Results 161-180 of 3,863 for speaker:Paul Gavan

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition to Reopen Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's Emergency Departments: Discussion (16 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: People's lives are being lost. I checked this morning and, even as we speak, I believe there are 84 people on trolleys this morning.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition to Reopen Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's Emergency Departments: Discussion (16 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: That will mean at least one further life lost. I would just give one other statistic for the record and for the committee, which is that last year the horrendous total was 18,012 patients for the whole year.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition to Reopen Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's Emergency Departments: Discussion (16 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: Right now, today, we already have 18,963 patients who have spent time on trolleys. We have already broken our horrendous record and there is still another six weeks to go before the end of the year. It continues to get worse and words genuinely fail me with regard to the Minister and the Government's failure to address this.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition to Reopen Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's Emergency Departments: Discussion (16 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I agree.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition to Reopen Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's Emergency Departments: Discussion (16 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I agree; it is even worse than I stated. My point is when we keep seeing it get worse and worse each year, the failure and inaction at Government level is what completely flounders me. It is entirely unacceptable.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition to Reopen Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's Emergency Departments: Discussion (16 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: Absolutely.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petition to Reopen Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's Emergency Departments: Discussion (16 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: That is perhaps the most valuable part of today, the fact the witnesses have brought that list. Hopefully through this committee we can hold the relevant people fully to account. That is the key to this. I commend each of our guests for their presentations and the passion with which they have made them today. I hope the committee will follow through on this. I thank Deputy Buckley for...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I begin by calling for the release of all hostages in Palestine, especially Emily Hand. The fact that children are imprisoned is one of the most horrific aspects of all of this. I remind colleagues not to forget the 173 children being interned by the Israeli authorities. That was the latest figure I could find this morning from the B'Tselem Jewish human rights group. A total of 173...

Seanad: Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill 2023: Second Stage (15 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I apologise that I could not be here for the Minister's speech but I have read through it. Earlier this year the National Women's Council published its report, prepared in conjunction with the Department of Justice, into domestic and sexual violence with a specific look at the intersection of the criminal justice, private family law and public law childcare processes. I will begin by...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages [Resumed] (15 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: My apologies; I have just come in the door. The Minister of State is very welcome. I ask him to explain these technical amendments.

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages [Resumed] (15 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I second the amendment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sustainable Development Goals: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I thank the witnesses for coming in and taking the time to provide a comprehensive opening statement. I will take up the target 8.8, protecting labour rights and promoting safe and secure working environments for all workers including migrant workers, particularly women migrants and those in precarious employment. My colleague, Deputy O’Reilly, asked whether the Department had any...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sustainable Development Goals: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: Dr. Coates is right; most employers are good. The difficulty, however, is that the unfair dismissals legislation is not there for the good employers but to protect workers from the bad employers. I can see Dr. Coates can see the logic of what I am saying-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sustainable Development Goals: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: -----which is that this is an easy route out for a small but significant element of bad employers. I welcome what Dr. Coates said because this is an Act that does need to be reviewed. I urge him to bring that message back, particularly in terms of the changing workforce we have. I am thinking in particular of some of the meat factories, which are a very important sector in our economy....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sustainable Development Goals: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: Dr. Coates would say that and I get that point. This is a sector I have worked with extensively. The way the employers get around that is to focus almost exclusively on vulnerable migrant workers who have come to the country and do not speak our language. They have expertise in that particular sector but they are incredibly vulnerable. Those are the workers I had to deal with when they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sustainable Development Goals: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I understand. That is perfectly fine. Dr. Coates will not be able to answer all the questions we have and I get that. I would very much welcome if Dr. Coates would come back on that. I am pretty sure it was the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, when he was in the role of Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment who said previously the Government was something to doing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Sustainable Development Goals: Discussion (15 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I thank Dr. Coates.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I want to bring up two issues that come up all too regularly in this Chamber, unfortunately, namely, the health service and housing. I will start with the health service and the drastic news of a further extended recruitment freeze across our major hospitals. We are already in crisis. I met workers from University Hospital Limerick a couple of weeks back and they told me they fully expect...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: Well said.

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...