Results 2,501-2,520 of 4,178 for speaker:Paul Gavan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: That is where I want to start. I thank the Chairman for his generosity, given that I am only a guest at this meeting. This Bill, as proposed by the Government, does absolutely nothing. We have heard from the independent researcher here that it does not address the key issue which is the theft of tips. It is shocking. Naturally, we have focused on the service charges and I will read the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) Bill 2019: Discussion (10 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: I wish to make a plea, not just to the members of this committee but to civil servants, who I hope are watching this somewhere, to look at my Bill and work with me. My Bill is not perfect and I am happy to look at changes to it, but I want to protect workers, as I think everyone does. The Bill has passed in the Seanad and has passed Second Stage in the Dáil. We can do this but the...

Seanad: Free Education (Prohibition of Fees and Charges) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (9 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: I congratulate my colleagues in the Labour Party. I fully support this Bill. I came over from England at a young age and my parents were quite shocked that free education did not really exist in this country. Unfortunately, it still does not really exist. It is important to appreciate the cross-party consensus in this Chamber. The Seanad works at its best when we are not adversarial but...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: I endorse Senator Maria Byrne's comments on the march as I attended it as well. There were 4,500 people marching on what was definitely the wettest day of the year so far. There is great strength of feeling about the incinerator so I support the call for a debate. Last week, I attended the Council of Europe, which was a nice break from the continuing pain and chaos of Brexit. To follow...

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: Well said.

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: I welcome the Minister of State. I say, "Fair play to him", because it has been a long debate. I will start by commending Senator Dolan. His was one of the best contributions I have heard in terms of analysing where this budget has fallen down, particularly in respect of the disabled. The Senator did it brilliantly. I hope there is somebody listening to what he said. Clearly, they have...

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: I certainly will do that. Senator Conway-Walsh mentioned the wealth tax. I would love to hear it coming from other parts of the Chamber.

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: We need to talk about a wealth tax. I am delighted to hear Senator Higgins endorse that once more. Some of the statistics relating to welfare are quite stark. Hopefully, the Minister of State will be familiar with these. If he is not, I do not blame him because there are many statistics flying around. The top 10% in this country own 54% of wealth. In other words, 10% of the people in...

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: It does.

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: I am proud of our ideology. We do not deny our ideology. We are on the left. We know where Senator Buttimer stands.

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: I thought the Leader would be more moderate this time.

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: Let us move on to education. I have already seen the responses today from third level institutions. There is great disappointment. Basically the Government has kicked to touch again. We have costed proposals to reduce the student fees by €500 a year with the aim of phasing out fees over the next five or six years. The annual cost of that would have been €40 million. The...

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: Will Fine Gael run candidates in the North?

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: Is Senator Buttimer sure about that?

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: On a point of order, that is probably because we also have the largest portion of low-paid employees of any country in the EU.

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: They are not. That is incorrect.

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: He cannot state falsehoods. That is not right, and he knows it.

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: Good for who?

Seanad: Budget 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2019)

Paul Gavan: I disagree.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Autism Support Services (26 Sep 2019)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House this morning. He is very welcome. This issue is not his direct area of responsibility but I would appreciate it if he would give us a response and convey concerns to the Minister. The issue at stake is State supports for those with special educational needs. In particular, I raise the issue of the lack of supports for those students...