Results 141-160 of 5,754 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: As far as I am concerned, all we need to do here is remove the phrase "on matters of Government policy". If we remove that phrase, we can agree to move forward on that basis. Again I go back to the situation mentioned earlier, which the Tánaiste did not address. A Pride parade is a political parade. Would the Tánaiste agree with that? If so, then any regulation coming forward...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Does it not advocate for-----

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister for putting on the record of the House that the vast majority of members of the Defence Forces are decent, honest, hardworking, law-abiding citizens. That was an important statement to make in the House today because of the level of hurt there is in the defence community and family due to things said in recent days. The Minister has now corrected the record and I thank...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Yes.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I will go back to my time as president of the Teachers' Union of Ireland, TUI. I remember making a statement one day and at the following executive meeting, one of the executive members asked who had given me permission to make the bloody statement. He said that there was an executive committee and its role was to decide what I could and could not say. We have an additional restriction the...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I move amendment No. 5: In page 9, line 13, to delete “or matter of Government policy”.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I am concerned as we are running very tight on time and there is a huge section of this Bill that deals with the external oversight body on the participation of the Secretary General of the Department. I wonder whether there is a way that we could call on the Leader to the House to extend time and give us another half hour.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I appreciate the Tánaiste's position and he will appreciate that the external oversight body and the participation of the Secretary General is a huge issue.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I assume they have a lot of money to throw down the drain.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I wish to deal with all of the amendments together, if I may, given the time we have. Section 323(1)(c) provides that the Secretary General of the Department of Defence shall be an ex officio member of the external oversight body. Section 323(7) states, "The person appointed (or designated under subsection (6)) as chairperson of the External Oversight Body shall not have served [in] the...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: The Minister does not have to-----

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: It is no secret that I despise the way the IRG report was published. It would have been significant enough at the time to put out two lines saying that there was prima facie evidence, based on research, for a tribunal of inquiry. The rush to the gallows in this building, with rope to hang everybody who wore a uniform, was outrageous and disgusting, but that is not the issue today. We are...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I am anxious to call a vote on this. We are running out of time.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I will withdraw the amendment and resubmit it on Report Stage.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Under Standing Order 62(3)(b) I request that the division be taken again other than by electronic means.

Seanad: Health (Scoliosis Treatment Services) Bill 2024: Second Stage (3 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister for being here today. First and foremost, I do not believe the Government is answerable for everything. The Government puts resources into the health services and it is up to the health services to deliver. Quite frankly, it is very difficult to understand how we find ourselves in the situations we end up in with the health service. There is money being pumped into it...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Jul 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Today we remember the crew of Rescue 111 who gave their lives off the coast of Waterford, near Tramore, after a successful search and rescue mission. Those brave men were Captain Dave O'Flaherty, recipient of the distinguished service medal, DSM; Captain Mike Baker, recipient of the DSM; Sergeant Paddy Mooney, recipient of the DSM; and Corporal Niall Byrne, recipient of the DSM. I will...

Committee on Public Petitions: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman: Annual Report and Other Matters (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: First, I apologise. Typically at this time, what is happening in the Houses is quite insane and difficult to keep up with. I thank Mr. Sloyan for being here. I am very appreciative of his office. The first area I wish to raise is that of pension abatement. I understand there have been several court cases through the years where a pension is seen by the courts as a property right and...

Committee on Public Petitions: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman: Annual Report and Other Matters (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Because we have a situation where members of the Defence Forces who go into certain occupations, such as roles with the Irish Aviation Authority, for example, are not subject to pension abatement. The position is similar for Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas or employees of several semi-State agencies. Abatement was brought in to prevent very senior civil servants from taking lump...

Committee on Public Petitions: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman: Annual Report and Other Matters (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: In the case of service provided, a key component of the confidence of the public to come and use the service is to know how successful things are. Does the ombudsman carry out an after-service investigation or statistical analysis of how long it took to deal with a particular problem, the number of positive and negative outcomes and the number of cases that were spurious and should never...