Results 1-20 of 93 for going forward speaker:Paul Gavan

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 Apr 2024)

Paul Gavan: I give a warm welcome to Senator O’Hara and his parents. What a fantastic start and a brilliant speech. It will be great to work with him and I look forward to it. I wish former Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, well for the future. I commend him on his public support for a united Ireland, his aspiration to see a united Ireland in his lifetime, his encouragement for those in his...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Recycling Policy (21 Mar 2024)

Paul Gavan: ...struck by the number of elderly people in rural areas who live miles away from these supermarkets and typically do their shopping in the local villages where they live. I know the Government is going to say that the long-term plan is to install these machines in villages but, in the meantime, who is going to refund those on limited incomes who are currently funding the scheme because...

Seanad: An Bille um an Aonú Leasú is Daichead ar an mBunreacht (An Comhaontú maidir le Cúirt Aontaithe um Paitinní), 2024: An Dara Céim - Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Agreement on a Unified Patent Court) Bill 2024: Second Stage (21 Mar 2024)

Paul Gavan: ...European clearing house for patents. The Intellectual Property Office of Ireland, based in Kilkenny, has similar competence. However, most of the activity from a patent perspective tends to go through the EPO. These patents must subsequently be litigated separately in the national courts of each country, with separate legal representation and costs and with the prospect of different...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (8 Feb 2024)

Paul Gavan: ...effectively very few additional functional powers, and I am afraid that is what we have ended up with. Rather than get into a back-and-forth about that, because we will be dealing with a number of amendments as we go through the afternoon, what is particularly important is that the Minister of State takes on board the expressions of concern, not just from Sinn Féin but from a range...

Seanad: Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023: Second Stage (14 Dec 2023)

Paul Gavan: Listening to our colleagues, Senators Mullen and Keogan, brought me back in time to 1983, when I first got involved in political action. I campaigned against that awful eighth amendment. Their speeches brought me back to a time when they were the dominant voices. That suffocating oppression of women was mainstream and so strongly in place that it was a horrendous time. As a result, each...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Third Level Staff (12 Dec 2023)

Paul Gavan: ...their employer does not treat them with dignity and respect, and all those who felt their employer does treat them with dignity and respect still had significant concerns. Time prevents me from going through the rest of the survey, but I urge the Minister of State to have a look at it. What was particularly disappointing was the initial response from the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, who...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2023)

Paul Gavan: ...to ensure the sustainability of our Social Insurance Fund is through graduated increases in the level of employers’ PRSI beginning with the portion of salaries above €100,000. Sinn Féin was the first party to put forward the issue of the sustainability of the Social Insurance Fund and the levels of social insurance contributions. In the teeth of a cost-of-living...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: ...of them should be released. People often ask me, when they look at the despair and horror of what has been inflicted on the Palestinians, what we can do. This evening, we can do a real good by going to the Gig for Gaza at the 3Arena. There will be some wonderful acts there including our own comrade, Frances Black, but also Lankum, Damien Dempsey, the Mary Wallopers and Lisa O'Neill. I...

Seanad: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023: Second Stage (28 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: ...on cutting the bottom rates of USC and increasing the entry point to the third rate, beginning the journey of removing the first €30,000 workers earn from liability to USC. In this finance Bill, the Government decided to introduce measures which mean that someone earning €35,000 a year will benefit by less than €310, while someone earning €200,000 a year will...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Development Projects (21 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: ...across Limerick. The regeneration funding might be ending but it must be said the regeneration project is far from being complete. Does the Minister of State have some clarity on the possible sources of funding going forward? Will he give any reassurance to those workers who, even as we speak, have been put under protective notice even and to the communities affected?

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hospital Overcrowding (26 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: ...because of the appalling conditions there. How on earth will we get through this winter? Last winter the system entirely collapsed. Shannondoc collapsed and the whole system collapsed. I was going to ask the Minister for Health, and I hope the Minister of State will have some answers on his behalf this morning, what particular interactions is he planning to make sure we do not have a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Low Pay Commission Recommendations on the National Minimum Wage: Discussion (18 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: I thank Deputy O'Reilly for allowing me to go first. I have a meeting to go to afterwards so I apologise if I have to leave straight away. It is great to see Mr. Courtney again. If I may, I want to start by taking up an issue that arose the last time he appeared before the committee. I will quote from the transcript of the meeting where he said to me: "Some actually say to us that they...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare (Dogs) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (5 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: ...have a further hearing with regard to this Bill. I acknowledge that in the House today. I am guessing we will run out of time today but I am sure we will get another opportunity to move the Bill forward as well. I acknowledge the cross-party co-operation, which is something I think we are very good at here in the Seanad. That was alluded to last week when the Taoiseach was in the...

Seanad: Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Second Stage (4 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: ..., says something because - let us face it - it is hard to get people to come here to see what we do at the best of times. These people are here because they are really concerned with the lack of negotiation to date on the new terms and conditions. I have to challenge the Minister because, in her speech, she said that detailed consultations have taken place. I am sorry but I have to...

Seanad: Ban on Dumping New Products Bill 2022: Second Stage (5 Jul 2023)

Paul Gavan: ...it is happening is that there is a global chain of exploitation that works so efficiently for these companies, at the expense of human beings, of course, that it means they can produce these goods so cheaply that it often makes financial sense for them to plough them into the ground in order to not damage the status of their products in the marketplace. I want to focus on the fashion side...

Seanad: Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2023: Second Stage (29 Jun 2023)

Paul Gavan: ...advocating for a comprehensive multi-party action procedure, Sinn Féin seeks reforms that are carefully balanced. It is important to prevent spurious and excessive litigation but we cannot let that fear prevent us from going a little further and broadening the Bill sufficiently to capture those who need access to justice. The legislation places considerable administrative burdens on...

Seanad: Academic Precarity: Motion (24 May 2023)

Paul Gavan: ...at UCD, because it struck me as being powerful. She stated: I've never settled down. You can end up not having a family. I don't have pets – I foster – as you just don't know if you're going to be around or not.... I'm 45 and there's no way I'm going to get a mortgage on a house. That's not going to happen. How did it come to this? I want a serious answer to that...

Seanad: Disregard of Certain Criminal Records of Gay Men: Motion (17 May 2023)

Paul Gavan: ...but we very much welcome the work the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has done to bring about public consultation and promises of legislation to expunge or disregard those offences. I very much look forward to the Minister of State's response because I am sure he will give us a clear timeline for when this legislation will be brought forward and passed. As someone who grew up in Ireland in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (10 May 2023)

Paul Gavan: It is good to see the Minister. I refer to the issue of European works councils. I have consistently raised it whenever a Minister has appeared before the committee. Infringement proceedings 4021 of 2022 from the Commission to Ireland state: The Commission has identified a number of shortcomings in Irish legislation, which fails to guarantee the right of workers' representatives, the...