Results 3,321-3,340 of 5,749 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Annual Report of European Court of Auditors: Discussion (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank Mr. Murphy for his comprehensive report. There is a general consensus about public private partnerships, PPP, not least in education, in which I have a professional background. I have heard principals do nothing but sing the praises of PPP projects and how they deliver for them. If PPPs were to be used, for example, to install toll bridges on the M50, taking the macro-view of PPP...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Annual Report of European Court of Auditors: Discussion (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: Getting it down that low is quite good in the grand scheme of things. Are strategies being looked at to eliminate it totally? If so, how successful are they expected to be, bearing in mind that human beings will always try to find a way around any rules or regulations that are introduced?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Annual Report of European Court of Auditors: Discussion (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: Erasmus+ was discussed at length, but it is an area of particular interest to me, as it marries with the issue of youth unemployment and is an programme for apprenticeships. There was some talk about expanding it. I believe a trial module is being run somewhere, but it could be expanded to include a much wider audience. Is that something at which Mr. Murphy is looking? What future does he...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Annual Report of European Court of Auditors: Discussion (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: From an EU funding point of view, taking broadband as an example, if a member state decides that it is going to provide broadband through fibre optics cables, while other more advanced member states are using 4G and 5G to provide broadband, will the EU committee take a view on how the funding should be used? Does it tell us that our idea is bad and that we should do something different?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Annual Report of European Court of Auditors: Discussion (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: Is the figure of 703 taken from a random sample?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Annual Report of European Court of Auditors: Discussion (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: Surely the advice of the European Court of Auditors must be sought, given that the impact of Brexit may be catastrophic when there is no funding coming from the United Kingdom. Budgets will have to shrink at a rapid pace.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Annual Report of European Court of Auditors: Discussion (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: I come from a background in0 further education. In the early 1990s there was a tendency for people to enter into further education and never leave it; they just moved from course to course. They qualified in everything but still went nowhere. I have always felt the rule should be that once someone completes a programme, he or she should move on. If we only move people from one training...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Preparations for the European Parliament Elections 2019: Discussion (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank Mr. Temple-Smithson for his presentation. I am delighted that he is heading off on this route to bring Europe to the people on a county-by-country basis. It is no reflection on Mr. Temple-Smithson, but it is a pity we have not been doing that all along. Every day, we pass buildings or bridges with signage saying that it was funded through a partnership programme with the EU and we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Preparations for the European Parliament Elections 2019: Discussion (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: On the young vote, it greatly disturbed me that when a Bill introduced in the Seanad recently to extend the vote to 16 year olds for local, European and presidential elections was shot down. If young people aged 16 and upwards are brought into the electoral process, we have them for life. Let us hope this Government or the next will revisit the matter. It is of great importance that we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Preparations for the European Parliament Elections 2019: Discussion (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: I assume the Deputy's party would second-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Preparations for the European Parliament Elections 2019: Discussion (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: I should point out that the busy funerals the Chairman is speaking of are those where everyone goes in to look at the corpse. Then, they come out to look at their neighbours and say, "God, he looked well, did he not?"

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: I have had many discussions on Jadotville and the former Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, is to be commended on ensuring the Jadotville medal was struck. I also owe a great debt of thanks to the Leader for organising the parade to commemorate those fine men in Athlone barracks. It has always been said that there were no recommendations for medals or that, if there were, they were not to be...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: A number of these people have gone to their grave and, sadly, of the Jadotville group whose names I have read out, only nine are still alive. Walter Hegarty, the father-in-law of my niece, has one distinguished service medal but should have had two, as well as one for gallantry. The medal for gallantry is the Irish equivalent of the Victoria Cross and I ask the Leader to assist me, as he...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Leader.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: North South Implementation Bodies: InterTradeIreland and Tourism Ireland (11 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: That was four times Kenmare was mentioned.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: North South Implementation Bodies: InterTradeIreland and Tourism Ireland (11 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: I agree with Deputy O'Sullivan.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: North South Implementation Bodies: InterTradeIreland and Tourism Ireland (11 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: I did not get to hear the presentation because, unfortunately, I was called away for a meeting. I join with my colleagues in congratulating Tourism Ireland on the fantastic work it does. It is only when one takes a drive around the country that one can see the various attractions that are there. It is fantastic. On the costs of hotels, in 2012 I was caught on the western side of Ireland...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Oct 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: Or Stepaside.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (26 Sep 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: I am terribly sorry for missing the contribution of the Minister of State, as I had a delegation in and I was unable to extricate myself until now. I have one issue of concern. First and foremost, I compliment the officials who are working throughout the European Union on Brexit and have done an incredible job. Everywhere I have been in Europe I have heard about the Irish problem, the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (26 Sep 2018)

Gerard Craughwell: I will not put the Minister of State on the spot today, but I raise an issue I would like her to address the next time she attends the committee. The land bridge may prove to be a problem post-Brexit. When Michel Barnier met the Chairman and the committee, he said funding would be available for the development of a high speed, super highway connecting Ireland and mainland Europe through...