Results 1,361-1,380 of 5,754 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Services (24 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: This is my first time to address the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, since his elevation. I compliment him on being a champion for the disabled in the work he has done since reaching the office of Minister of State at the Department of Health. However, we are here to talk about St. Stephen's Hospital, Sarsfield Court, Glanmire, County Cork. As the Minister of State is aware, I do...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Services (24 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister of State for his response. As regards major acute hospitals, there needs to be consultation locally rather than decisions being taken from a macro viewpoint in Dublin. People on the ground need to talk to local representatives who will represent their views. The Minister of State has done a lot of work in the area of disability, but we still have serious problems with...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: The UK's Supreme Court delivered its Brexit judgment this morning. There has been much focus on its implications for votes of the UK Parliament. Considerable attention has been drawn to the other aspects of the decision, in that the consent of the Northern Ireland and Scottish assemblies are not legally required before the Prime Minister can formally initiate Article 50. There has been...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: Yes.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: It will probably be in Wicklow.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: Let us not forget the Minister, Deputy Varadkar. That is not fair.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: Tell that to the city councillors in Galway and Cork.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: The Leader is covering all the bases.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I do not want to play politics on this issue but I want the Leader to inform the Minister that today's ruling by the UK Supreme Court is a game-changer for Brexit, one that will have to be discussed on Thursday. In view of his response, I will withdraw the amendment.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: There is a problem in Border counties of which I was only made aware last week. When a person living in the Republic suffers trauma or an emergency and is shipped to the nearest hospital, where it is located across the Border, he or she will be treated on arrival, but he or she must pay for treatment. I refer to a person brought to Altnagelvin or Craigavon hospital. Form E111 does not...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Tax Code (26 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today. The last report of the Commission on Taxation was published in 2009. Many of its comprehensive range of proposals have been successfully implemented while others, such as water charges, continue to be controversial. One of the stated objectives of the report was to keep the overall tax burden low and to enhance the rewards of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Tax Code (26 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: The reason I have called for this - I appreciate the 2009 review is quite recent, and that would mean this would require a very short commission - is to restore confidence, to bring on board the partnership model, particularly to bring in business, trade unions, and academics. Workers in this country have suffered hugely from the cuts in recent years. The local property tax is probably the...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: The name Walter Hegarty is not known by many of us in the House. He passed away last night. He was the holder of a distinguished service medal from the Defence Forces, which he won in the Congo in the 1960s. He was one of 155 men who were part of the siege of Jadotville, and it has taken us the best part of 50 years to recognise these men. However, we have not recognised them in the way...

Seanad: Northern Ireland: Statements (26 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: Go raibh míle maith agat. I was at the presentation at the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. I am trying to keep a lot of balls in the air today. I welcome the Minister to the House. At the outset I congratulate the Minister on the work he is doing on Brexit. After that I will start to take things apart. Let me put it in context. There is a great...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Implications for Good Friday Agreement of UK Referendum Result: Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I apologise for not being here for the witnesses' presentations. I had to attend an address by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to the Seanad and what I heard there did not instill much hope in me. I wish to put matters in perspective and I apologise if I am going back over old ground. A total of 10,905 Irish students are studying in the UK; 23% of our goods are exported to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Implications for Good Friday Agreement of UK Referendum Result: Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I am anxious to know how prepared the witnesses think we are. I will conclude on that note.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Implications for Good Friday Agreement of UK Referendum Result: Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: Like everybody else here, I congratulate Martin Groves on his appointment. I had the pleasure of dealing with the man during one of the most stressful periods of his life, my by-election, and found him to be more than professional. His is a tremendous appointment and I wish him well for the future. I hope I too am here for many, many, many years with him. On the issue of President Trump,...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: The one in Brussels, Friends of Europe. It was a conference on Brexit.

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: Friends of Europe. There were only two representatives from Ireland at the Bratislava conference, myself and Senator Leyden. Last night there were two representatives, neither from the Government, at the conference in Belfast. Are we serious about Brexit or are we not? I am calling for the Taoiseach to give a state of the nation address as to precisely what the Irish priorities are going...