Rónán Mullen

In November 2008, Mullen introduced to the Seanad his Stem Cell Research (Protection of Human Embryos) Bill .[15] The Bill sought to protect the right to life of human embryos in the context of embryo stem cell research.

In September 2010, Mullen introduced the first ever Private Members' Motion in the Oireachtas dedicated to the issue of hospice care.[17] The motion focused primarily on facilitating personal choice on dying at home and also on making end-of-life care a core hospital competence. The motion was based on the Irish Hospice Foundation's Audit of End of Life Care. The audit documented that over half the 1000 patients profiled died in multi-bed rooms, only 20-30% of persons received specialist palliative care, and that as many as 25% may have died alone.[26] Speaking to the motion Mullen claimed that "implicit sometimes in our thinking on this issue is the view that policy focus should centre on those with the majority of their lives ahead of them; that dying is a taboo subject better skirted around for the sake of avoiding awkwardness and offence; and that as people gradually lose memory, consciousness, bodily control and even hope, they also lose their dignity".[27]

Mullen involved in a controversy in April 2012, when he was accused by abortion rights activists of being "extremely unsympathetic" at a meeting with women who recently travelled outside Ireland to have their pregnancies terminated after they were diagnosed with abnormalities "incompatible with life".[28] Mullen rejected the accusations and said he sympathised with the women.[29][30] In November 2012 The Irish Times printed an apology to Senator Mullen because their original account of the meeting was "not complete and was unfair to Senator Mullen". Senator Mullen was contacted by an Irish Times reporter who accepted his invitation to revert to him if any specific allegations were made [to the journalist] about what was said by Senator Mullen at a meeting between Senator Mullen and a lobbyist on the issue of the legalisation of abortion. A specific allegation was made and was reported in the Irish Times article but it was not put to Senator Mullen beforehand. This led to a disputed version of events being reported.[31]

In December 2012, Mullen expressed his sympathy with the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting but warned that his colleagues should "not slip into a double-think where we forget a whole category of children in our own country", in reference to proposed legislation on abortion and comments made by children's minister Frances Fitzgerald with regards the A, B and C case.[32] His comments drew criticism from colleagues including Seanad leader Maurice Cummins and Susan O'Keefe who described them as "disgraceful."[33]

In a TV3 debate prior to the referendum on repealing the 8th amendment to the Irish constitution in 2018, Mullen said that "mental health has no evidence base".[34][35][36] When the host of the show summarized his views as saying that "mental health is not health", Mullen replied, "You’re misrepresenting me."[35] A petition calling for his resignation because of these remarks attracted almost 30,000 signatures within a week.[37]

During the Committee Stage debate in the Seanad on the Civil Partnership Bill 2009, Mullen and Senator Feargal Quinn tabled 77 amendments. Mullen spoke at length on amendments dealing with freedom of conscience in what Government Senators claimed was an attempt to obstruct the Bill.[38][39] For the first time in two decades the Cathaoirleach then closed the committee stage debate, after less than ten hours of discussion.[40] Mullen denied the filibuster claim, describing the cloture as "an attack on democracy".[38][41]

However, other senators claimed that Mullen was attempting to stifle the bill through repetition and filibuster, that the debate "had developed into an exercise in absurdity. It had become meaningless and futile due to arguments which did not relate to tabled amendment."[38] Labour Senator Ivana Bacik said that no one wanted to stifle debate. "What we have seen today in the last four hours is not genuine debate but an attempt to obstruct and to filibuster the passing of this important legislation, with which the vast majority of the House are agreed."[38] He had earlier alleged that there was a lack of scrutiny given to the Bill in the Dáil.[41] The Sunday Business Post noted that personalised attacks on opponents of the Bill, including Mullen, were an unusual feature of the Seanad debate.[42]

In 2015, Mullen was a leading opponent of the proposal to amend the Irish Constitution to allow same-sex marriage. The amendment was accepted by voters on 22 May 2015 by 62% to 38%. The turnout of 1,949,725 voters was the highest referendum poll in the history of the State up to that time.

In the aftermath of the defeat in referendum of the first Lisbon Treaty Mullen was appointed to a sub-committee on European Affairs charged with investigating the political impasse.[43] Mullen dissented from the Sub-Committee's final report, citing the Sub-Committee's failure to take seriously potential clashes between EU law and Irish Constitutional law on socio-ethical issues as his reason for doing so.[44] Mullen proposed that in order for the Lisbon Treaty to be passed by a referendum legally binding guarantees would have to be attached to the Treaty re-affirming sovereignty with regard to Ireland's Constitutional position on the right to life of unborn children, the family, education and religion. He also proposed that both European law and the Constitution of Ireland incorporate such limits to prevent "competence creep" in the future.[45] The suggestion concerning legally-binding guarantees was eventually taken up by the Irish Government in its negotiations with the EU in preparation for a second attempt at a referendum.[46] By the time of the second Lisbon referendum the Government had secured the guarantees but no other constitutional amendment was proposed as part of the plebiscite. The Treaty of Lisbon passed at the second time of asking by 67.1% in favour to 32.9% against.[47]

Mullen voted against the 2009 Blasphemy Law saying it did not protect arguments that a reasonable person would see as being of religious value against accusations of blasphemy, unlike the protection it afforded to literary, artistic, political, scientific or academic value.[48] He opposed the removal of the Constitutional ban on blasphemy both in the Seanad[49] and in the subsequent referendum campaign.[50] Mullen argued that it was an unnecessary waste of public money which would further encourage wasteful referendums.[50] He also noted that retaining what he saw as reasonable blasphemy laws would carry more weight if Ireland wanted to influence countries like Pakistan to adopt less harsh blasphemy laws.[50]

In June 2009, Mullen introduced a Private Members' Motion on Human Trafficking calling for, among other things, criminalising the user of prostituted and trafficked women. The motion was based on legislation in place in Sweden and Norway and received the support of NGOs such as Ruhama and the Immigrant Council of Ireland.[51] The then Green Party Senator Déirdre de Búrca abstained from voting with the Government as a show of support for Mullen's motion.[52]

He was once quoted as saying he did not believe the Irish government should get involved in the rehabilitation of a schismatic British bishop, Richard Williamson, who denied the holocaust.[53]