Results 5,661-5,680 of 5,918 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Yes, Senator van Turnhout already seconded it, in advance.

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The Senator seconded it when she spoke earlier.

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Then the Senator moved it and I second it.

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (11 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: We are looking for a seconder.

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

Gerard Craughwell: I find it very regrettable that our concern is about raising revenue from gambling rather than the families suffering from gambling. I take on board the bona fides of the Minister of State but there is an old and wise saying that we should never put off until tomorrow what we can do today.

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

Gerard Craughwell: This would not be the first item of legislation ever written that had something tagged onto the end of it to protect the people of the State. I do not for one moment suggest that a warning in betting shops and on online gambling sites will deter people or reduce the level of addiction. However, as a State and as a people, we have an obligation to warn people of the dangers and to make...

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.