Results 121-140 of 509 for at speaker:Gary Gannon

Organised Crime: Statements (20 Apr 2023)

Gary Gannon: -----for some, this is not actually about the communities who are impacted, devastated and exploited by the issue of organised criminality. It seems to be an opportunity to just take shots and further relegate this Chamber to some form of Westminsterisation. I will not stand for it. This is an important topic that impacts the community I represent and we will have our time to talk about...

Organised Crime: Statements (20 Apr 2023)

Gary Gannon: I would also offer another example for the Deputy maybe to investigate, which is the Icelandic model. The Icelandic model of intervention in organised crime, once again, is about early intervention. It gives, by right, every young person in that country access to culture and drama because a gateway to engaging in criminality and that form of desperation is poverty and a lack of opportunity....

Vacant Homes Tax: Motion [Private Members] (19 Apr 2023)

Gary Gannon: In this Chamber and indeed in this Republic we are no strangers to the word "crisis". What I find fascinating about its use and how it is regularly thrown around this Chamber is that the word "crisis", which means the same thing regardless of the context in which it is used, can evoke such a divergence of urgency from those in power, depending on who is impacted by it and who is at fault for...

Post-European Council Meeting: Statements (18 Apr 2023)

Gary Gannon: I express my best wishes to EU ambassador Aidan O’Hara on what must have been an incredibly traumatic experience. I am going through the minutes of the EU Council meeting so I can differ from other contributors. What stood out for me was the EU’s strong condemnation of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia for imposing import bans on Ukrainian grain and farm produce, and rightly so. ...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Building Projects (30 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: I thank the Minister of State for stepping in to give the response. I appreciate this is not his Department. I am also conscious that should an answer such as this be given about a school in his area, he would not be satisfied. None of us would be. I appreciate there are capital construction costs and increasing construction costs due to a number of factors, not least the war in Ukraine....

Report of the Independent Review Group on Dignity and Equality Issues in the Defence Forces: Statements (30 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: Bullying, harassment, intimidation, discrimination, assault and rape - what is hazing if not a form of torture? - are the conditions for women in the Defence Forces, as captured in this report. They are nothing short of medieval. The report by the independent review group has revealed heinous crimes of the very worst kind, many of which may still be happening to this day. The details and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fuel Poverty (28 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: That is really important information about the heating supplement being paid outside of the winter months. How many families are aware of that? For example, if you take the figure of two out of every five families in the country being cast into energy poverty several months ago, I imagine some sort of awareness campaign is needed so people know there are supports. I accept there are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fuel Poverty (28 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: I thank the Minister of State for his response. If we cast our minds back to the colder months of last year and early this year, in November, December and January, the issue on most of our lips was energy poverty and the number of families being cast into it. Two in every five households were experiencing energy poverty at that time. If we turn then to today, while the weather has changed...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (23 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: ...to have a referendum on placing a right to housing in our Constitution. I believe it was last March, a year ago, when the Minister responsible for housing, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, announced that the wording of the referendum was due in the early part of this year. While I understand the wording is tied up in legal argument at the commission, the Government’s actions have...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: State Examinations (23 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: 11 o’clock I do not doubt the Minister's passion for the issue. An exception was previously made for a student who experienced appendicitis during an exam. Let us not treat differently those who experience a seizure, as some unfortunately do. Let us take it that all of us across the Chamber, including the Minister and I, agree that if a student who experiences epilepsy has a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: State Examinations (23 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: As the Minister is aware, Epilepsy Ireland has long campaigned to ensure that if a student experiences a medical emergency, such as a seizure, during the leaving certificate exam and is unable to complete the exam, he or she should be given the opportunity to resit the exam within the deferred exam cycle. The fact that this is not already the case is beyond belief. I raised this matter...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (22 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: I appreciate that there is so much going on in the world, particularly in respect of Russia's inhumane invasion of Ukraine and the migration crisis, which I hope to get to shortly, but it is impossible to avert our gaze from what is occurring in Palestine right now. I find it quite lamentable that the Taoiseach did not mention it in his opening address and I would like to understand that a...

Reform of Carer's Allowance Scheme: Motion [Private Members] (22 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: I welcome this motion and commend Deputy Harkin for tabling it. It recognises carers’ invaluable contribution to society and highlights their mistreatment by the State, something I hope we can all come together in this Chamber to rectify. I echo the call made in the motion for an increase in the income disregard for the carer's allowance to €900 per week per household, or the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Air Quality (22 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: It is not an exaggeration to say that Phibsboro junction in my constituency is literally riddled with air pollution. Locals say the smell and the heaviness of the air are inescapable as are the negative effects on one's body. Some in the area, including businesses, feel they are forced to keep their windows closed as what is allowed in when they open them is the furthest thing from clean....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Undocumented Irish in the USA (21 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: I appreciate that. I followed events quite closely and understand the importance of the visit. I should give forewarning that at the end of my contribution I will turn my attention from the situation of the undocumented Irish in the US to the situation of undocumented people here in Ireland. This time last year the Minister for Foreign Affairs made it clear that the situation of...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Health Strategies (21 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: One strand of the well-being framework is dedicated to improving the mental health of the population in their workplaces, schools and homes. However, it was reported this morning that there has been a drop since the pandemic in the number of people who believe it is okay to ask their employer for a mental health break. St. Patrick's Mental Health Services in Dublin have shown that 22% of...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (21 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: The Taoiseach recently spoke of the responsibility of all politicians to fulfil the promise of the Good Friday Agreement not only in the area of peace but also when it comes to reconciliation. I do not for a moment disagree with that assertion but I will add that, as we approach the 25th anniversary of the agreement, we have much to do when it comes to the implementation of the goals...

Comóradh Sheachtain na Gaeilge: Ráitis (9 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. How nervous I felt is not reflection of how welcome I feel when I become engaged in the language. I feel particularly grateful towards Conradh na Gaeilge, which has been very engaging towards me as someone who does not yet speak the language. I have been able to advocate for communities that do because of the great work of people in Conradh na Gaeilge and...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Mar 2023)

Gary Gannon: Ending the eviction ban is simply reprehensible. To end it now, during this time of crisis, while announcing schemes which the Government has no details of or dates for the necessary legislation is an abdication of duty and people will suffer. Renters are bearing the brunt of one of the harshest cost-of-living crises in the history of the State and the Government is going to offer them...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Integration and Refugee Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Feb 2023)

Gary Gannon: I suppose the question was framed as a statement that we would obviously protect the right to protest at absolutely all costs but there also has to be a line where we differentiate protest from intimidation. That is really important.