Results 181-200 of 3,864 for speaker:Paul Gavan

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: The meeting organised by Deputy Costello and Senator Black yesterday was really powerful. It is astonishing to see what we are continuing to witness each day. We are witnessing genocide. Like the previous speaker, I entirely endorse the Government's call for a ceasefire, but we have to do more because, as I pointed out yesterday, there are no consequences for Israel. How can that possibly...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I call for the immediate release of Emily Hand and all of the hostages held by Hamas. Once again I utterly condemn the attack by Hamas on 7 October. Horrendous as those actions were, they in no way justify what has been happening in Palestine over the past month. A total of 11,000 Palestinian citizens have been slaughtered, including more than 4,000 children. I want to quote from Gideon...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (8 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: Ah, go on.

Seanad: Ban on Dumping New Products Bill 2022: Committee Stage (8 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I commend my colleague, Senator Boylan, on the way she has led on this issue for some considerable time now. The Minister of State may recall that she originally wanted to amend the circular economy Bill but, regrettably, the Minister rejected that amendment at the time, which would have put the essence of this Bill into practice. I will take up Senator Kyne’s valid point on what...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hospital Overcrowding (26 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: It is always nice to see the Minister of State but I have to be honest, I am more than disappointed that, once again, the Minister for Health has decided not to turn up. I do not know if the Minister of State is familiar with the Coen brothers movie of 2001, "The Man Who Wasn't There". It is a great movie - the Coen brothers always deliver. Perhaps they should write a sequel, "The Minister...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Hospital Overcrowding (26 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate the fact that he has gone to the best extent he can in giving me a response. I acknowledge this. I have a couple of key fundamental problems with the response. The measures taken to date are not working fully enough. Conditions continue to get worse and, in fairness, the Minister of State has acknowledged this with regard to the horrific video...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: I wish to raise an issue around small businesses. I think one thing on which we all agree across this Chamber is the importance of small business to our economic life. I have a shocking tale of a company called FitzMac, which supplies modular buildings for schools. It has done some fantastic work across the country, including on St. Vincent's special school, Lisnagry; St. Brendan's girls'...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: I will send it on.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: Thank you.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: I will begin with three short quotes: I do not know how I will tell her that she will not be able to play with her friends. I do not know how she will be convinced that she lost her brother Mohammed while they were playing; ... The nature and severity of the damage inflicted on civilian infrastructure critical to essential services... cannot be understated... There were already...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: Well said.

Seanad: Non-Fatal Offences against the Person (Amendment) (Spiking) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (25 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: I congratulate the our colleague, the Deputy Leader, Senator Doherty, and the Minister for the very positive approach she has taken to the Bill. I commend our colleagues in the Gallery as well. The world has really changed. It is shocking. Spiking never existed when I was a young person. I have three young adults at home now and I have a party colleague who was a recent victim of...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (Non-Disclosure Agreements) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages [Private Members] (25 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: I congratulate Senator Ruane and indeed her team. This is a really important piece of legislation. As I said on Second Stage, as a trade union official I came across these NDAs and they really are an evil, nasty arrangement designed to silence workers. That is what it is all about, silencing workers who are all too often women. It is a really important piece of work and I congratulate...

Seanad: The Political Situation in Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: It is good to see the Minister of State. The people of Ireland, North and South, have been adversely affected by the behaviour of the DUP and its boycott of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. The political institutions of the agreement have not been fully functioning since February 2022. Since October 2022, the all-island institutions of the agreement have not met. The North's...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: I thank our guests for their patience. Most of my questions have been answered at this point, but I will raise one broad point about the Green Paper. My reading of the paper is that one of its core proposals is to introduce this medical assessment for hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities. I take on board the assurances the witnesses and the Minister have given that this will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Green Paper on Disability Reform: Department of Social Protection (25 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: My final question relates to previous conversations the witnesses had with colleagues this morning, specifically with Deputy Ó Laoghaire. Mr. Hession acknowledged the language used in the Green Paper that states people at level 3 will have to engage. Why was that language chosen? It immediately changes the narrative relating to people with disabilities. It is not language I would...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: That is a shocking message from Senator Clonan this morning. It is an indictment of Government failure in relation to the health service. I have to speak of another consistent failure of the health service in Ireland, namely, University Hospital Limerick where yet another record was set yesterday when 130 patients were left on trolleys. That is the highest number ever recorded in any...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: We share the concerns as raised by Senator Flynn and, indeed, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, and we are prepared to support this amendment.

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: The proposal in amendment No. 11 is reasonable. At the very least, gardaí should be required to inform people that recording has commenced. I cannot imagine why there would be any objection to that.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: I want to raise my genuinely deep concern about the practices that have been implemented this morning in relation to the motion on Palestine. In particular, I am concerned about the deeply cynical decision to put in a further Government amendment at around 11.35 a.m., giving us absolutely no opportunity to table an amendment to that amendment and effectively ruling all our amendments out of...