Results 841-860 of 4,178 for speaker:Paul Gavan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: That is okay; I am proud of them. I want to ask one last question directly on the cost of business.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Chair for her indulgence. Could Dr. McDonnell speak about productivity levels? It is important to clarify how well Irish workers and Irish companies are doing in comparison to our EU competitors.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: Well done.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: On the point raised by Senator McFadden, it is a pity the Government has not allowed members of the Defence Forces to join a trade union as this would be a much better way to deal with issues of this nature. As Senators will be aware, I have raised a number of times the use of Shannon Airport by the United States military as a forward base, with particular reference to the war in Yemen. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Risks to Mental Health of Pregnant Women: Professor Veronica O'Keane (25 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: The good news is that most of the questions I wanted to ask have been posed and I only have one left. I thank Professor O'Keane for her excellent presentation, which was full of facts and evidence. That is what all of us want to hear. The line that resonates with me most is the one she repeated a moment ago to the effect that the mental health of everybody in Ireland is being damaged by...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Risks to Mental Health of Pregnant Women: Professor Veronica O'Keane (25 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: How are the Deputy's six minutes going?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Termination for Medical Reasons Ireland (25 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: I thank the witnesses for their presentations. There is very little left to say, apart from that I am sure I am not the only one who is struck wondering how we ended up with a system of laws so devoid of humanity. I am absolutely stunned in terms of the suffering that the witnesses, their colleagues and their partners have gone through. It is just horrific. Forgive me for asking this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Termination for Medical Reasons Ireland (25 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: That is great. I will take it beyond that. The clear message the witnesses are communicating is that we need to give our medical practitioners the flexibility to give people like the witnesses, those who have this huge challenge that can come to anyone, the support and service that they need.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Termination for Medical Reasons Ireland (25 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: I really hope that we, collectively, do not let the witnesses and others in their situation down.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: I wish to raise the issue of education this morning. I got a note from the local school on Wednesday telling me that our two children would be spending the following day at mass. There are two big religions in my household, Limerick hurling and Tottenham Hotspur, although not necessarily in that order, but we do not practise any other religion. In fairness to the school when I wrote to it,...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: It is nice to have the Leader back. It does not tackle the fact that 96% of schools-----

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: -----are still controlled by the Catholic Church at national level. For a diverse country, one that purports to be a republic, we must and can do better than that.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: Thank you, a Chathaoirligh. What I am seeking is a debate on the issue. We need to define, for example, what is meant by a non-denominational school and a multidenominational school. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has asked for that. In 2017, it is not appropriate for almost 96% of national schools to be under the control of the Catholic Church. We need to move to a...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: We do not believe in privatising our social welfare system.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: We do not.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Oct 2017)

Paul Gavan: Look at the facts.

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Nov 2017)

Paul Gavan: We will. Last week, figures showed Limerick has 315 homeless people, even more than in Cork. The housing crisis continues to get worse from month to month. I want to paint the human picture of this. Just two weeks ago, I raised the case of a young woman, eight months pregnant, who was living in the most appalling accommodation and the fact the State offered her no support whatsoever and...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Nov 2017)

Paul Gavan: Hear, hear.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: International Legal and Services Context: Dr. Gilda Sedgh, Guttmacher Institute and Ms Leah Hoctor, Center for Reproductive Rights (8 Nov 2017)

Paul Gavan: I thank the witnesses for their presentations. Today again validates the process we are going through. We are here to listen to facts and evidence. I do not think anyone can question that we are receiving an awful lot of good information, hard evidence and facts here today. I welcome that. Frankly, all my questions have been answered apart from one, which I will highlight. With regard...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: International Legal and Services Context: Dr. Gilda Sedgh, Guttmacher Institute and Ms Leah Hoctor, Center for Reproductive Rights (8 Nov 2017)

Paul Gavan: It does. One other point occurred to me. Dr. Sedgh or Ms Hoctor pointed out, rightly, earlier that there was quite an unusual situation in the Soviet Union and the other eastern countries, and that is why we have seen this dramatic reduction in the abortion rates. Allowing for that and assuming the rate continues to drop, the differential between lower rates of abortion will actually be...