Results 5,021-5,040 of 5,763 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I fully understand that Members of this House are away on business frequently and I respect that. I further respect the elected Members of this House in the way they participate and their dedication to this House. I have sometimes sat here for a number of hours waiting to make my contribution, only to depend on the generosity of the Chair or another Member to share speaking time. Sometimes...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: -----he gave to his nominees when he appointed them as I expect elected Members of the Seanad can speak for themselves.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I have 30 seconds left.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I request that I be given a further 30 seconds.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Sometimes, things have to be put into the public domain.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Sometimes it has to be done this way.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Like the Leader and many other Senators who are here because they want to be here, I respect the privilege of serving in this House. I want nothing more than to be allowed to do the job I was elected to do. I want in future to ensure there is time for every Member to add to whatever legislation comes before the House. I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for his indulgence.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: There should be no groups in here at all, as the Leader knows. We should all be members of vocational panels, not groups.

Seanad: Marriage Bill 2015: Second Stage (20 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Acting Chairman for extending the time of the debate. I welcome the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, to the House on this joyous occasion. I thank her and her Department for drafting this important legislation and for her proactive stewardship of this Bill and the marriage referendum Act through the Oireachtas. I entered this House as a 62 year old, conservative man who was always...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Construction Contracts (14 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Tá fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. He is busy as a result of yesterday's budget, so I thank him for attending the House to debate this important issue, which has been raised by Business Retail Union Ireland, BRUI, a group formed by the retail trade and subcontractors in the construction industry to defend their causes. The Construction Contracts Act was first introduced in this...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Construction Contracts (14 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: It is particularly scandalous in circumstances where thousands of subcontractors have gone out of business in the wake of the worst downturn in the construction sector that this country has ever seen. Almost one year ago, the Construction Industry Federation, CIF, director general, Mr. Tom Parlon, stated that builders were facing collapse over pay delays and that thousands of those in other...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Construction Contracts (14 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The Minister of State said the closing date in respect of the Public Appointments Service was 18 September. We are almost a month beyond that date. Have interviews taken place or are they about to and is that now the only impediment that exists to the commencement of the legislation? I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State, but he said he took the matter over late last year. As...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Construction Contracts (14 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Have the interviews taken place or will they soon and will the Minister of State commence the Act as soon as the panel is in place?

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Construction Contracts (14 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: We will make the Minister of State drop us a line to let us know.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I rise to ask the Leader if we could have a debate on commercial rates. Today I met some contractors and had a Commencement Matter debate with the Minister. I also met retailers whose businesses are being closed. One told me that when he visited the local authority to explain that he had difficulty finding money to pay rates, but could keep his business open, he was told to close it. When...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Well done on that.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Like everybody else here, I add my condolences to the people in Carrickmines, to Garda Golden's family and to the family of the homeless man who died in Dublin over the weekend. The people in Carrickmines live just down the road from me. It was a halting site that was well in off the road. They were people who minded their own business, who went about their daily lives. To see two...

Seanad: Budget 2016: Statements (13 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: This is grossly unfair.

Seanad: Budget 2016: Statements (13 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I come in here time after time-----

Seanad: Budget 2016: Statements (13 Oct 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: In fairness-----