Results 541-560 of 5,754 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Master Plan for the City of Dublin: Motion (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I compliment the Minister of State on his forbearance and his willingness to listen.

Seanad: Master Plan for the City of Dublin: Motion (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I will begin on a positive note. I have travelled around the country and I have seen some of the work that has been done by the Office of Public Works and I want to acknowledge the great work it does. However, there is an issue for the office and that is its budget. Where it has a budget and can maintain properties, particularly State-owned properties and properties of historical...

Seanad: Master Plan for the City of Dublin: Motion (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, said it was her job to breathe life into the towns and cities around the country. I hope she has a good set of lungs because I have been all over this country and the small towns are dying on their feet. In places like Donegal, parts of Sligo, parts of Mayo, parts of Galway-----

Seanad: Master Plan for the City of Dublin: Motion (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Roscommon, God help us.

Seanad: Master Plan for the City of Dublin: Motion (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: These places are dying. I will, however, turn to Dublin which is what this debate is about. I am honoured to speak on this because Senator Norris has, for as long as I can remember, been furthering the cause of Georgian Dublin. It is a matter of deep regret to me that our capital city's main street has become the burger king hurdy-gurdy of Ireland with slot machines and burger joints. The...

Seanad: Master Plan for the City of Dublin: Motion (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: It certainly could.

Seanad: Master Plan for the City of Dublin: Motion (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I had to drive my friend to the airport so I drove him from my house in Leopardstown to Dublin Airport through the city. He remarked that once we crossed the Liffey it was like entering a different city. On one occasion he asked me, "Is this Beirut?" That is how poor some of the city is. I am delighted to have the Luas, which stops outside my front door but I join with Senator Norris in...

Seanad: Master Plan for the City of Dublin: Motion (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The most important highway we need is from here to the airport. One can get into town in 20 minutes or, at most, 40 minutes on the Luas and then one has to spend an hour and a half on a bus getting out to the airport. Who thinks these things up is beyond me. A vision for the future of the city, or for any local area, should rest with the locally elected representatives, the local...

Seanad: Master Plan for the City of Dublin: Motion (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Yes, indeed, there is an election on the way.

Seanad: Master Plan for the City of Dublin: Motion (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: If there is to be a vision let the vision come from the ground up.

Seanad: Master Plan for the City of Dublin: Motion (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I support my colleague, Senator Wilson, on the need for an elected mayor in Dublin city who has a budget to do the work required to maintain Dublin city as a capital city of which we should all be proud. I will conclude on the need for policing, which applies not just to Dublin city as there is now a shortage of police on the ground in every city in Ireland. I am aware there has been...

Seanad: Master Plan for the City of Dublin: Motion (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: We need more recruitment and a greater presence of gardaí on the ground. It is not all bad news but there are a few little things for the Minister to think about. They might help him along the way.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: State Examinations Commission: Engagement with Chair-Designate. (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: It is a pleasure to meet Mr. Burke. I will continue on from where Senator O'Donnell left off and speak about how students are dealt with when they suffer a bereavement during the leaving certificate. I am particularly aware of how much pressure such loss puts on students because as my niece sat her leaving certificate examination, her father was dying of cancer. She took her exams at 2...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: State Examinations Commission: Engagement with Chair-Designate. (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: That shows there is something wrong here and that there is a challenge there. I fear there is also a challenge coming down the track for the State Examinations Commission, SEC, as entry into third level education will change as we start to move back, hopefully, towards apprenticeships with the expansion of further education through SOLAS. The SEC will have a role there. I am interested...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: State Examinations Commission: Engagement with Chair-Designate. (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: On bonus points, if they were applied as suggested by Senator O'Donnell, they would be applied on the basis of subject choice or course selection, so the points could go for music if that is what the student opts for. There is no doubt there was an economic imperative behind the maths initiative and it has worked well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: State Examinations Commission: Engagement with Chair-Designate. (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Mr. Burke might remember that some years ago when a suicide occurred in Longford, the State Examinations Commission immediately said it would ring-fence that group of students and - I do not remember exactly what was said - treat their papers with some sort of discretion or understanding. It is unfortunate that the commission cannot apply this discretion at individual level where there is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: State Examinations Commission: Engagement with Chair-Designate. (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: What about technology portfolios?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: State Examinations Commission: Engagement with Chair-Designate. (24 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Would it be possible to reserve two places, perhaps, on these high-flyer courses? Mr. Burke mentioned medicine. Often one hears of a kid missing out on medicine because of five points and on the recheck he or she finishes up ten points ahead. Perhaps the onus lies with the CAO rather than the SEC.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I wish to propose an amendment to the Order of Business to the effect that we deal with No. 67, motion 17 before we deal with No. 1, that is, the issue regarding the proposed changes to the one-parent family payment. I heard a Government backbencher on the television last night speak about his disquiet at the proposed change. I know the Labour Party convened a meeting of its parliamentary...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jun 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: This is very relevant to the Order of Business because I am sick to the back teeth with the situation. I paid a high price to come into this House. I lost €8,000 a year in salary by being forced to leave my job-----