Results 61-80 of 265 for likes to work speaker:Paul Gavan

Did you mean: like to work speaker:465?

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...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Employment Rights (29 Jun 2022)

Paul Gavan: It is good to see the Minister of State and I thank him for coming to the House. European works councils play an important role in the information and consultation of employees of multinational companies across borders. It is a very important function, underpinned by an EU directive. The directive on European works councils compels member states to put in place adequate administrative or...

Seanad: Sick Leave Bill 2022: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2022)

Paul Gavan: I move amendment No. 6. In page 6, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: “(9) The Minister may by bringing forward a report within 3 months of the passing of this legislation on the merits of regulations providing that subsection (10) not apply until such time as the full roll out of primary healthcare free at the point of delivery has been achieved, and until such time...

Seanad: Sick Leave Bill 2022: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2022)

Paul Gavan: I move amendment No. 14: In page 7, line 8, after “day” to insert “equivalent to their full daily rate of pay”. We have discussed some of this already and but I would like to understand why the Government wants to set the rate of sick pay at 70%. Again, this really impacts on lower paid workers in particular. It just seems low. If we want to talk about...

Seanad: Sick Leave Bill 2022: Second Stage (15 Jun 2022)

Paul Gavan: The Tánaiste is very welcome. Sinn Féin supports this Bill and has campaigned for statutory sick pay for several years. Indeed, today is very important day as it recognises the work of trade unions, which have campaigned tirelessly in this regard. It has been a sad fact that Ireland has lagged decades behind the rest of Europe when it comes to the provision of sick pay so the...

Seanad: Cost of Living: Motion (15 Jun 2022)

Paul Gavan: ...quite a bizarre moment. We have a motion from Fine Gael much of which, essentially, involves the party congratulating itself on the great job it has done on the cost of living before going on then to declare the additional help that we need next January. It is June. There was a lady on national radio the other evening, a number of Senators may have heard her, called Tracy, who came on...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (25 May 2022)

Paul Gavan: It is good to see the Minister of State. He is welcome. The Bill is to be welcomed for the most part. My colleagues in the Dáil have played a key role in terms of amendments to the Bill. Improving the existing legislation is long overdue. Down the years, we have heard all too often of the horror stories and treatment of whistleblowers when they came forward and spoke out. Attempts...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Payment of Interns) Bill 2022: Second Stage (25 May 2022)

Paul Gavan: I congratulate my trade union colleagues in the Labour Party on this short Bill. It has a very simple and clear purpose: to ban unpaid internships by bringing interns under the remit of minium wage legislation. It is a progressive Bill and something we should all be able to support. I am pleased to see the Minister of State is not opposing it at this stage. I hope there is genuine...