Results 941-960 of 1,879 for speaker:Sharon Keogan

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (19 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I have just come from a sobering EU affairs meeting on the energy crisis. We all thought that we had been heading into just one winter of challenges, but it seems that we can expect those challenges to last for a number of winters to come. I want to raise the visit of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, to Washington DC, in his role as president of the Eurogroup, to oversee a meeting...

Seanad: VAT Rate for Tourism and Hospitality Sectors: Statements (19 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister for coming in. I know how busy he is. It is always good to have the Minister for Finance here. I always say that governments do not create employment, but that they create the environment for employment. Taking away the 9% VAT rate will not be a good environment for continuing employment. This Government published the tourism recovery plan for 2020 to 2023 in October...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU-level Policy Response to Current Energy Security Issues: Discussion (19 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I have a few questions for the witnesses. I am quite shocked to hear this morning that we may expect this to last for another year. The public will be very disappointed to hear that this crisis is going to last that length of time and possibly even longer. I have a number of questions. My first question is for Mr. O'Donoghue. Many European countries such as France rely on nuclear power...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU-level Policy Response to Current Energy Security Issues: Discussion (19 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: Does Mr. O'Donoghue have a view on the Derrybrien wind farm or is he familiar with it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU-level Policy Response to Current Energy Security Issues: Discussion (19 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I thank Mr. O'Donoghue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU-level Policy Response to Current Energy Security Issues: Discussion (19 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: Do Dr. Deane and Mr. O'Donoghue believe the Government should assess the feasibility of building small, modular nuclear reactors to address the long-term needs in Ireland regarding energy? With regard to prioritising our own citizens, data centres currently consume 14% of our electricity, as mentioned by Deputy Haughey. The building of more data centres would increase Ireland's demand for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU-level Policy Response to Current Energy Security Issues: Discussion (19 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: At this point in time they are not doing that. If Dr. Deane was appointed as Minister for energy tomorrow morning, would he pause the building of data centres in this country to prioritise our citizens at this time?

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: In the past few days, two pieces of news have caught my attention. They are two linked items that give rise to some discrepancies. The first is the seizing of a mansion in Saggart by the Criminal Assets Bureau from the Mansfields on account of it effectively being owned by Daniel Kinahan.Second is the announcement yesterday by the Minister, Deputy McEntee, that €2 million sourced...

Seanad: Summer Programme: Statements (18 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I thank Minister Gavan. I should say Senator Gavan; I nearly gave him a promotion.

Seanad: Summer Programme: Statements (18 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I call Senator Pauline O'Reilly of the Green Party.

Seanad: Summer Programme: Statements (18 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Senator for his contribution. He is a wonderful advocate in the House for the disability sector. I call on Senator Murphy and I am sorry to have kept him waiting.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: It is very nice to see Senator Gallagher in the Leader's chair today. I certainly hope he is elevated to it one day very soon.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I unfortunately missed the speeches of Senators Doherty and Seery Kearney earlier but I will definitely support the Bill they spoke about. I wish to raise the recent clusters of meningitis and septicaemia in Limerick, Dublin and Galway, which are very concerning. We have had a number of deaths with cases appearing in young adults as opposed to children under the age of five, where these...

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (13 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: The Minister of State is welcome. I am glad the Bill, which I welcome, is before the House. It allows for money to be put back into households around the country and it will be received gladly. This is a technical Bill to establish the new electricity credit scheme. The big question in the minds of many leading up to the Bill and when the scheme was announced in the budget is whether...

Seanad: Breastfeeding: Motion (12 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I support the motion and commend the Senators from the Green Party for bringing it forward. The benefits of breastfeeding to both babies and mothers are well documented internationally. I was surprised by the figure in the motion that we only have 62.3% of babies in Ireland being breast-fed at birth. This is far behind most of the western hemisphere. I appreciate that the motion recognises...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Employment Schemes (11 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House. The issue on the table is the exclusion of those aged 18 to 20 from participating in the community employment, CE, scheme. It is generally accepted that the Government should reward the behaviour we want to encourage in our citizens, and being an active citizen in our economy is one such behaviour we should champion. While this has...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Employment Schemes (11 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister of State. Why are almost 20,000 people under the age of 25 unemployed? Can they not avail of the Tús, JobPath and work placement programmes?

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Employment Schemes (11 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: Of course they can but if that is what the Minister is proposing, why are we encouraging them by giving them more money – an extra €12 – through the budget? They are not being encouraged to work. They are being given an extra €12 per week to stay in unemployment, to remain as a jobseeker, when we should be encouraging them to get on the programmes. In fact, the...