Results 2,041-2,060 of 4,178 for speaker:Paul Gavan

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements (22 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: Well said.

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements (22 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Acting Chairperson and it is nice to see her in the Chair. I welcome the Minister. The speech has been interesting and I want to address it as much as I can in the few minutes that I have got. Let us start with the first point. It is good that he is examining the level of public investment and whether it needs to be adjusted. Sinn Féin is clearly of the view that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of Employment Permits (Consolidation and Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: I thank both groups. I want to focus on the meat industry and what Dr. McGann's colleague, Ms Redmond, said, which is correct, that is, that everyone is entitled to be a member of a trade union. Unfortunately, in my experience when I worked on the front line in the meat sector for a number of years, if one told colleagues that one had joined a trade union or tried to organise colleagues...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of Employment Permits (Consolidation and Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: I take Dr. McGann's point on that. However, I want to focus on the meat industry. These are the work permits that pay just €22,000 a year. Everyone around this table would be on multiples of that salary. It is backbreaking work. There was a tremendous report done by the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, MRCI, Working to the Bone, which showed in great detail the levels of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of Employment Permits (Consolidation and Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: I apologise for interrupting but I am short on time. The difficulty with what Dr. McGann has said - to be fair it is not her fault - is that the inspections are not taking place. We know from the data we received this morning that there have been ten inspections per year for the past six years. In that small number of inspections, effectively one in two inspections found wrongdoing....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of Employment Permits (Consolidation and Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: I appreciate it is a difficult sector for Dr. McGann to talk about, particularly given the facts. The MRCI declares that typically €10.85 an hour which matches the disgracefully low figure of €22,000. It goes up for the very skilled boners to €13.56, again an incredibly low rate of pay. As my colleague, Deputy Louise O'Reilly said, this is a hugely profitable sector....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of Employment Permits (Consolidation and Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: Is Dr. McGann characterising €170 million in profits last year for Goodman as low margin?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of Employment Permits (Consolidation and Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: It is very different. Is it really a highly competitive sector?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of Employment Permits (Consolidation and Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: How does that tally with the profits and €3.9 billion of exports from the meat sector? Seriously, it does not add up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of Employment Permits (Consolidation and Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: Wage thresholds are set internally in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. In other words, it is a closed internal process. Is there a better way of setting pay levels for these work permits?

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: I congratulate the Leader and the Cathaoirleach on the unveiling this afternoon. It was great to see. Since it is International Women's Day, I will begin by paying a personal tribute to a hero of mine, Margaretta D'Arcy. She is a tremendous peace campaigner, activist, socialist, actor and writer whom I have regularly met for many years on the peace trail at Shannon Airport. I salute her...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: First Stage (8 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: I second the proposal.

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (8 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: I wish to highlight a simple statement in the Sinn Féin motion, that is, "too many working people cannot access secure or affordable accommodation, and too many young people are forced to reside with parents and relatives". Is there anyone in this Chamber who disagrees with that? Apparently there is because Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party did not include it in their...

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (8 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (8 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: Fantasy policies. You are-----

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (8 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: Well done.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (5 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Acting Chairperson. It is nice to see him in the Chair. The Minister of State is very welcome. It is nice to see him. I thank him for coming to the House. I wish to raise an issue relating to a deposit return scheme for drinks containers. As the Minister of State will be aware, his colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (5 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Minister of State for that lengthy response. I understand he will come back to me because he has not really answered the key questions. We know the Department was resistant to introducing the deposit return scheme. We know from freedom of information requests that were released to my colleague, Senator Boylan, that the Irish Government was instrumental in delaying this EU...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Mar 2021)

Paul Gavan: The Leader will know that some months ago I spoke about the far right when the fascists were outside the gates of Leinster House. I feel the need to raise the issue again this morning in the wake of what happened on Saturday. This is personal to me because when I grew up in London in the 1970s and was part of an Irish community, whenever we came out to march for the Birmingham Six or the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Authority Housing (26 Feb 2021)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I want to raise an issue which resonates right across the country. It concerns income thresholds for social housing. I have a simple request for the Minister of State.The Government must urgently raise the income limits for social housing. I was concerned by the reply of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to a parliamentary...