Results 161-180 of 5,745 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Committee on Public Petitions: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman: Annual Report and Other Matters (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: It seems mediation is a key tool used by the ombudsman. How happy are the witnesses that the mediation system works, particularly since the financial crash? Since the financial crash, there have been people within this organisation here who have set themselves up as mediators between lending institutions and distressed mortgage holders and the likes. Does Mr. Sloyan see mediation as a key...

Committee on Public Petitions: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman: Annual Report and Other Matters (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I will let the Chairman move in for a while.

Committee on Public Petitions: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman: Annual Report and Other Matters (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank the Cathaoirleach. It is great that I am one of only three members present today. On complaints, where do the majority of complaints received by the office of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman come from? Are they coming from banking or from insurance?

Committee on Public Petitions: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman: Annual Report and Other Matters (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Has the office received any such complaints?

Committee on Public Petitions: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman: Annual Report and Other Matters (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: That is the people who cannot sleep at night. They constantly send me emails and tell me I put them to sleep.

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: The Chairman and other members of the committee have shown great compassion for this case but mental health issues are always down to the professionals working in the field. I do not believe this committee is in a position to dictate to the local mental health assessors how this person should be treated. It is a heartbreaking case. The Chairman made that point himself when speaking to me....

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: This is something that will pass through the Houses of the Oireachtas. It does not have any place in the petitions committee. It is up to the Legislature, which is put there by the public.

Committee on Public Petitions: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman: Annual Report and Other Matters (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Sadly, too many of us who have pension queries are already in the departure lounge and we may not last long enough to get an answer to the question, which is always a problem. Regarding the mediation process, I am a former leader of a trade union so I am very familiar with mediation. Sometimes, it is much easier to do mediation without physical appearances. Sometimes the level of anxiety,...

Committee on Public Petitions: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman: Annual Report and Other Matters (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I wonder about those we used to call "loan sharks", the guys who operate on the edge of the financial world offering small loans. We hear anecdotal stories about them waiting outside the post office to take the children's allowance off a lady. How prevalent is that practice now? Is it something the FSPO has statistics on?

Committee on Public Petitions: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman: Annual Report and Other Matters (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I am delighted to hear the FSPO is increasing employment at the office. Are all those being hired people from financial services, chartered accountants, etc?

Committee on Public Petitions: Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman: Annual Report and Other Matters (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I ask that when we have the ombudsman before the committee in the future, we try to do it mid-term rather than coming up to the end of the year. There is so much going on in the Houses right now, with legislation being rushed through, last-minute meetings and all that sort of stuff as we come to the recess. It is a bit unfair on the witnesses to have such a small turnout. Ordinarily, we...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Going back to when we looked at this, what we have now asked is if there is an impediment to changing the legislation, that should be dealt with by the Department. Typically, when we are talking about credit unions, it is a double-edged sword. We never know the reason a person may want to put in an appeal but, by and large, any position that is in the public arena should have an appeals...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. I congratulate the new Deputy Leader, Senator Kyne. I am delighted for him as a fellow Galwegian and to see him take on the role of Deputy Leader. I know he will be ever-facilitating of me-----

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: -----in the coming months and years.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Next week we will be discussing independence and it has two factors. There is independence in fact and independence in appearance. Next week we will be looking at Committee Stage of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the issue of the independence of the external oversight body will arise. Every Member of this House who has spoken on Second Stage of the Bill has said that it is...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Absolutely.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: Give them homework off next year.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I rise today again to discuss the Defence Forces and the press fest there is around what has happened in Limerick. No workplace in this country is immune from bullying and harassment in the workplace. Eight years ago, I raised in this House the possibility of bringing bullying in under criminal offences. I never wanted to speak about my own experiences publicly but I was bullied severely...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I, too, would like to join with people who commended Natasha O'Brien on coming into the public domain to tell her story. However, I would caution that the case of the man involved is far from over and the last thing we want to do is provide some sort of defence that he has already been tried in the public domain. We need to be very careful and measured in what we say. I have always...

Seanad: Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Second Stage (25 Jun 2024)

Gerard Craughwell: I want to address the superannuation side of the Bill. There has been a tendency to believe that one size fits all when it comes to superannuation in the public service, and it does not. Where we have people on accelerated pensions because of the nature of the work they do, we have failed to recognise the impact the legislation has had. We are now finding that members of the Garda, the...