Results 801-820 of 7,765 for speaker:Maurice Cummins

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: Senator Darragh O'Brien asked if the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Paudie Coffey, would come to the House to discuss and update us on the pyrite scheme. I know the Minister has agreed to come to discuss the issue of social housing and we may encompass a debate on the pyrite scheme within that debate. Fianna Fáil is to...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: It is very welcome but a public order task force for the capital is an operational matter and one for the Garda Commissioner. I agree with the Senator's sentiments about taking back ownership of the streets. I commend gardaí on the work they are doing and extra resources beginning to come on stream. I admit they are long overdue but it is to be hoped they will tackle the problems we...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: It is unlikely they will after 75 years, but one never knows. As to the presidential pardon, what the President wishes to do is a matter for him. I would not like to be involved in urging him to do one thing or another, but I am sure that, being the man he is, he will do the right thing in this regard. He took a personal interest in the case. Senator Eamonn Coghlan referred to the Points...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: I urge Sinn Féin's MPs to take their seats and represent their constituents as well, but that is a matter for Sinn Féin. It has its own way of running things. Senator Mooney raised the issue of Aer Lingus, the interline agreement with Virgin Atlantic and the implications of a takeover for inward tourism in particular. I will bring the matter to the attention of the Minister for...

Seanad: Freedom of Information Act 2014 (Effective Date for Certain Bodies) Order 2015: Motion (2 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the following Order in draft:Freedom of Information Act 2014 (Effective Date for Certain Bodies) Order 2015,copies of which Order in draft were laid before Seanad Éireann on 10th March 2015.I thank the Minister for coming into the House to discuss these orders that require resolutions of both Houses of the Oireachtas. The first provides for a...

Seanad: Freedom of Information Act 2014 (Effective Date for Certain Bodies) Order 2015: Motion (2 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: I wish to amend the Order of Business. I mentioned the contributions of group spokespersons, but to allow other Senators to contribute, I suggest they be given four minutes in which to contribute also.

Seanad: Freedom of Information Act 2014 (Exempted Public Bodies) Order 2015: Motion (2 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the following Order in draft:Freedom of Information Act 2014 (Exempted Public Bodies) Order 2015,copies of which Order in draft were laid before Seanad Éireann on 12th March, 2015.

Seanad: Freedom of Information Act 2014 (Exempted Public Bodies) Order 2015: Motion (2 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: It is proposed to sit again at 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 15 April 2015.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: The Order of Business is No. 1, report from the Seanad Committee on Procedures and Privileges on an amendment to Standing Order 16, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No. 2, motion regarding a proposal for the regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council repealing certain acts in the fields of police co-operation and judicial co-operation in...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: I hope that, unlike yesterday, my voice will hold out. Senator Darragh O'Brien referred to student gardaí in Templemore and their inability to obtain family income supplement. As he correctly pointed out, these students are paying tax and the USC. There appears to be a need for joined-up thinking by the Departments of Justice and Equality and Social Protection in this matter. I will...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: The Taoiseach can only sack Ministers. He is not in a position to sack anyone else. I am sure we will engage in a debate on the report when it is published. Senator Ivana Bacik referred to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and its support for the Government's efforts in Europe. She also welcomed the fact that the unemployment rate has dropped to 10%. The level of unemployment has fallen...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: On the Taoiseach coming into the House to answer that question, the Government is responsible to Dáil Éireann, not Seanad Éireann. I have said this before. It is not something I like saying, but it is a constitutional fact. Senators Michael Comiskey and Michael D'Arcy welcomed the announcement on milk quotas. It can only be good news for farmers and rural Ireland, in...

Seanad: Report of Committee on Procedure and Privileges on Standing Order 116: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: I move: That the report of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges on the amendment of Standing Order 16 be adopted, laid before the House and printed.This proposal from the Committee on Procedure and Privileges relates to the interval between the end of the Commencement debate and the beginning of the Order of Business.

Seanad: EU Regulation on Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters: Motion (1 Apr 2015)

Maurice Cummins: I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Mar 2015)

Maurice Cummins: The Order of Business is Nos. 1 and 2, motions regarding Freedom of Information Act 2014 - Referral to Committee, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; and No. 3, Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Age of Eligibility for Election to the Office of President) Bill 2015 - Second Stage, to be taken at 4.45 p.m., with contributions from group spokespersons...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Mar 2015)

Maurice Cummins: He was a learned scholar.

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Mar 2015)

Maurice Cummins: That was a bit of a marathon of an Order of Business. Senator O'Brien, Senator Quinn and the last speaker, Senator Walsh, raised the issue of mortgage holders paying over the top for variable rates, and there is no question that that is the case. The Statement of Government Priorities 2014-2016 recognised that promoting and encouraging competition and new entrants into the banking sector...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Mar 2015)

Maurice Cummins: -----from being totally opposed to it and now he is in favour of it. We welcome that.

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Mar 2015)

Maurice Cummins: In regard to the futility of consistency I thought that was the motto of the Fianna Fáil party.

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Mar 2015)

Maurice Cummins: Senator John Gilroy raised the issue of commemorations.