Results 5,421-5,440 of 5,752 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (3 Mar 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I am delighted to add my name and voice to the other voices in this House. I smoked my first cigarette when I was 12 years old. By the time I qualified to smoke properly I was able to smoke 100 cigarettes a day. In fact, there were times when I got up in the middle of the night to smoke a cigarette. The great legacy with which that habit has left me is three lesions from coronary artery...

Seanad: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (3 Mar 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Thankfully, I can no longer see stacks of cigarettes.One of the great things the Minister is about to introduce is plain packaging, because when the packaging goes, my desire to have that recognisable box in my hand may cease. It is 15 years since I held such a recognisable box. My desire to have that box in my hand may cease when the colour or whatever else is on the package that attracts...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I join everyone else in congratulating the Ireland cricket team. It is a great day for the country. I wish to raise concerns regarding plans to reduce the number of firefighters by one or two per fire appliance.Members of our fire service place themselves in peril daily to serve the needs of their communities. Reducing the numbers on fire appliances places communities and the firemen...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Can the Minister come into the House?

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Amendment No. 55 is similar to the one moved by Senator Reilly, which I support. A fine of €2,000 is hardly likely to deter an employer from paying less than the national minimum wage. If the fine was set at €20,000 per employee, it could amount to a fairly substantial sum if an employer was underpaying several staff. That would be a deterrent. Social welfare transfers are...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I hope my colleagues will forgive me if, as a good trade unionist, I oppose amendment No. 58. While I fully understand the need to support entrepreneurship, we do not want companies to be built on the back of cheap labour. I know Senator Quinn will forgive me for my opposition.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I hope he will.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I have been involved in several Labour Court hearings and cases before Rights Commissioners and where the information is available beforehand, the cases are frequently settled and never get to a hearing. I support Senator Norris.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I agree with my colleague. I fully understand where the Minister is coming from. Mediation requires commitment and honesty on both sides but there is no difficulty in having the officer running the case use his or her discretion to request both sides to begin exchanging documentation. That would not demean or work against the mediation process. It is no different from a High Court judge...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: We are not trying to provide for compulsion but to leave the discretion to the mediation officer to request the parties to cut the messing, exchange documents and see where they are. I understand from where the Minister is coming. On the one hand, it in a way argues against mediation but on the other hand, it gives that discretionary power to the mediator. That is why I support the...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The word "may" is there.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I may come back on Report Stage with that slightly amended to take out the word "direct".

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: As Senator Norris has stated, the reference to trade union representation should be retained. Our concern in bringing forward the proposal was the awareness that migrant workers, in particular, might not necessarily have such representation. With Senator Norris's permission, I will withdraw amendment No. 71 and resubmit it on Report Stage in a new format which refers both to a trade union...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Again, I am concerned that the same provision is not being made available for mediation as for cases before adjudication officers and the Labour Court. Some mediation solutions are extremely complex and to expect a person to be present without representation is wrong in every way.Unless I misheard the Minister, I do not detect any provision for representation in mediation and if that is the...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: There are two types of mediation. One type is one-to-one honest brokerage which takes place between two people, but the Irish Congress of Trade Unions talks about mediated solutions which apply right across an industry or a particular employer. Congress is very anxious that we cover mediation in the provisions for representation. I have read the Minister's amendments and reserve the right...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: An adjudication officer and the Labour Court make a finding of right or wrong in the case of a particular complaint. In the case of mediation we are talking about two parties sitting down and negotiating. We have to have a section on the rights to representation in mediation.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I am talking about proceedings prior to a case coming before an adjudication officer.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Congress has requested that we insert a section in this part of the Bill which deals with mediation.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I support Senator Norris. We have all seen cases in which last minute documents suddenly appear and change the entire course of a case. It is not reasonable in any industrial relations case. It is a perfectly reasonable amendment and I cannot see why the Minister does not accept it.