Results 5,501-5,520 of 5,752 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Betting (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I move amendment No. 2: In page 7, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following:“Government warnings 4. The public are to be warned of the addictive nature of gambling as follows— (a) all licensed bookmaker outlets must have on display this government warning:“Warning: Gambling has been shown to be addictive, causing financial loss and damage to interpersonal,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Future of Higher Education: Discussion (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the witnesses for coming here and for a comprehensive report. There are a couple of matters that concern me. I do not see - perhaps I missed it - anything about attrition rates. While the number of CAO applicants seems to be increasing all the time, I understand attrition rates are fairly high. I am not too sure about the university sector but in the institutes of technology,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Future of Higher Education: Discussion (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Has the employment control framework caused this problem? It has forced the universities to reduce their staffing by 3% a year during recent years. Is that now impacting seriously on research?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Future of Higher Education: Discussion (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The mathematical challenge in computer science for first year undergraduates never ceases to amaze me, yet the same results can be achieved in other institutions without the mathematics element being as onerous. There are successful computer courses in the country where the mathematics element has been downgraded. I am not so sure that is a good idea but it has happened purely to allow for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Future of Higher Education: Discussion (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: There are examples of people going into the top industries who would not have gone through the maths route.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Future of Higher Education: Discussion (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Is there not a concern over starting to generate income by providing services to industry, which I fully support? However, it needs to be ring-fenced, carefully managed and controlled in order that we do not decide that we have a cash cow and start moving towards the cash cow while leaving behind the core role of the university which is to provide education up to postgraduate level, at which...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: It is not directly related to the Bill.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Yesterday legislation introduced by Deputy Clare Daly was voted on in the Dáil and defeated on the advice of the Attorney General. The matters surrounding the issue raise questions that must be addressed in a modern democracy. Article 30 of the Constitution states: 1 There shall be an Attorney General who shall be the adviser of the Government in matters of law and legal opinion, and...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I am getting there. The Attorney General gets it wrong sometimes and when that happens-----

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The issue must be discussed in the light of the debate in the Dáil yesterday. The Attorney General sometimes gets it wrong and when that happens, the State must carry the cost of erroneous advice. Court actions to rectify where the law is wrong frequently end up in the Supreme Court. This is a very costly place to have to go and the public carries the cost. Is the legal advice the...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Yes; I am getting there. The advice in question had come from the Office of the Attorney General, Ms Máire Whelan, and cleared the material on the website and in the booklet, "But the Supreme Court found this week that elements of the website and booklet were 'not fair, equal or impartial'". There is also the question of the advice given in 1999 about the Aliens Act. It is my...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I am coming to the end. These courts may make decisions on the constitutionality of any disputed matter and, as such, the advice of the Attorney General can be assigned no more weigh than any other advice available at any given time. I ask the Deputy Leader to hold a debate on the role of the and weight assigned to the advice provided by the Attorney General on legislation.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: They got it wrong in 1999.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The Attorney General is the only practising barrister in the office.

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Given my rather short experience of Bills passing this House, it would be great if the Minister of State can have a word with the Minister for Justice and Equality about the 1998 and 2000 Acts and the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act and she can bring forward these issues. I appreciate they fall outside the scope of the Bill before the House but apparently the Minister of State has...

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I would like to cover some matters not included in this Bill. We have the perfect opportunity now to address not just the issue of gender identity recognition but other areas where discrimination against transgender persons occurs. Articles 2 and 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantee the right to life and security of every person. In spite of this, many transgender people...

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I move amendment No. 33: In page 23, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “(6) A certified copy, a copy or a certified extract of an entry in the register of gender recognition shall not disclose the fact that the entry is contained in the register of gender recognition.”.

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: There are opposing views but the majority of people I have met are very much in favour of not splitting up a family. I have two children. I am not sure about the Minister of State. I love my two children who have forgiven everything I have ever done to them. They have forgiven every mistake I have ever made and every decision I have ever taken. The children of one transgender person in...

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The Minister of State is a man of his word. What he has just announced is heartening but still leaves an element of doubt, which is regrettable. In respect of Attorney Generals taking advice from other eminent senior counsel, I long for the day when an Attorney General will actually publish its advice for the country to see and tell us which eminent counsel provided assistance. I get very...

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: There are people who desperately need this. In the context of what Senator Norris was talking about, I am far from convinced that the marriage equality referendum will be passed. It has been said that 80% of the people are going to support it but the chances are that 40% of that 80% will sit at home and do nothing.