Results 5,301-5,320 of 5,763 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Order of Business (26 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: My heart sank when I listened to the debate on the recent report on Seanad reform. While it will not do so in the lifetime of this Government, the political class needs to wake up, as the Catholic Church has done. As Archbishop Diarmuid Martin stated, the church will take a step back, reflect on what has occurred and try to bring itself into line with citizens who are two steps ahead of us....

Seanad: Order of Business (26 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I seek additional time for the statements this afternoon to ensure all Senators can make a contribution.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: There was silence around it.

Seanad: National Drugs Strategy: Statements (26 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I will not even take five minutes. I congratulate the Minister of State on the tremendous success in the referendum at the weekend. I saw his joy in the RDS. It was palpable and great to see. He did a great job, as did his party. He is to be congratulated on this. I stood with the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, on Leeson Street Bridge canvassing. Fair play to him - he...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I, too, would like to join my colleagues in lamenting the passing of Derek Davis. I also agree with what Senator Mooney has just said. It is not the function of the Taoiseach of this country to apologise for the actions of terrorists who acted on the soil of this country. I wish to raise two issues. The first is the issue of Balbriggan community school, which my colleague, Senator...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I start to get very worried when I hear phrases such as, "To further encourage lone parents to take up employment or increase their hours of employment," and then see the statement, “Staff of the Department are actively promoting both the back to work family dividend and family income supplement.” I would like to know how staff actively encourage a lone parent with a child aged...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The Senator is doing a good job.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: On the personal development plan, I sometimes wonder whether these types of things are box-ticking exercises. Will the Department employ qualified persons to meet those moving into a transition to provide proper career analysis and carve out a career pathway for them? As the witnesses are probably aware, I left the further education sector to become a Senator relatively recently. In my...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I think the Department likes to view them as consumers. Am I right or wrong?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: In that case, let us refer to them as clients.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Some of the training courses are available through ETB further education colleges. The course I ran was approximately €1,000 per client to fund their textbooks and examinations, which were professional examinations. In the case of beauty therapy courses, for example, while the tuition is free one could spend €1,000 or €1,100 on the equipment required. While there are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I have a final question. Referring back to the point made by my colleague about zero hours, somebody could be in a contract and have the 19 hours a week most of the time, but every now and then the hours drift away. Such a situation must be extremely frustrating for the witnesses. I realise they are working with employers and until such time as we ban zero-hour contracts that will always...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement: Department of Social Protection (13 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Is there any abuse of that where people will deliberately work 19 hours in order to get the FIS payment over the line, drop their hours immediately afterwards and then build them back up again the following year?

Seanad: Order of Business (12 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I welcome the public service pay negotiations that started today. I wish to place one particular sector in focus for all of us because I hear people talk constantly on the radio about productivity and demanding more from the public service. In 2008, the institute of technology sector had a budget of approximately €542 million and 4,845 staff, catering for approximately 67,400...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I call for such a debate.

Seanad: Alcohol Consumption in Ireland: Statements (12 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I know it has been a tough day in the office for the Minister and I very much appreciate his being here for this debate. For most of my young life, I was around drink in one way or another. My second job at the age of 12, which was a summer job, was as a waiter in a bar. By the time I was 13, I had graduated to be a barman in the same bar and by the time I was 15 and a half, I had run a...

Seanad: Appointment of Receivers: Motion (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I second the motion. As Senator Rónán Mullen said, we are talking about ordinary, decent, hard-working people who find themselves in severe debt. Members of the Government have held their heads low having inherited the problem of guaranteed bank loans. They have waited until the financial crisis has passed or, at least, have given the impression that it has passed to act and now...

Seanad: Appointment of Receivers: Motion (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: What about short-term proposals? We need those.

Seanad: Appointment of Receivers: Motion (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Appointment of Receivers: Motion (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: They are now.