Results 1,841-1,860 of 5,749 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Mr. Fraser was aware of it before the Cabinet meeting. Did he not feel the need to advise the Taoiseach?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Mr. Fraser is a well-accomplished individual. His appointment as an ambassador came before that Cabinet meeting as well. The allegation before this committee and in the public domain is that this country is dogged with jobs for the boys. Did Mr. Fraser go through a process whereby he applied and was interviewed by the Top-Level Appointments Committee for his post as ambassador? It seems...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I think it is fair.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: In fairness, Zappone-gate is sitting front and centre before us. A senior member of the Civil Service was appointed to a foreign office, that is, an ambassador's role, apparently without any public competition or any appearance before the Top-Level Appointments Committee for civil servants. I think that this committee is entitled to an answer. We cannot put the Zappone appointment in a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: What was the process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Mr. Fraser has been very-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Mr. Fraser has been very straight and honest.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Given his experience, I would think he is the ideal man for the job in London. That is not the point; the point is that we cannot ring-fence the Zappone appointment and say it was done on a "jobs for the boys" basis, when two senior civil servants were also appointed to ambassadorial roles. They should have been interviewed and should have applied for the posts. The positions should have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: They both speak for Ireland.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I have one final question. It concerns all Ministers' telephones. We have been asking about it for a while, and I was told at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications the other day, that all Ministers' telephones are encrypted. The issue of the Minister for Foreign Affair's phone being hacked is a very serious one. Would Mr. Fraser regard it as being up there with a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I think it is an important one.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank Mr. Fraser. I apologise for any embarrassment I may have caused, but I felt I had to ask those questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Appointment of Special Envoys: Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach (29 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Chairman, I respect your integrity above all things. I have always found you very straight. However, Mr. Fraser is on record as being adamant about process and procedures. Process and procedures is what we are talking about here. One cannot ring-fence one appointment from that day and forget about the other two. Three appointments went before Cabinet without process and procedure that is...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Today, the new Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Major-General Seán Clancy, takes over an organisation that is in very poor shape. I wish him the very best. There is a new Secretary General in the Department and I know that she will work with him to try to rebuild the force. My colleague spoke about front-line workers and of how those who worked in the medical sector should be...

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Second Stage (28 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I welcome the Minister of State and I welcome the Bill she is bringing before the House, although at this point it does not go far enough, and we will talk about that shortly. As Senator Buttimer has pointed out, the last two years have been a very difficult time for the aviation industry. Indeed, the Oireachtas transport committee has spent an extraordinary amount of time looking at the...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (28 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for taking the time to meet the women of honour today. I will place on record the concerns my former colleagues in the Defences Forces have. The nature of the complaints being brought forward by the women of honour, brave women that they are, and the things they talk about tend to happen behind closed doors and in secret. The few...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (28 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I will get another chance to have a go.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (28 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I might be sent overseas.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (28 Sep 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: There is a bit of a difference between the categories.