get data and perspectives. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is at the coalface of this issue. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Issues: Discussion (14 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: Mr. Callanan stated earlier that the EU has flagged as a key issue how we propose to reduce carbon emissions in agriculture. As such, the EU is not leaving it to us to decide how this will be achieved. On his point that this is a matter for Ireland, that is not the case if the EU is telling us what to do.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Issues: Discussion (14 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: I wish to make a point about information and interaction in response to Mr. Nolan. I acknowledge the work that has been done, especially around breeding. However, it seems that if we polled everyone in the country, the vast majority would agree we need to do something about climate change. It is when we get down to the level of the different measures that have to be taken in the different...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Issues: Discussion (14 Nov 2017)

Michelle Mulherin: Chairman, may I-----