Results 41-60 of 1,307 for speaker:Robbie Gallagher

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 26 – Department of Education and Skills (29 Sep 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire go dtí an cruinniú seo inniu. Over 80% of the current allocation for the Department goes towards pay and superannuation, which highlights the challenges the Minister faces and the choices he must make in the context of those challenges. The Minister mentioned the apprenticeship programme, which needs special attention. It is...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I call on the Leader to ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Deputy Creed, to extend the October deadline for slurry spreading given the severe weather conditions we have experienced in recent months which have curtailed the spreading activity. The 15 October deadline is fast approaching and due to the severe downpours we experienced during our so-called summer, land conditions...

Seanad: Action Plan for Education: Statements (6 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Ba mhaith liom fáilte mhór an chur roimh an Aire go dtí an Seanad inniu. While many of the measures to improve quality and innovational learning in education in this plan are welcome, the education sector in general is somewhat underwhelmed by its contents. The three-year strategy, while worthy in some respects, is not strong enough in many of the areas of education policy...

Seanad: Action Plan for Education: Statements (6 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: It is a first.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: IDA Site Visits (12 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I dtús, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. I welcome the Minister and thank her for her attendance. I would like to highlight the issue of the Bose factory in Carrickmacross, which closed in May 2015 with the loss of over 150 jobs to the town of Carrickmacross. Bose had been in Carrickmacross since 1978 and was very successful there but unfortunately...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: IDA Site Visits (12 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I thank the Minister for her reply and for acceding to the request to meet councillors from the Carrickmacross-Castleblayney Municipal District. I welcome the contents of the Minister's statement. The old adage that "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" springs to mind. When we turn on the radio every morning and hear about job announcements, they are normally in Cork, Dublin or...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Could the Leader invite the Minister for Communications, Climate Change and Natural Resources to come to the House at some point to discuss the delay affecting the national broadband scheme? As everyone knows, access to and quality of broadband are critical for business in rural Ireland. Never mind job creation, job retention is totally dependent on it. We have seen many dates come and go....

Seanad: Judicial Appointments and Threatened Industrial Action by An Garda Síochána: Statements (12 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome the Minister to the House. On Garda pay, I am very disappointed by the decision taken by gardaí to have four days of action for four Fridays in November. There is a strong possibility that the AGSI will join them. It will be a very sad day for the country and the gardaí. It is regrettable and disappointing that this situation has been allowed to develop to this point....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Grants: Wake Up SUSI (13 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I will be very brief. First, I welcome the witnesses here this morning. I am inspired by them all. They are a credit to themselves and their families, and I compliment them on their campaign and the way they have organised themselves. It is fair to say there is something badly wrong with a system that holds such people back. I for one, and I am sure other members, will give serious...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Grants: Wake Up SUSI (13 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Are the fees charged by private colleges on a par with non-private colleges? Is it more expensive to go to a private college than to any other?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Grants: Wake Up SUSI (13 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Are the fees charged by the private colleges the witnesses attend any more expensive than a similar course in a non-private college?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Grants: Wake Up SUSI (13 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I understand this, but the fees are quite similar.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority: Chairperson Designate (13 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I will be brief because I know the Chairman is under pressure. I too welcome Mr. Horgan. I enjoyed his opening presentation. His journey and the road he has travelled to lead him here this morning is quite impressive, and I compliment him on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority: Chairperson Designate (13 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I have a couple of questions. What is the term of his contract and what does he feel he can achieve within that time constraint? The post-Brexit situation is an issue that affects us all. How does Mr. Horgan see that affecting his particular area, and what risks and indeed opportunities might there be for Ireland regarding Brexit? He mentioned apprenticeships, an area which is vitally...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority: Chairperson Designate (13 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: How does Mr. Horgan feel about that? Is that an area we should consider?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Higher Education Authority: Chairperson Designate (13 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: On that point, through the Chairman, if I may, in order for us to tap into that potential, what should we be doing that we are not doing currently?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: State Examinations: Motions (13 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: The common thread running through these three motions is the children and the stress this situation is causing them at a time, as outlined by Deputy Martin in her presentation, when they are faced with taking their first State examination, which in itself is a stressful enough experience. This discussion has been worthwhile. Ultimately all we are seeking is an outcome. It is unfortunate...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Me?

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I want to raise the issue of the decision by the 2,000-strong membership of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, to join with the 12,500-strong membership of the Garda Representative Association, GRA, to take strike action. This is the first time in the history of the AGSI that such a decision has been made. It clearly illustrates the anger and frustration felt by...

Seanad: Children and Youth Affairs: Statements (18 Oct 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach seo um thrathnóna. I welcome the Minister and thank her for her attention. I wish her well in her brief and compliment her on her achievements to date in this area and the manner in which she has been able to persuade her Fine Gael Cabinet colleagues to travel on the road on which she has taken them. Many points have been raised by...