Results 2,521-2,540 of 4,178 for speaker:Paul Gavan

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2021: Second Stage (16 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: I like you too.

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2021: Second Stage (16 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: It is.

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2021: Second Stage (16 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: It could all be done next year.

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2021: Second Stage (16 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: It is 8 miles.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Report of the Commission on Pensions: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Nov 2021)

Paul Gavan: I thank all the witnesses. This is the best committee meeting I have attended all year and I am a member of a couple of committees. The quality of the contributions and the data we are getting are absolutely key. I want to address a couple of points that were raised. Deputy Ó Cuív spoke about people in the real world, the arduous labour they do and whether their situation has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Electrical Contracting Sector) 2021: Discussion (1 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: I understand that the Minister of State needs to leave. As of May 2021, we only had 53 people employed as workplace inspectors despite a report several years ago that suggested we needed a minimum of 90 workplace inspectors. We know from data provided by the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, that one in three inspections found breaches of employment law. One simple way to help tackle...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sectoral Employment Order (Electrical Contracting Sector) 2021: Discussion (1 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: Could the Minister of State clarify how many inspectors we have right now as a team?

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Housing Provision (19 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. As he knows, there is an ongoing housing emergency throughout the State. I want to focus in particular on Limerick city and county. I will set the scene with a few factual statistics. We currently have 2,342 approved applications for housing. In addition, we have 335 transfer applications, 2,479 people on housing assistance payments...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Housing Provision (19 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Minister of State for his response. Again, I have to be direct with him. I did not receive a clear answer from him. I am very concerned because what he has shared with us tells me that over eight years Limerick City and County Council returned 505 properties to use. This is just over 60 properties a year. In the midst of the worst housing crisis in the history of the State,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: I will raise two issues, if I may. The first is one about which the Leader has raised concerns, namely, what we are going to do about this year's leaving certificate. I welcome the very significant comments by the Ombudsman for Children who said very clearly that the leaving certificate should not proceed in the traditional format this year. Dr. Niall Muldoon said that current small...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: I actually cannot believe I just heard that.

Seanad: Organisation of Working Time (Reproductive Health Related Leave) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (20 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: I welcome the Minister of State and commend my colleagues in the Labour Party for putting together this excellent Bill, which Sinn Féin fully supports. This is a workers' rights issue. I listened to Senator Hoey's recounting of the testimonies, including women having to get up at 5 a.m. in order to get IVF treatment and then go to their workplace. I cannot help but feel that, if this...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: This morning, there were 97 patients in the University Hospital Limerick, UHL, on trolleys. This is the highest number of patients without a bed recorded in any Irish hospital ever. I cannot tell you how many times I have raised this issue over the past six years and yet things continue to go from bad to worse. Indeed, in November, I predicted that hospital would hit 100 patients on...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: Well said.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: The actual figure of patients without a bed in University Hospital Limerick, UHL, this morning is 111. It was 97 yesterday. I appreciate the Deputy Leader's support for an independent investigation but we need action today. We need the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, to act. We have been talking about this for six years and each year it gets worse. Fine Gael has been in power for...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: Well said.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: I wish to raise two issues. The first is that while many are concerned about the ongoing international difficulties and challenges concerning Russia, Ukraine and the build up of forces across the NATO region and the east, I really hope our Government is playing a constructive role in trying to de-escalate the tension. The more arms and munitions that are being ferried by both sides, the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: Of course I would object to it. Absolutely.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: I believe Ireland should be a neutral country. I am proud to support our neutrality.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Jan 2022)

Paul Gavan: I want to finish this week on a positive note. The Leader may recall the distressing story of a Pakistani national facing homelessness at Christmas. I wrote to Kilkenny County Council on the back of it. The man in question had undergone a horrific experience of human trafficking. He was living in a stable and was being treated by a vet for three years. It is a horrific story. Kilkenny...