Results 1,421-1,440 of 5,754 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cybersecurity Policy (12 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Acting Chairperson. I am sorry that the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, has been thrown into this issue as it is not his area of responsibility. It is regrettable that the Minister who is responsible for cybersecurity is not here. Legislation on cybersecurity is scheduled to come before the Oireachtas in the summer of 2022, as the cybercrime Bill is due shortly. I have...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cybersecurity Policy (12 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: Two years before the HSE was hit the NHS in the UK was taken down and nothing was done in this country to check our systems to make sure we would be robust enough in the event of an attack. The document given to the Minister of State by the Department today reads well. It reads as well as the strategy document but I am afraid the Department should read what was said at the last meeting we...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: Are they from Cork?

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: Over the weekend, we learned of another member of the Defence Forces from the vital bomb disposal services who is leaving because he cannot afford to keep his family on his income. A payment of €35 for a 24-hour duty is hardly an incentive to stay. There are talks commencing with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, with respect to the current pay round because of inflation etc....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: The witnesses are very welcome to this hearing. I congratulate them on putting together a representative body because, based on what we have before us and what we have heard in the past, there is no representative body for the rank and file. I was involved with voluntary organisations for quite a lot of my young life but I was never involved in an organisation from which people could be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: All of the witnesses are senior members of the Irish Coast Guard Volunteers Representative Association. Will they give me some idea of the level of morale within the organisation? Given that all members are volunteers, I am sure that morale is needed to keep people going.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: The volunteers have no right to engage with the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: These people are volunteers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: I have two more questions. I turn first to the issue of life jackets. If there is discomfort with this issue, I ask the witnesses to let me know. I have travelled around the country and I have spoken to people. The Rescue 400 life jacket - I think that is what it was called - was brought into service. How long was it in service before it was decommissioned?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: When was it taken out of service?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: Okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: What life jacket is in use now?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: That is the one used by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: That was the precursor to the Rescue 400.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: The other issue I have some concerns about is communications. Do any of the witnesses want to explain this to me? There are problems with communications within the organisation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: I have one more question, if I may. Forgive me for what I am about to say, but the witnesses will be regarded as cranks. They will be seen as people who are disgruntled and have an axe to grind regarding the issues raised at this meeting. I refer to the lack of representation for members, for example. We have been told that members never asked for representation. Therefore, the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: I wish to get to the bottom of this matter. Would it be fair to say that the Coast Guard - and I am talking about the permanent staff and the management - sees itself as being responsible not just for the organisation, but also for the lives of members of the organisation? Would they regard themselves as knowing what is best in a unit and would the witnesses be challenging that view?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: I will ask about the firemen.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: I just wonder does this apply to volunteer firemen as well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Coast Guard: Discussion (11 May 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: Firemen leave it to their professional judgment based on guidelines. Does that also apply to volunteer firemen? Smaller fire stations are all staffed by volunteers.