Results 381-400 of 1,000 for speaker:John McGahon

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: I have a very different view when it comes to Irish neutrality and there must be a discussion on this issue. The international scene and international relations have changed fundamentally as a result of Russian aggression, so the time will come to have a mature debate about that in this country. Looking at the refugee trains leaving Ukraine for Poland, those same trains are going straight...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: This week, I have focussed all of my comments on Ukraine. I have talked about how it should be granted immediate accession to the European Union, how we should ensure that if it wishes to join NATO it can do so, how Ireland's policy of neutrality is ridiculous and that we should be sending weapons to defend against the murder of women and children on the streets of the European Continent. ...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Online Disinformation and Media Literacy: Ms Frances Haugen (23 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: I thank the Chair for allowing me attend the meeting. I am not a member of the committee. The reason I am here is that I have been following Ms Haugen very closely for the past year. I watched her entire three-and-a-half-hour testimony before the United States Congress-----

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Online Disinformation and Media Literacy: Ms Frances Haugen (23 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: -----the European Parliament and the House of Commons select committee as well. I would describe her as having real moral fortitude in coming out of the shadows by herself and taking on a colossal company like Facebook right around the world and speaking to parliamentarians. It takes immense personal character to have the ability to do that and it is to be commended. It is very difficult...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Online Disinformation and Media Literacy: Ms Frances Haugen (23 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: It was mentioned earlier that we are very much living in a digital world and that technology operates at the speed of light. Does Ms Haugen have any confidence in governments and democracies around the world being able to keep up with big tech, which can outgun governments at times, particularly when one considers what it has at its disposal? Does she think there is any possibility of our...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Online Disinformation and Media Literacy: Ms Frances Haugen (23 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: We get it that hateful and divisive content drives engagement and it elicits responses. We get that Facebook's economic business model is built around that. It has been discussed earlier today, but how can we ask a private company to change a business model which will result in it losing money, for example? We have talked a little bit about that today. Would one of the things we could ask...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Online Disinformation and Media Literacy: Ms Frances Haugen (23 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: Of course.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Online Disinformation and Media Literacy: Ms Frances Haugen (23 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: I will ask two further questions briefly. Does Ms Haugen believe that the algorithms governing the rabbit hole – the content someone looks for then taking him or her to more divisive and extremist content – still exist in Facebook or has it tried to move away from them a little since the lid was blown on this?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Online Disinformation and Media Literacy: Ms Frances Haugen (23 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: I have two final questions, which I will ask at the same time. Does Ms Haugen believe that Facebook has become too big to handle? Over the past 100 years in the US, anti-trust laws were used to break up big companies that had monopolies. Should something like those be used on Facebook? Ms Haugen fielded a similar question when appearing before the US Congress when a Senator asked her...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy - Ambition and Challenges: Discussion (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: To pick up the point Mr. Moran made that we see how much more wind companies are now engaging far more communities, and he has given many good examples of that, does he now see a correlation in the number of local objections going before wind farms as a result of that increased level of community engagement?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy - Ambition and Challenges: Discussion (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: Two weeks ago, the EU proposed a new target of 40% for renewable energy. It was very clear about wanting to accelerate the planning process generally for projects like wind farms. We spoke today about the need to have serious finance put into this country to try to get us to where we need to be, to have the infrastructure in place for production and to hit the targets. The EU has launched...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy - Ambition and Challenges: Discussion (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: I thank Mr. Goodwin for his very detailed answer. My next two questions are for Mr. Moran again on the excellent document Wind Energy Ireland provided, Twelve Months to Deliver Offshore Wind Energy. It put together eight recommendations that need to be enacted. Are we in serious trouble if they are not enacted in the next 12 months and will we not hit targets as a result?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy - Ambition and Challenges: Discussion (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: The key point is that there is clear momentum. We have seen how we have passed some significant legislation in recent months. As Deputy O'Sullivan said, that momentum will continue. While it may look unnerving at the moment, we are taking it very seriously. There are eight very good recommendations. Does Mr. Moran want to pick another issue that the Government needs to act on in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy - Ambition and Challenges: Discussion (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: Just to follow up on that, does Mr. Cunniffe think there are sufficient qualified staff in An Bord Pleanála, EirGrid or Government agencies to process these massive infrastructural projects? If not, do we need to undertake a substantial recruitment campaign?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy - Ambition and Challenges: Discussion (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: Does Mr. Cunniffe think such a strategy exists at the moment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy - Ambition and Challenges: Discussion (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: In the short term, I guess we will have to import - for the want of a better word - these experts if we want to get where we want to be. What Mr. Cunniffe mentioned in third level is for the longer term; we are not going to be able to train people and to get them to the level we need in such a short time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy - Ambition and Challenges: Discussion (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: I have one final question. A comment was made earlier about the need to give confidence to the international supply chain to be able to show that Ireland is very serious about this. We need to move from position papers and policy to delivery. A couple of points were outlined on what we need to do in that respect, but is the time so short that we need to need to move from policy to delivery...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy - Ambition and Challenges: Discussion (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: I thank Mr. Moran.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy - Ambition and Challenges: Discussion (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: No. I will ask just one question each-----

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach-----