Results 3,901-3,920 of 5,763 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Mr. Fraser is a well-accomplished individual. His appointment as an ambassador came before that Cabinet meeting as well. The allegation before this committee and in the public domain is that this country is dogged with jobs for the boys. Did Mr. Fraser go through a process whereby he applied and was interviewed by the Top-Level Appointments Committee for his post as ambassador? It seems...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I think it is fair.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: In fairness, Zappone-gate is sitting front and centre before us. A senior member of the Civil Service was appointed to a foreign office, that is, an ambassador's role, apparently without any public competition or any appearance before the Top-Level Appointments Committee for civil servants. I think that this committee is entitled to an answer. We cannot put the Zappone appointment in a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: What was the process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Mr. Fraser has been very-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Mr. Fraser has been very straight and honest.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Given his experience, I would think he is the ideal man for the job in London. That is not the point; the point is that we cannot ring-fence the Zappone appointment and say it was done on a "jobs for the boys" basis, when two senior civil servants were also appointed to ambassadorial roles. They should have been interviewed and should have applied for the posts. The positions should have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: They both speak for Ireland.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I have one final question. It concerns all Ministers' telephones. We have been asking about it for a while, and I was told at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications the other day, that all Ministers' telephones are encrypted. The issue of the Minister for Foreign Affair's phone being hacked is a very serious one. Would Mr. Fraser regard it as being up there with a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I think it is an important one.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank Mr. Fraser. I apologise for any embarrassment I may have caused, but I felt I had to ask those questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Chairman, I respect your integrity above all things. I have always found you very straight. However, Mr. Fraser is on record as being adamant about process and procedures. Process and procedures is what we are talking about here. One cannot ring-fence one appointment from that day and forget about the other two. Three appointments went before Cabinet without process and procedure that is...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Oct 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: On 28 May this year I brought a Private Member's motion to this House on Ireland's search and rescue service. During the debate on this motion, I raised a number of matters of great concern regarding the oversight and corporate governance of the current search and rescue, SAR, operator, CHC Ireland DAC.The recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General has completely vindicated my...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Oct 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I am a bit deaf, so you will have to speak up.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Oct 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Everything I am putting out here is in the public domain.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Oct 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I hate to say it, but I did not hear one word of what you said. I will have to plug myself in again.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Oct 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I am fully aware of that. I am not referring to an individual; I am referring to a company.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Oct 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I did not name him.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Oct 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Okay, moving on. The next contract, the one to which I am now referring, was signed off at Cabinet at the last Cabinet meeting. The business case for that was put together by a company called KPMG, which is well known to us all. KPMG brought-----

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Oct 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Listen, a Chathaoirligh. I tried to get this through on a Private Members' motion. I came with a well-prepared piece and the reply that was given by the Department of Transport addressed none of my concerns. The tender is about to go out for SAR. The business case was put together with KPMG, advised by Frazer-Nash. The important thing here is that there are only three or four companies...