Results 721-740 of 5,793 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: I am sorry to interrupt, but I wish to ask a question. Should we not have just issued a single line to state that the IRG found a prima faciecase that needs to be investigated? This would have been sufficient. We could then have let a tribunal test the evidence. This is the way it should have happened.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: Some of the statements I heard in the House were outrageous.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: That is what we all want.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: How many aircraft are on the ground?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: I have been ten years asking for something to give hope.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: That is unfair.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: It is bloody unfair.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: There was one goddamn helicopter available-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: -----and it was an ambulance helicopter that had to be taken out of service. Do not try now to make us the bad guys here. The bad guys are those people who allowed the organisation to have one helicopter available, and it had to be taken from Athlone. It is unfair to turn on those who criticise the situation.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: Great people.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: Yes.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: They would not have stayed down.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: I would like to talk to the Tánaiste privately on that. I do not think we can talk about it in public session.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: By the way, we are one of the better ones in Europe.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: Richard Browne is doing a great job.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: It is from the veterans generally. We do not do military honours. We let our people down all of the time. In 1968, the then Chief of Staff wrote to the Minister for Defence and pointed out that we cannot give distinguished service medals and medals for gallantry to everybody. He said that they could not award medals to those killed in the Niemba ambush because it might look as if it was a...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: What is the block? Will the Tánaiste do something about the blockage there is about recognising valour?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: Okay. I just said I would do it for the veterans.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Foreign Affairs Council and Departmental Matters: Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence (17 Oct 2023)
Gerard Craughwell: That is fine, Chairman, but I need to do so now because the IRG report was based on untested evidence. It was based on submissions made to people for God knows what reason. Certainly, there are serious allegations that need to be examined and anybody in uniform will agree there were issues, especially relating to sexual harassment, rape and bullying, but we do not yet know the level. We...