Results 1,801-1,820 of 1,888 for speaker:Sharon Keogan

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Second Stage (25 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister for coming to the House. Public meetings are the cornerstone of local government and are central to the participation of all citizens and members of the public in local democracy. This has been the way since the birth of western democracy. Some 2,500 years ago people would gather in the agora in ancient Athens for political, judicial, commercial, social and religious...

Seanad: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2020: Motion (25 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I welcome the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, to the House as it is the first time we have had the opportunity to address him. I wish him every success in his ministerial post. I welcome the opportunity to speak in favour of this motion to provide State funding to Horse Racing Ireland and Greyhound Racing Ireland in 2021. Horse racing, the thoroughbred industry and greyhound racing are...

Seanad: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2020: Motion (25 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I did not interrupt Senator Boylan and it is very unfair of her to do it to me. I find astonishing these Members support such measures. I am really astonished by that. Not only are some Members of this House trying to depopulate us with abortion but they also want to target breeders by curtailing how many pups they can breed. At the same time as supporting any reasonable measure to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Conference on Future of Europe and Related Matters: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (25 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I wish the Minister of State good luck in his portfolio of responsibility for European affairs. I also wish, Colm Markey, our new MEP, the very best in his new role. My question is about citizen engagement, dialogue and a citizens' assembly. If I were not sitting at this table, I would not know anything about the upcoming future of Europe conference. How is the Government going to do...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: Article 40.6.1° of the Constitution refers to the media as the "organs of public opinion". RTÉ, as the national broadcaster, enjoys a privileged position among these organs of public opinion, and not least because it receives almost €200 million annually from the licence fee payer who is compelled by law to pay. The licence fee payers and members of the public listen to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Foster Care and Complaints Process: Tusla (24 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the witnesses for joining us today. I begin by thanking Tusla for the work it does. I thank all the area managers, the individual social workers and all those in the emergency services who work day in, day out with very vulnerable children who are going through a lot in their lives. I can see that these people are under a lot of strain and I thank them because they are providing...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I hope the Leader will forgive me for being parochial - I do not normally adopt this approach in the Chamber - but I wish to raise the issue of a secondary school for Duleek. There are 12 feeder schools in the Duleek area. We have the land, a 23-acre site that was allocated for the provision of a school by the bishop in County Meath. I have brought this matter to the attention of the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Bill 2020: Second Stage (17 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister for coming in. The Bill is flawed in its purpose of creating an offence of hate crime. It is also flawed in its principle and substance. It imports identity politics into criminal law, which will prove unworkable, profoundly arbitrary and divisive. The Bill is flawed beyond redemption. It is not capable of being amended. This Bill seems like a desperate attempt to...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Bill 2020: Second Stage (17 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: "Go woke or go broke" appears to have been the strategy of Fianna Fáil in recent years. This is another example of that pathetic strategy. Devoid of any true guiding principles, languishing on an historic low of 11% in the opinion polls and registering a paltry 8% support from under 35s, it looks as if Fianna Fáil is going broke. It is being devoured by Sinn Féin on its left...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Youth Services (11 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister for coming to the House to answer this question. I raised it with him at the Joint Committee on Children, Disability, Equality and Integration last week. It is very important that we acknowledge the sacrifices the youth have made at this time. The Minister has allocated moneys for youth services, but that does not deal with the many young people who have suffered as a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Youth Services (11 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister. I am not aware of any youth services that are open at level 5, certainly not in my area. I think the voucher scheme is a really good idea. I honestly believe it is achievable. If the stay and spend initiative is achievable, so too is investment in youth services or recreational vouchers that can be used with certain providers. I am a little bit disappointed to hear...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I wish to raise an issue that I have raised a number of times previously, namely, the Moorhead report and the total disrespect shown to this House by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister of State at the same Department, Deputy Burke, in not coming here to discuss it with us.It should not be forgotten that 49 of the Senators in this...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: That language is not called for.

Seanad: Disability Day Services: Statements (11 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate her on her elevation. I am sure she will do this sector proud. I will begin by acknowledging the sterling work of parents and carers of people with disabilities. It truly is a labour of love and devotion. To contribute to the life of someone with special needs and to help them to achieve at least some of their potential is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Conference on the Future of Europe: Discussion (11 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the witnesses for their presentations. Like Deputy Howlin, I am concerned about how we will engage with the citizen in a dialogue. Many citizens in Ireland are far removed from the EU. Covid-19 has brought the EU to the forefront in their daily lives, given how it is supporting Ireland in combating Covid, but we need to do a little bit more work at local government level. We do not...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: The Government-mandated lockdown restrictions are causing immeasurable harm to the most vulnerable in this country. Sadly there has been a dramatic upsurge in the incidence of domestic violence. At the height of the previous lockdown, Women's Aid responded to a 43% increase in calls from women who were trapped with abusers at home. Women's Aid expects that it will be responding to...

Seanad: Living with Covid-19 Restrictions: Statements (10 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I have been in this House for eight months and this is the first opportunity I have had to talk to the Minister regarding Covid-19. I welcome him here to listen to our submissions regarding the Government's response to Covid-19 and the level 5 restrictions. I express my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who have died of Covid-19 and as a result of Covid-19. I appreciate that...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Act 2020: Motion (6 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I will also support the amendment to the legislation. The Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Act 2020 was signed into law by the President on 11 September 2020. That date of September 11 - or 9-11 - struck me as somewhat ironic. This country and its people are being ruined and reduced to ground zero by the incompetence of this Government in managing the pandemic by means of...

Seanad: Ábhair Ghnó an tSeanaid - Matters on the Business of the Seanad (5 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: Considerable attention has been given recently by the Oireachtas and the media to the ways in which the State has failed the women of Ireland. From that litany of failures, two examples include the suffering of women as a result of inadequacies in the provision of healthcare, such as the continuing CervicalCheck controversy, and the failure of this State to prevent the abuse of women in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Sustainable Development Goals and Departmental Priorities: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (3 Nov 2020)

Sharon Keogan: The Minister is welcome and I am delighted to be able to speak to him. I would like a copy of the data protection impact assessment statement and all records that the Minister is holding and is the data controller of, if that is possible. The Minister says the final report is under review by the Department. Why is it under review? What will be published and what will be amended in that...