Results 4,381-4,400 of 5,872 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Engagement on Common Travel Area: Department of Justice and Equality (23 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I have one supplementary question on non-EU nationals. We were aware that there was a huge problem with non-EU nationals in Callais, for example. Is there a possibility of a similar problem arising in Drogheda or some part of our Border counties where non-EU nationals landing in Ireland get as far as the border with Northern Ireland and are turned back and have nowhere else to go?

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: Yesterday I advised that I might discuss issues relating to the Defence Forces here. Thanks to the kindness of the Leader in offering a debate with the Minister of State responsible, I shall defer my comments until the Minister of State is here. Later on today we will discuss the insurance industry. An issue that is of particular interest to anybody sitting in this House is the impact an...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I understand that, but we will not be discussing this specific issue.

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: The other question is that if they were to suffer a personal injury, would they be covered? This is something that is particularly-----

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: The debate will be more general, but-----

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: Thank you. I wish to make one final point on the issue of free legal aid. I received a telephone call this morning to advise me that a person had been buried in a gold-plated coffin with a Rolex watch. His partner is now looking for free legal aid, having been caught engaging in criminal activity. Where are we going? I fully appreciate the necessity to provide free legal aid for those...

Seanad: Reports on Motor Insurance Costs: Statements (22 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I will first talk about the issue of databases in insurance in general and in the motor insurance industry. It is nonsensical to think there is not a database. The only problem is we do not have access to it. The insurance companies have been sharing information for as long as I can remember. I am particularly aware of a public house that burned down in Dublin in the 1960s and the...

Seanad: Reports on Motor Insurance Costs: Statements (22 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: It goes back to something Senator O'Donnell said. My broker gets me a fantastic price every year. My broker gets me a fantastic price because I am a teacher.

Seanad: Reports on Motor Insurance Costs: Statements (22 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: If I were buying health insurance in the morning and I were not a teacher, I could still buy the teacher's policy.

Seanad: Reports on Motor Insurance Costs: Statements (22 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: No, I will not name him. If one goes to buy health insurance in the morning, one can pick any specific grouping that has a special deal and decide to be part of that. Why is it not possible to do the same with car insurance? We hear of youngsters who buy cars for €2,000 and are asked to pay €5,000 insurance. We then ask ourselves why there are uninsured drivers on the road?...

Seanad: Reports on Motor Insurance Costs: Statements (22 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: They could have been going to Lough Gur. We need to sort this out. Why is this happening? If it is the case, we need the insurance companies to come clean now and give us a list of those people who operate in areas like county councils, emergency response or voluntary football teams and tell us whether those people need to declare that when they are writing their policy. We do not want...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Electronic Tagging (21 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy David Stanton, for coming to the House to outline his plans for the introduction and implementation of electronic monitoring. As he knows, section 102 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 provides for the electronic monitoring of the restrictions of an offender's movements imposed by a court under section 101 of the same Act. To date, the section has not...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Electronic Tagging (21 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister of State. Like Councillor McGovern, I live in the area we are talking about. The week before last, while a man suffering from motor neurone disease was being helped into his family car to go for medical treatment, burglars literally walked through the front door, took anything that was of value, went out the back door, climbed over my garden wall and got away. My...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: Like most of my colleagues, I look back over the past ten or 15 days as very black days in Ireland. My condolences go to all. I will have more to say tomorrow on an article in one of today's newspapers by Ger Aherne, a former general in the Irish Army. A week after I was elected to the Seanad, I got a letter from a garda recounting for me the events that led to me leaving the British Army...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: That is very much appreciated.

Seanad: JobPath: Statements (21 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: Before I offer criticism, I congratulate the Department of Social Protection which has done a lot of good work over many years to provide access to further education and training for members of society. I benefited from its support when I returned to college in 1990 and will be forever grateful for its assistance and the humane approach taken by the officials with whom I dealt. There was no...

Seanad: Death of Martin McGuinness: Expressions of Sympathy (21 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I propose to start with the Sinn Féin Party's contribution if that is acceptable to the House. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Death of Martin McGuinness: Expressions of Sympathy (21 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I think Senator Conway-Walsh for that truly heartfelt expression of condolence.

Seanad: Death of Martin McGuinness: Expressions of Sympathy (21 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I understand Senator Dolan and Senator Alice-Mary Higgins are sharing time. There was originally an idea that only one person from each group would speak but because people wish to speak, I will not stop that.

Seanad: Death of Martin McGuinness: Expressions of Sympathy (21 Mar 2017)

Gerard Craughwell: I put the following message up on Facebook this morning. It states:Notwithstanding the fact that those claiming to speak for the IRA in 1974 put my family through hell, I am deeply saddened at the passing of Martin McGuinness. It took two men who wanted peace, McGuinness and Paisley, to find in their hearts the wherewithal to commence the journey of understanding of each other's tradition....