Results 161-180 of 314 for at speaker:John McGahon

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 May 2022)

John McGahon: Before I start, I welcome Councillor Paddy McQuillan. He and I served together on Louth County Council. Although he is from Drogheda and I am from Dundalk, I will not hold that against him. He is a great representative for Drogheda and he is here as a guest of Senator Craughwell. The issue I wish to talk about is as a result of a meeting I had with Paul and Niamh Brady in Dundalk last...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Apr 2022)

John McGahon: A debate that has taken place in other parliaments around the world, most notably in the United Kingdom in the Scottish Parliament and in the French Parliament, is the concept of and debates around long Covid. That is what I would like to ask for today. At some stage in the next couple of months it would be very useful to have the Minister for Health in here for a debate on long Covid. It...

Seanad: Covid-19: Statements (6 Apr 2022)

John McGahon: I have followed regulations at each point but I am against the concept of reintroducing the mandatory wearing of masks in certain settings. It is not about being anti-mask but rather about acknowledging or realising what stage of the pandemic we are in now compared with before. I am more than happy to wear a mask on a train or bus or if I feel I am in a crowded place. I am happy to do that...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Public Transport (5 Apr 2022)

John McGahon: I am here today to welcome a really progressive and ambitious project that we are embarking upon, which is the youth travel scheme. For those who do not realise it, the youth travel card is providing 50% free cost of travel to those aged between the ages of 17 and 23. The reason I am standing in the Seanad today to raise this in the Commencement debate follows on from a very important...

Seanad: Carbon Budgets: Motion (5 Apr 2022)

John McGahon: I agree with a lot of what Senator Dooley said. He referenced the concept of the average punter. I talk about that a lot in this House. What does the average man or woman on the streets of provincial towns like my town, Dundalk, want to be able to do? We all realise there is a climate crisis and everyone wants to be able to play his or her part, but it is about making it financially...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Implementation of the New National Retrofit Plan: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (5 Apr 2022)

John McGahon: What is so important about the retrofitting programme is people are being allowed to live in much warmer homes that improve their health, save them money at the same time, and in a much wider sense, are also so much more beneficial for our environment. That is the key point that is sometimes forgotten behind this. I have time one final question. Perhaps I will come back in later on, if...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Implementation of the New National Retrofit Plan: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (5 Apr 2022)

John McGahon: To follow-up on Deputy Bruton's point, we were mentioning how it makes more sense for communities to come together to try to get a retrofit done, whether that is a street, an estate or a cul-de-sac. Where that is not happening, and Mr. Walsh touched on this, not because there is not community buy-in but because there are strangers living on the street, there is no residents' association and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Mar 2022)

John McGahon: This is one of the sadder contributions I have had to make in the House. It is to pay tribute to the late David Hill, who was playing with the Scottish Parliament against the Dáil and Seanad team on Saturday and tragically passed away during the match. We had come to know David immensely well over the past three or four years, both from going to Edinburgh to play and from them coming...

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...

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

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

John McGahon: ...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 to come in at the end of a debate and to ask an original question. I will try to differentiate my points a little bit and put a different...

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: 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...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: Last week, the EU proposed and approved new targets for renewable energy. We want to hit 40% in the EU by 2030. That is very ambitious. Two elements stand out to me where Ireland is concerned. First, the EU wants to increase the number of cross-border energy connections. Second, it wants to accelerate the approval process for renewable energy projects like wind farms. This will be...

Seanad: Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Second Stage (22 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: I offer my apologies on behalf of Senator Carrigy. Over the past year and a half, he has worked hard on the committee with colleagues. Unfortunately, he cannot make it today. I am happy to fill in for him because this is an issue in which I have taken a personal interest for the past 18 months in terms of big tech and the algorithms that are being used. I watched Ms Frances Haugen's...

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Feb 2022)

John McGahon: Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.