Results 2,861-2,880 of 4,178 for speaker:Paul Gavan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Facilities and Costs: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Aug 2018)

Paul Gavan: I reiterate the point Deputy Jan O'Sullivan made which was alluded to by a number of others as well because I think it is key. We can get caught up in the minutiae and say we need this and we need that but surely what we need, and Ms McDermott put it extremely well, is core support for the principle of truly free education. That has to be our starting point and Deputy O'Sullivan made that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Facilities and Costs: Discussion (29 Aug 2018)

Paul Gavan: I thank the witnesses for their presentations. It has been very useful and educational, in its truest sense, to listen to their various perspectives. I thank them for their time and patience. I do not wish to repeat the very valid points that have been made but a couple of key things strike me. Before I address them, I wish to commend in particular my colleagues from the trade union...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Facilities and Costs: Discussion (29 Aug 2018)

Paul Gavan: It is because he is the witness most likely to have answers to the very valid points that have been made. He stated that most school sites are not owned by the Minister and decisions relating to the retention of open green spaces within the lands on which a school is situated are, therefore, a matter for the landowner. That is the elephant in the room. Ms Ryan ably highlighted, as did...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Facilities and Costs: Discussion (29 Aug 2018)

Paul Gavan: I have a quick follow-up question on the minor works grant, which a number of colleagues from the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO, raised with me. I am very encouraged to learn from Mr. Loftus that it is intended to provide greater certainty on the matter. The obvious follow-up is to ask him how this will be provided. Our colleagues need to find out earlier that their schools...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Facilities and Costs: Discussion (29 Aug 2018)

Paul Gavan: I thank the witnesses for their presentations, which are quite stark and paint a dramatic picture. As Ms Dunne said, school leadership is on the brink of collapse. While I have no doubt but that statement is true, it is shocking that the Government has let the crisis develop to this point. My questions are straightforward. What comes across is the complete level of disconnect between...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the refugee crisis when we return in the autumn. We know the issue dominated a recent EU summit and parliamentary sitting of the Council of Europe. A couple of disturbing facts emerged from Europe. Sea-Watch, a non-governmental organisation, NGO, made a presentation in which it told us very clearly that the priority of the EU at the minute is not to...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: Hotel rooms do not need it.

Seanad: Situation in Palestine: Statements (Resumed) (11 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: Well said.

Seanad: Situation in Palestine: Statements (Resumed) (11 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: At the heart of this issue is the kind of state Israel is. We have heard voices across the Chamber, from all parties, that have acknowledged that Israel is an apartheid state. Any of us who has been there knows this and once one knows it it changes a person. Just as it was completely untenable in the 1980s to say we had to keep talking to the apartheid regime in South Africa and try to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Teacher Recruitment: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: I am relatively new to this committee, so I will just ask the witnesses some questions to help me better understand the situation. Certain subjects where there are challenges have been mentioned. What are they?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Teacher Recruitment: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: That would be great. I am aware of the issue of casualisation of employment. It has been raised with me by a number of unions. Will Ms McDonnell give us a picture of the number of teachers currently on temporary employment contracts and an idea of the growth or decrease in that number in recent years? It would be helpful.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Teacher Recruitment: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: To take up Deputy Byrne's comment, is it broadly spread across those subjects or are one or two of them very challenging?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Teacher Recruitment: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: I should have thanked Ms McDonnell for her presentation. I apologise. I asked a question, which has not yet been answered, about the extent of casualisation. I wish to quote from an ASTI document that was laid before the committee in, I think, January. I was not a member of the committee at the time. It states, "Surveys of teachers who have emigrated have underlined the difficulties of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Teacher Recruitment: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: I have not got any responses to my questions yet.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Teacher Recruitment: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: I hear Ms McDonnell, but is the reality not that if I graduate as a qualified teacher, I have no prospect of moving directly into full-time employment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Teacher Recruitment: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: That has not been the experience of the people leaving college to whom I have spoken.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Teacher Recruitment: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: I am talking about this year.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: “The dream is dying” declared Boris Johnson yesterday in his resignation letter to Theresa May. It reminded me of the old Waterboys Song “England is dying”, from which it is worth quoting a couple of lines. It is particularly apt when one thinks of Boris:Still he sings an empire song, Still he keeps his navy strong, And he sticks his flag where it ill belongs,...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: A sos between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. would be good.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2018)

Paul Gavan: Senator Murnane O'Connor is right.