Results 5,841-5,860 of 5,914 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Dec 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I have previously raised the issue of rent control in the House. The importance of rent control is now more obvious in the context of the issue of homelessness now in the public domain. I mentioned some days ago that I was conducting a survey across county councils. To date, more than 70% of the respondents have asked that rent controls be implemented. There is something fundamentally...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: On the teachers' strike, I support Senator O'Donnell's call for the Minister to come to the House. Nobody withdraws labour for the fun of it.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I thought she had.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I do not expect the Minister to come to the House to negotiate with the unions but we have to try to move the issues forward. Several thousand students are out of their classrooms today and that should not happen. There is no such thing as a low stakes exam. However, I would like to move on to the issue of John Corrie. May he rest in peace. He was born 43 years ago. I am sure a mother,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Mortgage Insurance Schemes: Discussion (27 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I am just wondering about the land banks that were built up by developers - those that are still solvent. Is that in some way influencing the supply side of the market where they are now trying to recoup their costs from that time, so we are getting an inflated price for the houses they are going to build in the immediate future?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Mortgage Insurance Schemes: Discussion (27 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: One of the things that has come back in the survey is that we should regulate rent. This would give young couples the time to build capacity. There is a lot of talk at the moment about putting in an additional subvention through the Department of Social Protection in rent allowances and the like. Dr. Lyons made the point that a 5% increase in rent allowance will probably cause rents to go...

Seanad: Situation in Middle East and Ukraine: Statements (27 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. This is the first time I have had the pleasure of addressing the Minister in this House. I thank him for the presentation he made today, which was measured, as one would expect from him. I am aware of the fact there are representatives from both Israel and Palestine here, so I want to say I have no idea what it is like to live in a place where, at any...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Mortgage Insurance Schemes: Discussion (27 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I welcome the witnesses. I have been thinking about average Joe Garda married to, or in some sort of relationship with, average Jo nurse who buy a house. At the mid-point on the scale their maximum borrowing capacity is €300,000, working on the basis of a 20% deposit requirement, which I support. It is a way of cooling the market. I am running a survey around the country of all...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Mortgage Insurance Schemes: Discussion (27 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: -----makes perfect sense. Mr. Deeter mentioned that the Central Bank is moving to protect the banks. Surely it is moving to protect the consumers from themselves.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Mortgage Insurance Schemes: Discussion (27 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Having bought and sold 13 houses in my life, I am thankful to God that the financial people I dealt with ensured that I borrowed at a capacity at which I was able to repay. What Mr. Deeter says sounds great but if that had happened we would not be in the situation we are in now.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Mortgage Insurance Schemes: Discussion (27 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I have but I will not hold him long. One of my relations has personal experience of the work done by his organisation and they are really good people. It seriously bothers me when I see banks repossessing properties and selling it for a price which the former occupant could afford to pay. That is slightly outside the insurance issue but does Mr. Maguire wish to comment on it before leaving?

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I am quite disturbed by what we learned yesterday from the Governor of the Central Bank and I second Senator MacSharry's request for a debate on this issue. The European Central Bank, ECB, has decided it will not participate in the Irish banking inquiry. This shows a total disregard for the European concept of democracy. It looks like Mr. Draghi will not be dragged before the Oireachtas to...

Seanad: Participation in Sport: Motion (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I hope the Minister will forgive me for arriving a little late. I am delighted that the last time Mayo carried a cup across the Shannon, my grand-uncle, Paddy Moclair, was on the team. I hope we do not have to wait as long again. I know people are tired and have put a long day in so I will be brief. I ask the Minister to consider bringing together education and sport. I am mindful of one...

Seanad: Tourism Industry: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. When portfolios were being handed out, the gods smiled on the Minister. He got an excellent portfolio and a very hard-working Department of which I am very proud, as is anybody in the country. First impressions last. It is always exciting for me to arrive at Dublin Airport. If I were to find fault, it is being told I would arrive at terminal 2 but...

Seanad: Tourism Industry: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I come from Galway, which is the tourism heaven of Ireland. Some time ago, when driving to Cork, I passed 15 trucks belonging to one of the main haulage companies in the country. It is a game of mine, whenever I travel anywhere, to count the number of times I pass one of these trucks. I cannot understand why Irish Rail has not established regional hubs from which these trucks could feed...

Seanad: Tourism Industry: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: The Senator did a fair bit for that himself.

Seanad: Tourism Industry: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Availability of Certain Medication: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Extend the scheme until the decision is made.

Seanad: Availability of Certain Medication: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: One of the phrases in the Minister's speech is telling. He referred to "incorporating new evidence which demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of the drug, by offering a reduced price or both". When one hears that, it becomes clear that the issue is price. Many eminent speakers in the House have referred to the fact that this drug facilitates some degree of recovery in people. The Minister...

Seanad: Report of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges on the Proposal for a Banking Inquiry: Motion (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Like my colleague, Senator Mullen, I oppose this inquiry. I do not know what we hope to achieve by carrying it out. I believe it is the wrong time, as many of the witnesses brought before it will suffer from selective amnesia and Members of the Oireachtas are the wrong people to carry out the inquiry. It should have been carried out some time ago by the State agencies best qualified to do...