Results 1,141-1,160 of 5,754 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (15 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: The previous Government introduced property taxes and got away with it. Then it introduced the incremental charges, one of which was water charges. I am from Galway city and most of my family is involved in the tourism industry there. When cryptosporidium arrived in Galway, it devastated them. They had to buy gallons of bottled water every day. There is no getting away from the fact that...

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (15 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: I hold the Minister in the highest esteem, but this sham of a Bill is exactly what Senator Coffey described. It is a hodgepodge that was put together to secure an agreement to form a Government. The charges are suspended for nine months. In nine months' time, now that over 45% of people who were paying their bills have stopped paying, is anybody seriously telling me that they will start...

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (15 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: It is a disaster.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (15 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: The problem is that I am not sure how a minority Government will get what is required to get water charges up and running. I do not believe it will happen. I believe this will probably ultimately lead to an election, in which all sides will again promise a utopian State where nobody will pay for anything, we will all have a great time and everybody will be happy. Afterwards, somebody will...

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (15 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: Why?

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (15 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: They are still doing it here.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (15 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: We should suspend everything.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (15 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: I think they were more annoyed about the cost.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (15 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: There could be a referendum.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Public Sector Pensions (20 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This is my first time to address him since his elevation. I congratulate him. It is great to see him here. We are here to talk about pension abatement. Contrary to popular opinion, people employed in the public service pay for their pensions and they have a legitimate expectation and right to receive the associated benefits when they retire....

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Public Sector Pensions (20 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister of State for the reply. The truth is that I could bring in a list of people who have retired from the public service in education, health, the Garda, the Army and various other places, many of whom are back working in the public service through agencies and are suffering no abatement whatsoever. Then there is a small number who came directly into a public service job...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: I had thought of moving a motion today to have the House sit on Saturday so we could celebrate the Cathaoirleach's birthday properly. I wish him the very best.

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jul 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: My colleagues, Senators Higgins and Nash, referred to the issue regarding DIT students' union. As a result of the row that has developed, the students' union is running out of cash. This puts at risk the jobs of 20 people. Three times the students' union has had an agreement with the institution, which, on each occasion, has rowed back on it. This simply cannot be allowed to happen today....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Priorities of Slovak Presidency of European Council: Slovak Ambassador to Ireland (8 Sep 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: I welcome the ambassador to the committee and thank him for his comprehensive presentation. I too feel the six-month term for an EU Presidency is too short. If I were to be cynical, I would think it is a term dreamed up by bureaucrats to ensure politicians would never get to actually control the Union. The ambassador referred to the rise of populism and I agree with him on that. Unlike my...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht: Rural Development and Infrastructure: Belturbet, Connemara and Kells Municipal Districts (20 Sep 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Chair for facilitating me this afternoon, particularly regarding the delegation from Connemara. The 117 road accidents and eight deaths over a number of years across the Clifden road are a matter of concern. I am very familiar with this road, having spent my childhood there, and I have travelled it many times. It is and always has been a road of desperate quality. Councillor...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht: Rural Development and Infrastructure: Belturbet, Connemara and Kells Municipal Districts (20 Sep 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: I apologise. Mr. Warner's report appears to be generally positive about the stretch from Oughterard to Maam Cross and I am little concerned that nothing has happened. The project is going nowhere. I do not know whether money has been set aside for it or where matters stand. This is the second time the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, has come to my attention in recent days. Is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht: Rural Development and Infrastructure: Belturbet, Connemara and Kells Municipal Districts (20 Sep 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: I am familiar with the tourism industry in Connemara and know that, in particular, the Clifden area is of high benefit to the west of Ireland. The population is falling and there are all sorts of other issues. Do the witnesses have any idea of the numbers visiting places such as Kylemore, Clifden town, the Sky Road and so on?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht: Rural Development and Infrastructure: Belturbet, Connemara and Kells Municipal Districts (20 Sep 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: I have one final point on Cavan. Brexit was mentioned, particularly the impact on development in the Blacklion area, where people are unwilling to take a chance and build houses. I have a fear of a hard border being reintroduced, not by us but by governments in Europe that do not understand the unique circumstances of Ireland. Is there quantifiable evidence with respect to the impact of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Implications for Good Friday Agreement of UK EU Referendum Result: Discussion (27 Sep 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister for attending. Like my colleague, I compliment him and the Government on their efforts to ensure Ireland is as prepared as it possibly can be for the inevitable exit of the UK from the EU. Like my colleague, Dr. McDonnell, I have a concern about Border issues. The day after the referendum, I was one of the first people to mention the possibility of a hard Border. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Fiscal Implications for Northern Ireland of UK EU Referendum Result: Discussion (27 Sep 2016)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister for attending. It is a pleasure to have listened to him although I have become increasingly depressed this afternoon by the lack of certainty around Brexit and what it means, not only for the community in Northern Ireland but also for Ireland as a 32-county island. I am deeply depressed when I think about where we are going. I note Mr. Ó Muilleoir's comment that...