Results 441-460 of 5,873 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Spring Economic Statement: Statements (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I am concerned about us embarking on what will be the next bubble that will bring Ireland to its knees. I am delighted that milk quotas have been abolished. I am a city boy and, for me, milk comes in a bottle or a carton. I know very little about the production process. However, I know that when an industry starts to expand as a result of the lifting of regulations, such expansion needs...

Seanad: Spring Economic Statement: Statements (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: As Senator Barrett said, as we move forward in medicine we need to concern ourselves with giving medical cards to the needy, not the greedy. There are people who can well afford to send their children who are under six to the doctor. Let us not proceed with this measure. There are other people who simply cannot afford it. On the issue of upskilling, I have already adverted to the...

Seanad: Spring Economic Statement: Statements (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Three minutes have elapsed now.

Seanad: Spring Economic Statement: Statements (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: My God, there is such a backslapping exercise being engaged in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: ICT in Primary Schools: Discussion (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I pay tribute to the Irish Primary Principals Network and the INTO. I attended Tech Week last week and was blown away by the level of expertise and work. I saw everything from robots to CoderDojo projects. This brings me to the point I want to make, which is that ICT in national schools was built on the back of teachers who innovated in their own classrooms with their principals, who...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: ICT in Primary Schools: Discussion (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: ICT in Primary Schools: Discussion (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: On Monday nights a very good sharing network on Twitter takes place where teachers share resources and ideas. Does the Department monitor the exchange?

Seanad: Order of Business (12 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I welcome the public service pay negotiations that started today. I wish to place one particular sector in focus for all of us because I hear people talk constantly on the radio about productivity and demanding more from the public service. In 2008, the institute of technology sector had a budget of approximately €542 million and 4,845 staff, catering for approximately 67,400...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I call for such a debate.

Seanad: Alcohol Consumption in Ireland: Statements (12 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I know it has been a tough day in the office for the Minister and I very much appreciate his being here for this debate. For most of my young life, I was around drink in one way or another. My second job at the age of 12, which was a summer job, was as a waiter in a bar. By the time I was 13, I had graduated to be a barman in the same bar and by the time I was 15 and a half, I had run a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I start to get very worried when I hear phrases such as, "To further encourage lone parents to take up employment or increase their hours of employment," and then see the statement, “Staff of the Department are actively promoting both the back to work family dividend and family income supplement.” I would like to know how staff actively encourage a lone parent with a child aged...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The Senator is doing a good job.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: On the personal development plan, I sometimes wonder whether these types of things are box-ticking exercises. Will the Department employ qualified persons to meet those moving into a transition to provide proper career analysis and carve out a career pathway for them? As the witnesses are probably aware, I left the further education sector to become a Senator relatively recently. In my...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I think the Department likes to view them as consumers. Am I right or wrong?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: In that case, let us refer to them as clients.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Some of the training courses are available through ETB further education colleges. The course I ran was approximately €1,000 per client to fund their textbooks and examinations, which were professional examinations. In the case of beauty therapy courses, for example, while the tuition is free one could spend €1,000 or €1,100 on the equipment required. While there are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I have a final question. Referring back to the point made by my colleague about zero hours, somebody could be in a contract and have the 19 hours a week most of the time, but every now and then the hours drift away. Such a situation must be extremely frustrating for the witnesses. I realise they are working with employers and until such time as we ban zero-hour contracts that will always...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Is there any abuse of that where people will deliberately work 19 hours in order to get the FIS payment over the line, drop their hours immediately afterwards and then build them back up again the following year?

Seanad: Order of Business (14 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I, too, would like to join my colleagues in lamenting the passing of Derek Davis. I also agree with what Senator Mooney has just said. It is not the function of the Taoiseach of this country to apologise for the actions of terrorists who acted on the soil of this country. I wish to raise two issues. The first is the issue of Balbriggan community school, which my colleague, Senator...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Well said.