Results 1,721-1,740 of 4,178 for speaker:Paul Gavan

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (8 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: Well said.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (8 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: It is nice to see the Minister. He is very welcome. The Bill is an important one and Sinn Féin will be supporting it. Like other speakers, I acknowledge the amazing work done by all the Oireachtas staff here every day, much of which goes unheard and unseen. Staff put in tremendous hours and their dedication and patience with us is incredible at times. It is very important we secure...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (8 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: I need to understand what the step change is going to be and I need to hear it from the Minister because he is the decision maker. He has the power to fix this. When he fixes it, he will be doing so not on Sinn Féin's behalf but on behalf of all of the political parties here. I do not believe there is any difference on either side of this Chamber in terms of what needs to be done for...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (8 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: Why have we not done that? Why have we not ensured that for the contract cleaning staff, who do an amazing job in this Parliament, day in and day out, year in and year out? Their employer group has just abandoned them. It has said it will just not bother with the most recent pay rise they were due. We can fix this by declaring this a living wage site. Why do we not do that and set a...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (8 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: That is just the Healy-Raes.

Seanad: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2021: Motion (8 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: The Senator is hardly very objective then.

Seanad: Covid-19 and the New Measures (Enterprise, Trade and Employment): Statements (7 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: It is nice to see the Tánaiste. He is very welcome. To begin I will deal with those new restrictions announced on Friday. I will not play politics with Covid-19 and we should follow the science. I appreciate the fact the Cabinet has moved to provide supports that are very badly needed. I have a couple of examples for the Tánaiste. I spoke to somebody in one of the major hotels...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: It is nice to see the Minister of State. I thank him for coming in. We are going to oppose this Bill, as I am sure he would expect us to. I will outline the reasons over the next few minutes. However, I will welcome a couple of aspects of it because I want to be balanced and fair, if I can. I particularly welcome the ring-fenced funding for childcare. My union, SIPTU, has campaigned for...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: I ask the Acting Chairperson to tell his Fianna Fáil colleague to allow me to speak.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: I know that I am hitting some sore points but that is okay. I ask the Minister of State to tell us why the Government has backed the special assignee relief programme that rewards existing millionaire executives with up to €110,000 each in tax relief? The Government has set this scheme in place now. The former Minister for Finance, Mr. Michael Noonan, introduced it originally and...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Second Stage (3 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: Well said.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Second Stage (3 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for the level of detail she went into with regard to the Bill. As she will be aware, Sinn Féin has tabled a number of amendments. When similar legislation was brought before the Seanad previously, we supported it. We will also support this Bill.At the same time, it is important that the Minister of State listens to what the Opposition is...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Second Stage (3 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Second Stage (3 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: Good.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Second Stage (3 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: Well said.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Second Stage (3 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Second Stage (3 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: Well said.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 3) 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: I move amendment No. 1: In page 4, after line 33, to insert the following: “ “relevant statutory instrument” means any regulation made under the sections inserted in the Act of 1947 by— (a) this Act, (b) the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020; (c) the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 3) 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: It is a request that would benefit all of us so that we are seen to be accountable and to take part in a democratic process where we discuss and air these issues rationally and reasonably. It would help to enhance the Bill and shore up support for it. We also recognise the fact that sometimes we will not have that luxury and that is why in amendment No. 2 we have also stated that urgent...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 3) 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Dec 2021)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Minister of State for her response. There is a genuine difference of opinion here but I want to acknowledge the point the Minister of State makes about the Minister's offer to share information. That is something that would be certainly be helpful but at the same time our position would be that the Act would still benefit from better Oireachtas oversight. It is not just the Act...