Results 3,641-3,660 of 4,178 for speaker:Paul Gavan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (9 May 2017)

Paul Gavan: I thank all of the witnesses today. The information they have provided is very useful. I apologise as we had a series of votes in the Seanad which has meant that I have been in and out of this committee this afternoon. On the question of evidence, it is coincidental that the four members left in the room, apart from the Chairman, are all from Limerick. I am aware from my previous job as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (9 May 2017)

Paul Gavan: I was very struck by what Ms Annie Hoey said in quoting Ms Patricia King that "A worker is a worker". Is there a perception, out there, or in here more to the point, that students have to put up with uncertainty and that it does no harm? That perception, while not necessarily prevalent in this room, certainly exists in parts of the Oireachtas.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016: Discussion (Resumed) (9 May 2017)

Paul Gavan: Exactly.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2017)

Paul Gavan: It is great to see and acknowledge the Palestinian flag flying over Dublin City Council for the month of May.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2017)

Paul Gavan: I congratulate the councillors of all parties and none who have undertaken this exercise to ensure that recognition is given to the Palestinian people. It could not come at a better time given that there are currently 1,500 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. Why are they on hunger strike? It is because they want the right to make a phone call.They also want the right to see their...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2017)

Paul Gavan: It is apartheid. The Senator should be very clear on that-----

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2017)

Paul Gavan: Anyone who has been to occupied Palestine knows that it is an apartheid state.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2017)

Paul Gavan: I call on the Minister of State with responsibility for defence to come to this House to debate this issue. It is a shameful act on the part of this Government to buy military equipment from the apartheid state of Israel. It is time that someone in Fine Gael had the backbone to stand up and make it stop.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: This morning, I raise the case of Irish citizen Elizabeth Crumlish Doran, who is making a desperate plea to the Irish Government to step in and help return her three children, who were taken into care by British social workers in distressing scenes in Solihull, Birmingham in April 2016. This is a most disturbing case. The children were aged nine, six and 21 months old at the time social...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Leader.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: Put them in a bin.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senator Máire Devine. Yesterday, Ms Patricia King of ICTU provided some startling information to the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, which I propose to share with Senators. The most recent statistics from the Central Statistics Office show that 35.2% of the workforce earn less than €400 per week....

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: As many as 75% of employees earn under €400 per week.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: I welcome the Bill and acknowledge the good work of Senator Billy Lawless in bringing it forward. We have heard about our great Christian tradition. I respectfully suggest that before it we had a great pagan tradition-----

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: -----which was probably a lot more fun.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: On a serious note, we should welcome the Bill because it is a small step towards the separation of Church and State, but it is not from where we should start. We should start by acknowledging that 90% of schools are still under the control of the Catholic Church, which they should not. We should also start by acknowledging that large sections of the public health service are under the...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: On balance, we welcome the work of Senator Billy Lawless and the fact that the Bill has been brought forward. We will not oppose it at this time, but we do not want to see it being rushed through until such time as the genuine concerns of workers have been taken into account. That is the responsibility of the Minister of State.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: It is a pity Fine Gael is not supporting the Bill.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: Let us prioritise Senator Norris.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Paul Gavan: Absolutely, bring it on.