Results 1,781-1,800 of 5,749 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (3 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I regret to speak against my colleague on this but we live in an evolving world now and things change. For example, nobody would have believed or envisaged a couple of years ago that the European Union would put its own forces into a specific conflict zone. Therefore, I am reluctant to tie anything down at this stage and urge that we retain flexibility. If we commit troops overseas to...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (3 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: On Committee Stage, that when we deploy troops overseas under command of a local commander, we cede a certain amount of responsibility to that person on the ground in order that they can move troops to different places. If there is any danger that we are crossing the line or being asked to cross the line, there is a senior Irish Army officer or a senior Defence Forces officer in the field...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (3 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I will be brief. The Minister of State has addressed the capacity of the Oireachtas to query all the activities of the Defence Forces through the Oireachtas committees and parliamentary questions. That is there already so I do not see a need to duplicate reporting.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Revised National Development Plan: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I apologise for being late; I was engaged in something else. What I want to deal with is almost a parish pump issue. It comes from Galway, but I do not live there anymore so I cannot be accused of parish pump politics. It turns out the BusConnects service for the villages of Corrandulla and Annaghdown, as laid out in the NDP, seem to be at least 1 km away from Corrandulla and 10 km away...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Revised National Development Plan: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: This is a serious issue in respect of the Annaghdown and Corrandulla areas, especially if we are trying to get people from what I call minor population areas just outside Galway city into the city itself. Getting buses into those two villages is important if we want to achieve that objective. In his letter, Councillor James Charity refers to the proposed 22A and 21A bus routes serving...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Revised National Development Plan: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Yes, but I am not going to put Ms Graham on the spot about this today, because that would be grossly unfair. A problem that might exist elsewhere in the system is identified. I refer to a proposed route that is supposed to hit a particular village but that is some-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Revised National Development Plan: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: We have been a long time trying to get Corrandulla and Annaghdown catered for. They had a bus service previously but then lost it. There was some discussion about bypassing Galway or putting a ring-road around the city. I wish that project well. My point, though, is that it is important to get people into the city. I am sorry that I was late arriving and that I missed the witnesses'...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Revised National Development Plan: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: No, I am not going to put Ms Graham on the carpet today to talk about one micro issue. I just wanted to highlight it as an issue that must be examined. Ms Graham has been forthcoming in saying that she is willing, as part of the public consultation, to take these things on board. I will also share this document with her, and she might then respond to me directly with an answer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Revised National Development Plan: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: We mentioned the Galway ring road a while ago. It has been an issue for a long time. A group in Galway has spent an incredible amount of time looking at light rail systems. One issue that I have as we move forward with plans is that, for example, a bridge is being put over the Corrib using the old Clifden line pillars. I understand that it will be a footbridge. My question for Mr. Walsh...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Revised National Development Plan: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I am happy for the witnesses to argue over it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Revised National Development Plan: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Would Ms Graham be happy to take a presentation from the committee which has been working on this for a number of years? I am not an expert; Ms Graham is the expert. What has been come up with is imaginative and, from a carbon-neutral point of view, it offers the country an opportunity. Galway city is too narrow in every sense for any sort of transport.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Revised National Development Plan: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I appreciate that. I thank Ms Graham.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Foreign Birth Registration (2 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I welcome the Minister of State. This is the first time I have had the opportunity to address him since his elevation, so I would like to congratulate him in that regard. He was a very decent colleague when I first came to this House. I wish him well as he goes forward in this ministerial role.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Foreign Birth Registration (2 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: The Department paused the processing of foreign birth registration applications last year when level 5 restrictions under the national framework for living with Covid-19 were in place. The Minister indicated last year that applications were being held securely and would be processed when normal services resumed at level 3 of the framework. It is now 2021. Restaurants, pubs and restaurants...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Foreign Birth Registration (2 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate he is here representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs. He might bring my message back to the Department. Some of the stories arriving on my desk are about families being split; one parent who has a passport can travel back to Ireland but because his or her child was born overseas the child cannot travel. There are also the retirees I...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: A couple of weeks ago in the House I spoke about the crisis in the Coast Guard. Some days after that, I attended the inaugural meeting of the Irish Coast Guard Volunteers Representative Association in Kilkee. I must say that things have deteriorated to a point where, maybe this evening, we will have no volunteers in Doolin in County Clare. It looks very much like we will have no Coast...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: The north-west technological university is in my own home heartland.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I welcome it too. I am delighted to see Castlebar, my mother's town, getting university status and, of course, Galway. I represented all of those colleges once and I am delighted.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Oct 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I second Senator Sherlock's amendment to the Order of Business. The Rescue 116 families are confronted with the possibility of massive legal costs. I have raised the Rescue 116 incident several times here and the failure to deliver a report. It is outrageous that these families are being called upon to pay for their legal costs. I do not believe they were the people who initiated the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Oct 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: We might organise a specific debate.