Results 5,301-5,320 of 5,752 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

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.

Seanad: Spring Economic Statement: Statements (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. When I was elected, I said I would give credit where it was due and would not oppose for the sake of opposition. Some 95,000 jobs is quite an achievement, as is economic growth at 4% plus and declining unemployment. I do not want to rain on the Minister of State's parade but, as Senator Barrett said some time ago, let us have cash in the till...

Seanad: Spring Economic Statement: Statements (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I will take an extra minute for every time the Senator speaks.

Seanad: Spring Economic Statement: Statements (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Let us start putting the money into services and restore them to a 21st century level. When the Minister of State comes to deal with employment issues, he has to do away with zero-hour contracts at the lower end of the employment scale. He must see to it that employers will engage in collective bargaining. We cannot continue to have situations like what is going on between Mandate and...

Seanad: Spring Economic Statement: Statements (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I am concerned about us embarking on what will be the next bubble that will bring Ireland to its knees. I am delighted that milk quotas have been abolished. I am a city boy and, for me, milk comes in a bottle or a carton. I know very little about the production process. However, I know that when an industry starts to expand as a result of the lifting of regulations, such expansion needs...

Seanad: Spring Economic Statement: Statements (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: As Senator Barrett said, as we move forward in medicine we need to concern ourselves with giving medical cards to the needy, not the greedy. There are people who can well afford to send their children who are under six to the doctor. Let us not proceed with this measure. There are other people who simply cannot afford it. On the issue of upskilling, I have already adverted to the...

Seanad: Spring Economic Statement: Statements (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Three minutes have elapsed now.

Seanad: Spring Economic Statement: Statements (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: My God, there is such a backslapping exercise being engaged in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: ICT in Primary Schools: Discussion (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I pay tribute to the Irish Primary Principals Network and the INTO. I attended Tech Week last week and was blown away by the level of expertise and work. I saw everything from robots to CoderDojo projects. This brings me to the point I want to make, which is that ICT in national schools was built on the back of teachers who innovated in their own classrooms with their principals, who...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: ICT in Primary Schools: Discussion (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: ICT in Primary Schools: Discussion (6 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: On Monday nights a very good sharing network on Twitter takes place where teachers share resources and ideas. Does the Department monitor the exchange?

Seanad: Order of Business (5 May 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I note the situation regarding English language colleges. I had the pleasure of visiting China in 2000 as the guest of a general in the Chinese army. We were held in high esteem as educators, but what is going on in these private colleges will destroy our international reputation. I, therefore, support calls for an urgent debate on the matter. The second issue I wish to raise is the...