Results 2,301-2,320 of 5,964 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Recognition of Irish Military Service at Jadotville in 1961: Statements (11 Nov 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: I welcome the Minister to the House. This is the first time I have met him as Minister for Defence in this House so I congratulate him on his appointment. I also congratulate him on the fact that he has not appointed a Minister of State to work under him in the Department of Defence and has taken a hands-on position. He has met the representative bodies and visited a number of centres and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Nov 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: How can that be followed? I have two things to raise this morning. One is that we hear constantly that the HSE is looking for people to work in the area of tracing. An entire army of veterans is available who are only too keen to come back to drive people to medical appointments, do tracing work and anything asked of them. Several of the veterans' organisations around the country are...

Seanad: Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (10 Nov 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and I understand he is under pressure. There have been 13 review reports and three Bills - four, if we include this one - and another Bill is coming in the next few days, and nothing has happened.

Seanad: Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (10 Nov 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: That is fine. I compliment the two Senators on bringing forward the Bill and admire their honesty. I particularly admire the honesty of Senators Cassells and Kyne who opened up the real issues that annoy the people of this country. One such issue is the 11 senators nominated by the Taoiseach, where we could bring in people from diverse backgrounds but do not. Rather, we bring in our own...

Seanad: Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (10 Nov 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: -----and legislation was ruthlessly scrutinised and it did not bring down a Government when it failed. That is the sort of Seanad that I want to be a party to. I want to be here to look at legislation from the labour perspective, which is the panel I am on, and comment on it based on how I think it will impact on labour.My colleague, Senator Martin, spoke about two buses passing and that...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Nov 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: I second Senator McDowell's amendment to the Order of Business.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Nov 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: This weekend is very special for all of us who wore uniforms, irrespective of where we wore them. It is the weekend on which we would commemorate the armistice and the loss of Irish lives in the First and Second World Wars. More importantly, 8 November, this weekend, will be a very poignant day in Irish military history because we will remember 60 years since the Niemba ambush, when...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Nov 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: We could send him to Galway too.

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: First Stage (6 Nov 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: I second the proposal.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Oct 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: I compliment my colleague, Senator Murphy, on his speech and agree with everything he has said. We were promised that, when the schools reopened, there would be no particular problem with substitute teachers, etc. A number of principals of primary schools have contacted me in the past few days about the difficulty in finding substitutes. I was not a primary school teacher so I am not sure...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Oct 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: Hear, hear.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Oct 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: Well said.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Oct 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: No, I will not press the amendment. I take the Leader's word that she will prioritise this issue and deal with it on the nearest possible date.

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Oct 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: I came in here this afternoon with a very fixed set of views. The conflicts that are going on in my mind have been there since this Bill saw the light of day. Before I speak properly on the Bill, I want once again to condemn the way this legislation is being run through this House.

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Oct 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: It is absolutely disgraceful. The Minister's name will be on the Bill and his party's name will be associated with it. What were they thinking that they would allow this to happen? Why would the Minister come in here and ram through legislation when he knows how wrong it is to do so? I have had nearly 4,000 emails to date from those on one side of the argument and a few hundred from those...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Oct 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: When the Government was formed a number of people said to me they thanked God the Greens were there because they would make sure things are done right. This is not doing things right at all. This is rushing through legislation. Everybody in the room received 4,000 emails and not just me. The 4,000 people who have contacted us, and the several hundred others on the other side who have...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Oct 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: I do not know where the impression that everything will be lost if we delay this legislation has come from. Nothing will be lost. All we are asking for is a little more time, an extra 28 days, to get the legislation right first time. Nobody is talking about dumping the work that has been done and forgetting that it ever happened. We are saying that we want to get it right. The 4,000...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Oct 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: Senator Bacik has said practically everything I wanted to say. It smacks of laziness, of inappropriateness and of precisely what is going on here today, namely, the rushing of legislation through the House. Somebody somewhere notices something that needs to be done, and we stick it into one of the most contentious Bills that has come to this House in my six years here. It is completely...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Oct 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister for his patience today as we ran the Bill through the House, or perhaps I should say as we rammed the Bill through the House.In fairness to the Minister, he has listened and agreed to bring forward amendments to the Dáil. He has also extended the period for tabling amendments for the Dáil. I thank him for that, but this House has not crowned itself with glory...

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Oct 2020)

Gerard Craughwell: That has to be said.