Results 5,381-5,400 of 5,767 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I want to go back to the good old days when I served. The First Battalion in Galway paraded every day at 9 a.m. The battalion commander took the parade and the second in command was on parade, as were the sergeant major and the company commanders. Each platoon had a lieutenant, sergeants and corporals. Not so terribly long ago, I had to raise an issue whereby an entire battalion was being...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: It has been in the media. It has also been said to me internationally that something people were surprised to find was this very difficult relationship between the civilian side and those in uniform. This needs to be looked at. If we are going to have cultural change it has to go the whole way and down through the Department. It has to be looked at.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: One of the things we did was increase the pay of private soldiers. As a result, the incentive to become a corporal for an extra €20 a week or whatever has gone out the window. In fairness, we did it to see low-paid workers improve their lot. It was a great idea at the time but now the latent aspect is beginning to kick in and the incentive to take on the additional responsibility...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I think we need to look at the departmental relationship as well when we discuss this legislation further.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: In industrial relations, if I lodge a grievance against my employer, there is a system I must go through. It is no different to what Ms Feehily is portraying in the Defence Forces.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: They can, but by and large, one has to go through the system and if one does not, one will be sent back from time to time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: It is not a unique military thing that there is a hierarchy to go through. There is a hierarchy in most IR systems.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: It is no secret that I was never a member of a local authority so I am speaking to my experience in this House. I listened to the presentations downstairs in my office and I found myself asking whether we really know what we are doing in the Houses of the Oireachtas to local authorities. In recent years, we stripped county councillors of memberships of boards and of policing and security...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Okay, I am trying to. It was written by the authority that we were trying to regulate. It wrote its own legislation. The only Minister who ever liaised with me on legislation for local authority was Deputy Phelan and he was accommodating at the end of the day, albeit with both arms tied behind his back. I am not a party member but the witnesses are. They have been Ministers and are...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Maybe Deputy Phelan should answer that.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: You would want to give it for next week as well.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: My famous victory.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Feb 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: If Deputy Phelan had not got married, he could have merged the Galway councils.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Mar 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I welcome Senator Fitzpatrick to her role as Acting Leader today. I take the opportunity to acknowledge Saoirse Ruane, the 12-year-old who appeared on "The Late Late Show". In her short life, she raised millions of euro for children. We should remember her today. I spent the past few days in Brussels and Bruges to discuss defence and security. I have spoken many times about my great...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Mar 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: It is a worthwhile endeavour.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Mar 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I, too, add my voice to those who have spoken on the Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar's resignation today. I will leave the media to decide what kind of Taoiseach he was. For me, he was a sensitive and shy man who was nice to meet and have a word with. I wish him well wherever he goes from here. We are all aware of the drugs somebody tried to land off the south-west coast of this country...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Mar 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: What about homework off?

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Mar 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: This morning I rise to raise two issues. One is the issue of wind turbines. My colleague Senator McGreehan has been working on a particular scheme in Monasterboice in County Louth. The problem is that the regulations we are working under are outdated. The turbines being put in are way bigger than any turbine that had been put in under the old regulations. All erection of wind turbines...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (21 Mar 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: We might as well try to get the most comprehensive answer as possible.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (21 Mar 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: From my perspective, further scrutiny of Tusla is not such a bad idea given that so many children have disappeared, especially migrant children who came into the country unaccompanied by an adult. The only problem I have is that I am not sure whether HIQA is the relevant organisation. Its role is more about facilities and infrastructure in medical centres and the like. I am not sure if it...