Results 41-60 of 5,475 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2014: Second Stage (19 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2014: Second Stage (19 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Chathaoirligh, agus cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I have very little to say on the Bill other than to acknowledge the great bravery of the Senator who brought it to the House and those who seconded it, including Senator Healy Eames. Members have bravely opened up about their personal lives in here in order to make Ireland a better place for those who have been...

Seanad: Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2014: Second Stage (19 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Sorry, got pregnant some time after her husband died. The woman was taken from the farm that she had been left, she was placed in a mental hospital, her two sons were sent to Letterfrack and her daughter was sent to America. The child that was born as a result was sent to be fostered. It so happened that a relation of mine who happened to be in Merlin Park Hospital met the child 75 years...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: State Examinations (19 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I am not going to ask the Minister to debate the issues she is negotiating with the unions here in public, nor am I trying to negotiate on behalf of the union that I once headed up as president. I know she has noted that members of the unions are in the Gallery. I want to bring a very simple scenario to the Minister. For the sake of argument, let us take...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: State Examinations (19 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I ask the Minister to ask her officials to look at what is happening in Australia, where they are rowing back from in-school assessment, as is the case in Bavaria in Germany. Some of my third level colleagues in the Seanad with whom I have spoken in recent days tell me that academic institutions worldwide are trying to pull away from ongoing assessment in the manner we propose for the junior...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: State Examinations (19 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: In fairness we are talking-----

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: State Examinations (19 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I have confidence that the Minister will also interact.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: State Examinations (19 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Will the Minister look at any research we bring to her?

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: State Examinations (19 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Minister.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: First and foremost, I agree with my colleague, Senator Darragh O'Brien, regarding the debate on mortgages, rent controls and so on. I have spoken about this before and I do not intend to go any further on it now other than to ask that it be considered and brought forward as quickly as possible. I want to ask the Leader about an important item, and I ask that he not tell me it is an...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Should I leave now?

Seanad: Water Sector Reforms: Statements (25 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I am sorry the Minister of State, Deputy Paudie Coffey, is before the House in place of the Minister who made the speech. Much has been said today about the Government listening, but I do not think it is. If it were, we would not be in this mess. It was disgusting to see the Minister walk out of the Chamber after delivering his speech and I hope the Minister of State will convey this point...

Seanad: Water Sector Reforms: Statements (25 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Has the regulator been made redundant? This is an interesting point, but nothing has been said about it. The system is extremely unfair. If I have my own well, my own septic tank, I am getting €100. If I am on the public water utility, I am paying €100. If I am part of group scheme, I am getting €100 and the group scheme is getting €140. I really do not...

Seanad: Report of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges on the Proposal for a Banking Inquiry: Motion (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Like my colleague, Senator Mullen, I oppose this inquiry. I do not know what we hope to achieve by carrying it out. I believe it is the wrong time, as many of the witnesses brought before it will suffer from selective amnesia and Members of the Oireachtas are the wrong people to carry out the inquiry. It should have been carried out some time ago by the State agencies best qualified to do...

Seanad: Availability of Certain Medication: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: One of the phrases in the Minister's speech is telling. He referred to "incorporating new evidence which demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of the drug, by offering a reduced price or both". When one hears that, it becomes clear that the issue is price. Many eminent speakers in the House have referred to the fact that this drug facilitates some degree of recovery in people. The Minister...

Seanad: Availability of Certain Medication: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Extend the scheme until the decision is made.

Seanad: Tourism Industry: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. When portfolios were being handed out, the gods smiled on the Minister. He got an excellent portfolio and a very hard-working Department of which I am very proud, as is anybody in the country. First impressions last. It is always exciting for me to arrive at Dublin Airport. If I were to find fault, it is being told I would arrive at terminal 2 but...

Seanad: Tourism Industry: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: I come from Galway, which is the tourism heaven of Ireland. Some time ago, when driving to Cork, I passed 15 trucks belonging to one of the main haulage companies in the country. It is a game of mine, whenever I travel anywhere, to count the number of times I pass one of these trucks. I cannot understand why Irish Rail has not established regional hubs from which these trucks could feed...

Seanad: Tourism Industry: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Gerard Craughwell: The Senator did a fair bit for that himself.