Results 1-20 of 576 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Gary Gannon

European Council Meeting: Statements (5 Mar 2020)

Gary Gannon: As this is my maiden speech, it is customary for me to thank the people of Dublin Central who saw fit to send me here. I send them the warmest thanks. It will be through work done in the Chamber and outside it that I hope to validate the trust they placed in me. I am happy that the first speech I get to make in the Chamber concerns the EU and our relationship with it. Like many...

An Bille Sláinte (Caomhnú agus Cosaint agus Bearta Éigeandála Eile Ar Mhaithe Le Leas an Phobail), 2020: An Dara Céim - Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Bill 2020: Second Stage (19 Mar 2020)

Gary Gannon: It is important to recognise that this crisis will impact, first and foremost, those who have been made vulnerable by our system. Such people include those who are already sick, those without a safe home or any home at all and those who are in direct provision or overcrowded Traveller accommodation. People working in hospitals, providing essential care and cleaning services will be among...

Social Protection (Covid-19): Statements (2 Apr 2020)

Gary Gannon: On behalf of the Social Democrats I extend deepest sympathies to those who have lost their lives through Covid-19 and our endless thanks to those who continue to put themselves in the front line and in harm's way. It is often said that a crisis makes us focus on what is really important. This crisis has shown us that it is not full employment alone that we must crave. The focus must be on...

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Gary Gannon: I will get straight into my questions. I have five questions and if there is time at the end after the answers you might come back to me again, a Cheann Comhairle. What is the process for reassessment of social welfare rates in one-parent families in scenarios where one parent has stopped paying maintenance? I am asking the question given that the family courts are not hearing maintenance...

Health (Covid-19): Statements (Resumed) (23 Apr 2020)

Gary Gannon: I am becoming increasingly worried that the pursuance of the leaving certificate almost at all costs is becoming something akin to the great Dunkirk moment in our response regarding how we demonstrate our resilience or overcome adversity in the face of this pandemic, that we will do it regardless and get through it. With every day and week that passes, that window where we can present a...

Health (Covid-19): Statements (Resumed) (23 Apr 2020)

Gary Gannon: A DEIS school of 160 pupils can only buy three devices. That does not seem like it will be enough, does it? More than 90% of students in such a school will need a device. It is just not enough.

Health (Covid-19): Statements (Resumed) (23 Apr 2020)

Gary Gannon: There are 25.

Health (Covid-19): Statements (Resumed) (23 Apr 2020)

Gary Gannon: That is not ideal.

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (13 May 2020)

Gary Gannon: I am conscious of the Minister's statement that exceptional students in disadvantaged schools will not be disadvantaged. Whereas students performing normally in fee-paying schools or other schools will be grand, it is only the exceptional students in disadvantaged schools who will not be put out. That seems like an inherent disadvantage to me. Something you learn when you grow up in a...

Covid-19 (Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht): Statements (14 May 2020)

Gary Gannon: As Ireland emerges from this crisis, we are going to need our arts community more than ever. When the time comes that we can gather in groups with our friends or families it will be our artists, through their music, drama and artistic content, that will be the focal point of that much needed and much longed-for gathering. We are going to rely on our artists to help us laugh again....

Covid-19 (Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht): Statements (14 May 2020)

Gary Gannon: I am thinking about the actual guidelines about how theatres can actually open.

Covid-19 (Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht): Statements (14 May 2020)

Gary Gannon: I feel that we will need some physical guidelines from the Department on how theatres can open. I will move on to artists' payments. We have accepted that €203 in unemployment benefit is not enough for a person to live off. We have already crossed that Rubicon. According to the 2016 census, some 23,000 people make their living from art, including artists and the freelance...

Covid-19 (Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht): Statements (14 May 2020)

Gary Gannon: Does the Department envision providing capital grants that will enable artistic spaces to open? I am thinking particularly of community spaces which will not be able to fund many of the requirements to enhance safe social distancing measures.

Covid-19 (Employment Affairs and Social Protection): Statements (20 May 2020)

Gary Gannon: Is it not Fine Gael's time?

Covid-19 (Employment Affairs and Social Protection): Statements (20 May 2020)

Gary Gannon: I will make a brief opening statement and then ask questions and I might get the answers one after another if possible. There was much to admire in the Department's response to the Covid-19 crisis. It was swift and I cannot imagine the amount of work the officials and staff throughout the country engaged in. We really do owe them a debt of gratitude as we do to the Minister. She is the...

Covid-19 (Employment Affairs and Social Protection): Statements (20 May 2020)

Gary Gannon: I will not ask the Minister to comment on this but we need to consider who is in the room when these decisions are made. If trade union representatives were in the room, these gaps in the provisions, which exclude people, could be identified earlier. If we are going to be making further amendments, we probably need to widen the process of who is being included in the considerations. There...

Covid-19 (Employment Affairs and Social Protection): Statements (20 May 2020)

Gary Gannon: I thank the Minister and certainly echo those sentiments. I am interested in the sort of data we are collecting and collating at the moment and how we are going to apply the data. I have seen some statistics from the Office for National Statistics in the UK and they are really grim. They concern the occupations with the highest death rates linked to Covid-19 and, as one would imagine, the...

Covid-19 (Employment Affairs and Social Protection): Statements (20 May 2020)

Gary Gannon: On Thursday last, I raised an issue with the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Josepha Madigan, who referred me to the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection. Some 23,000 artists and freelance technicians who make their work in the arts will not be able to return to work any time soon because their jobs require crowds, which present a danger. They will...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Gary Gannon: If possible, I will ask for a question and answer approach and for the Minister to be brief. Obviously, some questions will require more substantial answers than others. It was not my intention to return to the issue of calculated grades, but it is difficult to remove ourselves from it. I was struck by the Minister's opening remarks when he stated: The estimated mark [that a student will...

Covid-19 (Education and Skills): Statements (20 May 2020)

Gary Gannon: I am still a little bit confused as to how that would be taken in with the alignment process. One of the big inequalities in education is overcrowding in classrooms. On average, there are 26 students per classroom, which is one of the higher averages in the EU. One in five students are in classrooms of 30 students or more. The Minister's constituency has some of the highest...