Results 1-20 of 259 for likes to work speaker:Paul Gavan

Did you mean: like to work speaker:465?

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (18 Jun 2024)

Paul Gavan: As always, the Minister of State is very welcome. I wish to address some of the key points in this Bill. The external oversight board, EOB, has been mentioned by almost every speaker at this point. We welcome the fact it is going to be set up on a statutory basis, but we in Sinn Féin still have issues with the Secretary General's ex officio membership on that oversight body while...

Seanad: Housing Commission Report: Motion (29 May 2024)

Paul Gavan: I second the motion. The Minister of State is welcome. I want to start by quoting an email I received this morning. It is from a woman in Limerick who is overholding her current property because she has nowhere to go. She says she has a daughter who has her junior certificate coming up: She recently got mental health breakdown at school as this housing situation is stressful for both...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 May 2024)

Paul Gavan: ...the Cathaoirleach knows, I am spending quite a bit of time in Cork at the moment and last week I had a very good conversation with one of the local taxi drivers there. He was telling me about how tough it is in the industry at the minute, of the huge hours they have to work, issues, unfortunately sometimes, of antisocial behaviour and the fact that it is very hard to get younger drivers...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Mar 2024)

Paul Gavan: ...local businesses. We lost four British shops within one month at the tail end of last year. In Cork, a number of high-profile restaurants have closed recently. The pressure on the hospitality sector from the cost of doing business is particularly significant right now. We have seen similar issues in Ennis, Tralee and Killarney. I genuinely believe the Government should be doing more...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2022: Second Stage (27 Feb 2024)

Paul Gavan: The Minister of State is very welcome, as always. The current employment permits system is designed to enable appropriately skilled non-EEA migrants to fill vacancies that cannot be filled from within the State. I appreciate that this Bill is challenging, technical and lengthy, and I also appreciate the engagement the Minister of State and his officials have had with the office of my...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: EU Directives (22 Feb 2024)

Paul Gavan: It is always good to see the Minister of State. I thank him for coming in. I will start by quoting his colleague, the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, in response to a question from Deputy O'Reilly last November with regard to the platform economy. The Minister said that "Ireland has robust mechanisms for the determination of the employment status and the...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Feb 2024)

Paul Gavan: I begin by acknowledging that tomorrow is Lithuania's national day. I welcome the presence of the ambassador in the House. I want to raise the issue of the economic and social intervention fund, ESIF, for Limerick. This is a really vital fund that has been providing essential funding to community groups across Limerick city, and to some of the most disadvantaged groups not just in Limerick...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Feb 2024)

Paul Gavan: I was delighted to attend, with some of my colleagues from the Dáil, the momentous and historic occasion last Saturday when Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill was elected First Minister with the DUP’s Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly. With many others, I witnessed first-hand epoch-making events. It was a day like no other in Ireland’s long and...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (8 Feb 2024)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Acting Chair. The Minister of State is welcome back. With regard to amendment No. 8, if we want this position to be a truly transforming one for local democracy, the position of mayor must be the sole focus of anyone elected. To allow for other employment during the term of office would be a definite signal to the electorate that this is not a role that has value. If it is to...

Seanad: Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023: Second Stage (14 Dec 2023)

Paul Gavan: Listening to our colleagues, Senators Mullen and Keogan, brought me back in time to 1983, when I first got involved in political action. I campaigned against that awful eighth amendment. Their speeches brought me back to a time when they were the dominant voices. That suffocating oppression of women was mainstream and so strongly in place that it was a horrendous time. As a result, each...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Third Level Staff (12 Dec 2023)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Minister of State for coming in this morning. I also wish to express my disappointment that neither the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, nor the Minister, Deputy Harris, were available to come in. The Irish Federation of University Teachers, IFUT, carried out an extensive survey of more than 550 academics, including lecturers and researchers, in third level institutions...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2023)

Paul Gavan: I move amendment No. 8: In page 23, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: “Report in ensuring people aged 65 years of age have right to retire on State Pension Contributory 45.The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on restoring the option on the right to retire for those aged 65 years of age on a State pension contributory and...

Seanad: Recent Violence in Dublin City Centre: Motion (29 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: The Minister is welcome. On behalf of my party, I first wish to send my best wishes and prayers to the six-year-old girl who remains seriously ill, as well as to the school caretaker, who is a hero and who is also still receiving treatment in hospital after that awful day last Thursday when they were viciously attacked. Our thoughts are with them and their families. Please God they will...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: Go maith ... I will start again. Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirleach. That is the effect of a Billy Bragg concert and being out a little too late last night I suspect. I want to raise the issue of Shannon Airport. A very good report was launched several weeks ago. I attended the launch along with my colleague, Deputy Maurice Quinlivan. It is a report by Oxford Economics that shows the...

Seanad: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Second Stage (22 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I appreciate the opportunity to address this Bill today, which Sinn Féin will be supporting. It is crucial to recognise the origin of this Bill, which is a reactive response to revelations in England, specifically Bristol and two other hospitals, where more than 30,000 bodies or organs were retained. The Dunne inquiry, which was initiated in 2000 but was marred by delays and costs, did...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Development Projects (21 Nov 2023)

Paul Gavan: I welcome the Minister of State. I ask him to make a statement about future funding under the social intervention fund for Limerick city and the implications for vital community projects. The economic and social intervention fund for Limerick city was set up under the Limerick regeneration framework implementation plan, which set out a programme of physical, social and economic...

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: Situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories: Motion (18 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: I just cannot express how deeply disappointed we are by the tactics and the lack of crucial content as regards this motion. First are the tactics of landing us with an amendment to the motion literally after the Order of Business was due to begin, which would not allow us to table any amendments to that amendment. What that does, in effect, is prevent us from debating key amendments that we...

Seanad: Screening of Third Country Transactions Bill 2022: Second Stage (18 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: It is always good to see the Minister of State. I am grateful to have the opportunity to say a few words on this important Bill. I shall start by saying how pleasantly surprised I am to find out that Senator McDowell's nephew was one of the co-authors of a book that was recommended to me. I will certainly go out and buy it at lunchtime. It seems to be very timely in its concerns about US...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Oct 2023)

Paul Gavan: As I will not be here on Thursday, I want to talk about what is happening in Gaza today. I will start with two quotes. I think we all received the first last Thursday from the mission of the state of Palestine, which wrote to us: We reject the practices of killing civilians or abusing them on both sides because they contravene morals, religion and international law. We renounce...