Results 4,181-4,200 of 6,307 for speaker:Gerald Nash

Seanad: Equality of Access to Education: Motion (12 Jul 2017)

Gerald Nash: They did so without any sense of irony or appreciation of the circumstances in which they left the country in 2010 and 2011. Like the Minister of State, I am extremely passionate about education and convinced that the third level sector needs more State aid, not less. I was the first member of my immediate and wider family to have the privilege to attend university. My father was a factory...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Jul 2017)

Gerald Nash: Like Senator Craughwell and others, I am sometimes ashamed at the way we treat members of the Defence Forces in this country.On countless occasions in recent years, in some cases predating the recession, I have met family members of Defence Forces personnel who are on the breadline, do not earn enough to make ends meet and believe they are not supported by the State. At a public meeting I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Atypical Work Permit Scheme: Discussion (4 Jul 2017)

Gerald Nash: I thank Mr. Fleming for his very powerful testimony. I can confirm that he is not a fantasist because I know the work he has done. Mr. Fleming and I have worked hand in glove to improve this situation for quite some time. In many respects, he is a dissident voice but a distant one in terms of trying to improve the worst excesses of some practices in this industry. I support the call by...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Atypical Work Permit Scheme: Discussion (4 Jul 2017)

Gerald Nash: Yes. Only two fishermen out of 42 had permits just one year after the introduction of the permits scheme. I would like to see the whites of the eyes of some of the employers involved. In late 2015 and early 2016, I personally had to drag people to sign a memorandum of understanding that would enforce the employment rights of this scheme. There was a problem, there is a problem and there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Atypical Work Permit Scheme: Discussion (4 Jul 2017)

Gerald Nash: I hope I will be able to provide some helpful insight. I agree with Deputy Neville and others that we should not break down on party lines in discerning a solution to this. It is an issue of our common humanity and we must unite around that in our quest for solutions. However, political responsibility must be taken at senior ministerial level. No ministerial responsibility has been taken...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Joint Labour Committees Agreements (4 Jul 2017)

Gerald Nash: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Breen. In the past two weeks alone, I have been contacted by many security workers from around the country who are not receiving from their employers the hourly rate of pay for the job they do. This practice must stop. As Senators are aware, as part of the most significant enhancement of workers' rights legislation anywhere in the world in recent...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Joint Labour Committees Agreements (4 Jul 2017)

Gerald Nash: I am very encouraged by the increased level of inspections by the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, inspectorate. It is important that the message goes out that rogue security firms will not be allowed to continue not to comply with employment regulation orders, EROs. They are the law of the land. I have evidence of security firms which in recent weeks were not paying the new rate. I...

Seanad: Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (21 Jun 2017)

Gerald Nash: I join in the general congratulations of Deputy Jim Daly on his appointment as Minister of State. I suggest that it is a description he will never tire of hearing. It is well deserved and I wish him every success. I know he will deliver in this role and if I have any word of advice for him it is that he not lose his humanity, his compassion and his hunger to deliver and that he not be...

Seanad: Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (21 Jun 2017)

Gerald Nash: Absolutely. Do not remind me, a Chathaoirligh. I do not need to be reminded of that.

Seanad: Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (21 Jun 2017)

Gerald Nash: This is very progressive legislation and I hope it passes through all Stages in these Houses very quickly. It is the type of legislation behind which this House can unite and I hope that all shades of political opinion can assemble behind it. It really is critical. Senator Freeman herself deserves great credit for advancing this legislation. It is essentially about human rights. The...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Transport Policy (7 Jun 2017)

Gerald Nash: I thank Mr. Toland and Mr. Flynn for their very comprehensive contributions. I thank Mr. Toland, in particular, for the work he has done with the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, in recent years. It is common knowledge that he is moving on from that role and it is no exaggeration to say the DAA, Mr. Toland, with the leadership he provided, and his staff have played a central role in the...

Seanad: Mid-term Capital Review and Public Service Pay Commission Report: Statements (30 May 2017)

Gerald Nash: Senator Paddy Burke may be looking for divine inspiration. I welcome the Minister to the House and I am pleased to have an opportunity to discuss with him these two pressing matters for the State. As he knows only too well, from 2007 until the middle of this decade, the focus of the State was very much on the immediate viability of the country, economic recovery, getting people back to work...

Seanad: Mid-term Capital Review and Public Service Pay Commission Report: Statements (30 May 2017)

Gerald Nash: The Government has much explaining to do on this issue. I am not convinced as to the rationale for the disposal of these shares at this time. After everything the country has experienced and after all the pain caused by the bank rescue and related economic problems, it is incredible that the final act in office of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, will be to deliver a barrel load of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Health Strategies (23 May 2017)

Gerald Nash: Approximately 40,000 people in this country have Crohn's disease or colitis. I am one of them; I have had this condition since I was 14 years of age. I was diagnosed with it in 1990. As the Minister of State will be aware, the prevalence of this condition is growing and it is very much a condition found in the western world. Alarmingly, most people in Ireland who are diagnosed with the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Health Strategies (23 May 2017)

Gerald Nash: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. It is very interesting that the HSE and his Department are taking the approach that there should be a new model of care in assisting and treating inflammatory bowel disease patients across the country. I appeal to the Minister of State to give serious consideration to the initiative I outlined in my initial contribution, that is, the engagement...

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement with Mr. Eamon Gilmore (11 May 2017)

Gerald Nash: One of this committee's first engagements was with the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. I asked his views on the possibility of the State being required to hold a referendum. I am still trying to decipher what his response was. With all due respect, that is probably quite typical of him. I thank Mr. Gilmore for his very thoughtful contribution. There was much interesting information and...

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

Gerald Nash: Well done to the witnesses for encapsulating the challenges that young teachers are facing. They are correct that some improvements have been made recently in terms of the contractual situation but more can be made. I am glad that the TUI representatives welcome the recommendations and findings in the University of Limerick report. When the process started a couple of years ago I was very...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (13 Apr 2017)

Gerald Nash: On amendment no. 63, Senator Alice-Mary Higgins, with our group, would like to propose that the Minister consider rewording the amendment to read: "cutting etc. undertaken pursuant to an order under section 70 of Roads Act 1993". We believe this would address the concerns expressed which would be satisfied if the Minister was to consider it.

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Gerald Nash: I move amendment No. 3:In page 60, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following:“Amendment of section 599 of Principal Act 92. Section 599 of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following for subsection (4)(c)—“(c) whether an action of the related company or of any subsidiary of the related company caused the liquidation; (d) whether the...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Gerald Nash: I am disappointed that the Minister will not take on board the valid arguments that support this particular initiative to strengthen section 599. We have waited well over a year for the report of the Company Law Review Group. As I said in my earlier contribution, we do not know the minute or the hour when another Clerys-type scenario will emerge in this country. If we do not tighten up our...