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Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Tax Reliefs (8 Feb 2023)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for coming to the House. I want to highlight the appalling existing arrangements that apply to the charging of VAT on vehicles modified for the use of people with significant disabilities. These modifications are absolutely necessary and can only be made in countries outside Ireland. I am delighted that we are joined in the Chamber by Ms...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services (Safe Access Zones)) Bill 2022: Department of Health (Resumed) (18 Jan 2023)

Paul Gavan: It is good to be here this morning. I welcome our guests. The last time I attended this committee, which was over MS Teams, I was quite taken aback by the lack of answers I got on where the Bill was at. I want to put that in the context that the Minister had promised that a Bill would be introduced by March last year. It is very clear from the opening statement and the work of this...

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2022: Second Stage (15 Dec 2022)

Paul Gavan: The Minister of State is very welcome. As we know, this Bill needs to be passed every year to allow the Department to spend the allocated moneys. It is a bit of housekeeping that has to be done. Of course, Sinn Féin will support the passing of the Bill. This debate gives me an opportunity to raise some local issues regarding capital spending or more frankly, the lack of capital...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare (Dogs) Bill 2022: Second Stage (14 Dec 2022)

Paul Gavan: Is it? On a serious note, I believe it is important to recognise, and there has been collective agreement on this point, that we have a real problem with policing and enforcement. I refer to that awful incident with that poor child. My heart goes out to him and his family. We also have to be clear that what we need is enforcement and resources, otherwise new laws are not going to help the...

Seanad: Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Paul Gavan: The Minister of State is very welcome. I think he will be here again later tonight, so I hope he had his Weetabix this morning. I welcome the Bill on behalf of my party. The Bill will make amendments to the Credit Guarantee Act 2012 with the aim of supporting the needs of businesses during this time of rising inflation and costs caused by Russian's invasion of Ukraine. The development of...

Seanad: Ireland's Military Neutrality: Motion [Private Members] (23 Nov 2022)

Paul Gavan: Some of the Senator's contributions on the current war in Ukraine have been extremely valuable. Like others, I have been listening to his contributions on Eamon Dunphy's podcast, "The Stand". They give us all a really good insight. This is a timely and welcome motion. The Senator is right that we should focus on light, not heat, and on what we all agree on. It is clear we all agree that...

Seanad: Central Bank (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (17 Nov 2022)

Paul Gavan: I welcome our guests in the Chamber this afternoon. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I welcome this Bill. I was proud to second the First Stage of this Bill in the Seanad a few weeks ago. I recognise the work of Senator Ardagh in particular, her colleague Senator Buttimer and my own colleague, Deputy Guirke, who has also been a champion of this Bill. As others have mentioned, when this...

Seanad: Private Nursing Home Sector: Statements (16 Nov 2022)

Paul Gavan: It is good to see the Minister of State. I acknowledge her work and her commitment in this area. I will start by painting a picture of the stark reality facing the health system. More than 2,000 nursing home beds have been lost since 2018, with the closure of 64 nursing homes over the last four years. At a time when hospitals are packed full, when we need step-down beds and residential...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Redundancy Payments (15 Nov 2022)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Minister of State. In February last year workers at Rehab Enterprises in Limerick were informed by senior management that the company would make 36 workers redundant following a 30-day consultation period. Most of these workers were earning the minimum wage of €10.20 at the time, of which 75% was subsidised under the long-standing disability wage subsidy scheme. The...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Nov 2022)

Paul Gavan: Like others, I want to begin by expressing sympathy on behalf of our party on the passing of Vicky. Even though we knew she was very ill, it was still shocking to hear that she had passed away. Vicky Phelan was a graduate of UL and had particularly close links to Limerick. She was a past staff member of the university and of course was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2018 in recognition...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Nov 2022)

Paul Gavan: Today I want to raise the issue of the cost-of-living crisis and ask for an urgent debate on the matter. Some of the Members may have seen the survey published by Barnardo's at the end of last week that showed that there were times in the past 12 months when one quarter of families across this State could not feed their children. The same survey also showed that some 41% of households have...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Authority Staff (18 Oct 2022)

Paul Gavan: I wish to raise the issue of resourcing for the housing department of Limerick City and County Council, specifically the need for a dedicated team to drive affordable housing targets forward. Right now, the same staff are trying to keep their social housing targets on track while also having to share time to keep their affordable housing projects up to speed. Clearly, this is neither ideal...

Seanad: Passport Office: Motion (5 Oct 2022)

Paul Gavan: The Minister of State is very welcome. I got my first passport in 1988. I did not get it in Ireland but in London. I had been forced to emigrate like so many more people at that time. It meant an awful lot to me that I could access an Irish passport as a London-Irish citizen by going to my embassy. It was so long ago I was travelling through a country that no longer exists, Yugoslavia. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Update on Quarters 1 and 2: Discussion (5 Oct 2022)

Paul Gavan: I want to move on because of the shortage of time. My second question relates to a commitment given by the Minister of State, Deputy English, earlier this year to deal with the fact that fishers cannot currently take cases under Part 2 of the Organisation of Working Time Act. There have been some chilling cases on the exploitation of fishers. One of them, put up yesterday on the Workplace...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: European Union (22 Sep 2022)

Paul Gavan: ...before with her in the previous Dáil. I am delighted she is here and I thank her being here. Six Syrian migrants, including three children, died from thirst and hunger last week while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. The children were aged just one, two and 12. They had drifted at sea for days before eventually being picked up by a merchant ship and taken to Sicily....

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Sep 2022)

Paul Gavan: I raise the issue of the workers in section 39 organisations who are going on strike this week. A number of workers from the Irish Wheelchair Association, St. Joseph's Foundation and EmployAbility are on strike today in Cork. Tomorrow, workers in the Western Care Association in Mayo, Ability West in Galway and selected community employment schemes in Donegal will be striking. The final...

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) (12 Jul 2022)

Paul Gavan: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, back to the Chamber. I am standing in to speak for my colleague Senator Warfield. The principle behind amendment No. 10 is the most important point that we would like to see reflected in the Bill. Nowhere in the Bill makes any reference to the public nature of our higher education system. The value of having a public education system cannot be...

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) (12 Jul 2022)

Paul Gavan: I thank the Minister. He did well to get back on all of those amendments. I wish to make a couple of points. The Minister is right that we support this Bill. I very much acknowledge the point made by him on grants. The announcement earlier this year was very welcome in that we will not being going down the loans route. Our amendment were to protect and enhance the public nature of the...

Seanad: Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022: Second Stage (11 Jul 2022)

Paul Gavan: That is why I want to put on record what they have said about this Bill. I am quoting directly from them; these are their voices. They say: It is imperative that the voice of the Homeowners, the victims of Defective materials, is heard and ... [in particular] the Government ... [politicians] ... listen before it is too late. Listen, because to date, you have not listened. We are angry,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Jul 2022)

Paul Gavan: I extend a warm welcome to Ms Cara Hunter MLA and Dr. James Wilson. It is great to see them here today. There is a strike happening today on behalf of the Irish Wheelchair Association in 50 centres throughout the State. The workers are personal assistants who carry out very important work in terms of personal care, hygiene and the social outlets they create for their clients. As one...