Results 3,001-3,020 of 5,762 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: How does the Minister mean it will not happen?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: Can the commission do it?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: Will it have within its authority or within the scope of the legislation the right to consider these matters?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: So the decision of the commission will be based strictly on the academic and experiential qualifications of the applicants and not necessarily their views on societal issues. For example, it could not say that it must get someone with criminal justice knowledge because it does not have such a person. It could not say it needs someone with knowledge of corporate or company law. Senator...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: So the vacancy could specify such things as the legal expertise required.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: In that case, I am minded to support amendment No. 88.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister, who has been more than facilitating in accepting amendments and bringing forward his own amendment which brings the Bill back to what was originally drafted. I thank the Minister for that. This is part of what has been going on here to try to make this a better Bill. I see a willingness on the part of the Minister to make this a Bill which will work. From that point...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: Government amendment No. 89 would mean that in the event of the commission being unable to recommend three names for appointment, but was able to recommend a lesser number or no persons as well as the name being provided to the Minister, it will also provide applicants' education, professional qualification, experience, character records and results of an interview or tests held or conducted...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: I understand that.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: I understand that-----

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: This might address the Minister's thinking. I refer to a situation where the Attorney General is sitting on this commission. The commission has advertised a position which it was not possible to fill in the first round. There would then be a second round. That second round could bring the position into public debate. The media would then have a field day regarding the commission being...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister and appreciate what he said. I am mindful, however, that ever since we first started to work through this Bill I have been toying with the conflict between the constitutional roles of the Government and the Attorney General. The Bill does not necessarily usurp those roles but it seeks to control them. For example, we have been down the road of the scenario where a...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: With that in mind I am willing to take the Minister's word on section 43.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: Under Standing Order 62(3)(b)I request that the division be taken again other than by electronic means.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: I will say a few words. This particular provision conjures up the notion of members of the commission hanging around the pillars of the Four Courts and asking various members of the Judiciary passing by if they can talk to them for a minute and if there is any chance they would take on the job of Chief Justice. As my colleague, Senator McDowell said, it is rather bizarre. I made the point...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: I call the Acting Leader to make an announcement.

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Protection of Employee Tips) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for the positive approach he has taken in respect of the Bill. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the work put in by our former colleague, Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, who went to TG4. The station's gain was Seanad Éireann's loss. He is a great man. I am not in any way denigrating the work put in by Senator Gavan on this Bill but...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Protection of Employee Tips) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: The bad employer pockets the €10 and it is gone. The people we are talking about are those to whom Senator Nash referred - students and individuals at the bottom end of the salary scale. Bad employers are making profits they should not make. Good employers always hand over the money. As a former trade union leader, I must be here to support this Bill in every way. I appreciate the...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Protection of Employee Tips) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (20 Feb 2019)

Gerard Craughwell: The research conducted by my colleagues in Sinn Féin in drafting the Bill made for some difficult reading. The incidence of tips not being passed on to staff is much higher than any of us would like to think. This is an important amendment and it provides an avenue for redress for employees whose rights have been breached under this legislation. As a former trade union leader, I find...