Results 601-620 of 1,000 for speaker:John McGahon

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

John McGahon: I pay tribute to Mr. Stanislav Lapko, who many of us have seen on our national broadcaster over the past couple of days. Mr. Lapko is from Dundalk. He is a Ukrainian national who came to our town and set up a life there. Just two and half weeks ago, he was working in PayPal in Dundalk. He is now on the front lines fighting a Russian oppressor in Ukraine. He is there with a number of...

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. ...

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 (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: The biggest fear in Russia and Putin's Moscow is a free and democratic Ukraine as then people in Russia might look to Ukraine and ask why they cannot have what Ukraine has when they share so many culturally close ties. I have absolutely no doubt Ukraine will be Putin's legacy but it will not be the legacy he intended. It will be the legacy of a stronger and more united European Union and...

Seanad: Situation in the Middle East: Statements (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: This is an important debate and I am happy to give people a bit of latitude as they are speaking.

Seanad: Situation in Ukraine: Statements (1 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: The drums of war are beating across the European continent once again. Death stalks the land once again and things will be totally and utterly different from now on. Things will not be the same as they were just a number of weeks ago. There can be absolutely no legitimate return for Vladimir Putin to the world of political respectability after this is finished. He must be treated as an...

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 (24 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: Like colleagues, I recognise Ukraine is a country that wanted to develop closer ties to the European Union. It wanted to join the European Union and NATO. An attack on Ukraine, as initiated by Russia, is an attack on anyone who is a believer in democracy around the world. That is what is at stake here. Democracy and the way of life we all believe in and support are what is at stake....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Engagement with Representatives from the Committee on the Administration of Justice (24 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: I might come in first with a couple of questions because our time is limited. Mr. Holder outlined the international mechanisms that will be open to the Government to challenge the legacy Bill if it goes forward. Is the European Court of Human Rights the key international mechanism in that regard? This is a bit of a hypothetical question but, if that were to happen, what would be the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Engagement with Representatives from the Committee on the Administration of Justice (24 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: Has there been any engagement with the Garda about that? What Ms Boyd is saying is perfectly legitimate and she is absolutely correct in pointing out what has to be done to try to solve it but if we were to raise this with a member of An Garda Síochána today, what would that member say in response? What is An Garda Síochána saying about it? Has it given any indication...

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-----