Results 1-20 of 105 for speaker:Gareth Scahill

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I rise today, on the final sitting of this term, to talk about school buses once again. It is something I have raised on at least two occasions in recent weeks, but this is a good news story. Bus Éireann this week came back to me and, after a submission I made initially in March, said: We have investigated the feasibility of amending the school bus to serve Ballymoe Village and I...

Seanad: Draft Commission of Investigation (Handling of Historical Child Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools) Order 2025: Motion (16 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I move: That Seanad Éireann: – having regard to the conclusions and recommendations of the Report of the Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools Run by Religious Orders, published on 3rd September, 2024; – noting that it is the opinion of the Government that these matters of significant public concern require, in the public interest,...

Seanad: Draft Commission of Investigation (Handling of Historical Child Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools) Order 2025: Motion (16 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I thank the Minister for coming in today. I suppose we are all considering this motion with a deep sense of responsibility and with a conviction to support it and the establishment of the commission of investigation into the handling of historical child sexual abuse in day and boarding schools. This is a long-overdue recognition that the education system and the institutions that govern it...

Seanad: Sport: Statements (16 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I thank the Minister of State very much for facilitating today's statements on sport. Like previous speakers, I reiterate the health benefits of investing in sport. We have often spoken in this Chamber about revitalising and regenerating rural Ireland and what a rural economy needs to survive. Sporting facilities are what a community needs to survive. I am not so old that I do not recall...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I rise today following a meeting yesterday with the Irish Hotels Federation, IHF, which is a representative body that represents more than 900 hotels and guesthouses employing approximately 66,000 people nationally. We in this House are all familiar with their ask with regard to the VAT rate. However, I wish to look a bit further and call for a discussion in this House on how we can support...

Seanad: Transport Policy: Statements (10 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I was going to say, "Happy birthday".

Seanad: Transport Policy: Statements (10 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I welcome the Minister of State, once again, to the Chamber. The Minister of State always seems to come in just before I speak but I thank him for coming in again. In the Minister's opening statement, he mentioned the passenger cap at Dublin Airport. While I was planning to talk about balanced regional investment and the north west, I recall speaking following St. Patrick's weekend to a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Pension Parity and Working Conditions for School Secretaries and Caretakers: Fórsa (10 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I thank the witnesses for attending here today. My colleague beside me mentioned the value of the secretaries and caretakers. I grew up in a time when you knew your secretary in the school and the caretaker. Sometimes there was a fear element in relation to the teachers but there were constants who you could rely on. That was the secretaries and it probably still is. Therefore, as my...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Pension Parity and Working Conditions for School Secretaries and Caretakers: Fórsa (10 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: Mr. Hearne spoke on the specific case of the caretakers. Are all contracts secure and annualised now or are there still long-term contracts and situations where caretakers might have to go on social welfare during the summer?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Pension Parity and Working Conditions for School Secretaries and Caretakers: Fórsa (10 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I reiterate what my colleagues have said. I thank the witnesses for coming in. I found it informative. We will be following up on this and I wish them good luck.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth: Pension Parity and Working Conditions for School Secretaries and Caretakers: Fórsa (10 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: It is very important that is sorted out. We will try and work with the caretakers on that because, as we have said, the caretaker is the person there at 7 a.m., and for school masses or any evening function, the caretaker is the last person there at night. Their status needs to be regularised and their jobs protected.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Flexible Work Practices (9 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I thank the Minister of State for once again gracing us with his presence. He is a great friend to this Chamber. I thank him for always making himself available to us. I call on the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to make a comprehensive statement on the Department’s remote working strategy and the specific targets set out for the remainder of this...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Flexible Work Practices (9 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I thank the Minister of State. At a time when Ireland has nearly 100% employment, we have the capacity to deliver high-paying, knowledge-based jobs directly into the heart of rural communities. Tens of thousands of remote-working roles are available globally. Ireland is well-positioned to capture a significant share of this market. By establishing the right structures, Ireland could...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I rise today following a visit to Ballaghaderreen in west Roscommon last Friday with Deputy Grace Boland for the unveiling of a mural dedicated to her father and his enactment, as Minister for Education in the early 1980s, of the abolition of corporal punishment. It was very poignant on the day to hear it was not a very popular suggestion when he brought it up. However, he did it because,...

Seanad: Post Office Network: Statements (9 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: The Minister of State is welcome. It is great we have a rural Minister of State who understands this brief and the impact of post offices on rural communities. Post offices have long been more than simply places to post letters or collect a parcel. As we have heard tonight, they are trusted local institutions that support the day-to-day lives of people in every corner of our country....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I thank the Minister of State for attending this morning and wish her the very best of luck in her new role. I compliment her on her ability the other Senator's questions without prompting. It demonstrates her understanding of this particular brief.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: One of the things I was trying to figure out was how we will align Ireland's national AI strategy, AI: Here for Good, with the EU AI Act. However, in her statement the Minister of State has given us an outline of that and the bodies that will be co-ordinating it. Is she confident that the expertise is there at the moment or is she confident that we can recruit the expertise needed to meet...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: The Minister of State mentioned research. Very recently, the Financial Services Union, FSU, produced some research. Some 70% of the respondents felt that they were uncomfortable with their ability to utilise AI tools in their work on a daily basis. The research also mentions people's fears for their jobs in that particular sector. I believe that would be replicated in all enterprises and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: I am optimistic as well about the future of jobs and the earning potential of people in that sector. It is important that the Minister of State and her Department are also giving out that message to the general public so there is optimism on that side. The Minister of State mentioned that it is vital to have sources of jobs in every town and community and that she will provide them with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Jul 2025)

Gareth Scahill: The digital transition fund has about €58 million in it at the moment. That is the fund the LEOs are tapping into for SMEs. Is that sufficient or does the Minister of State see it being increased moving forward?