Results 1,861-1,880 of 1,888 for speaker:Sharon Keogan

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: Before I became a Member of the Seanad a couple of months ago, I thought that I had a bumpy ride when I got on the Cú Chulainn roller coaster at Tayto Park. I have had a bumpier ride since I came in here a few weeks ago. The cervical cancer crisis overseen by the previous Government continues. It has been compounded by the recent tragic death of Ruth Morrissey. Cervical checks are...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I hope the junior Senator from County Meath will be allocated the same amount of grace. Some Senators will be aware that the largest religious minority in Iran is the Baha'i faith. Many people across the country know members of the Baha'i faith who live in their community. Senators may be aware that members of the Baha'i faith who live in Iran are severely persecuted simply because of...

Seanad: Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Bill 2020: Second Stage (30 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I will just need a minute. I am certainly not here to tear down the Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Bill 2020. I welcome the measures the Government has taken and I wish only to add something constructive that perhaps should have been included. Section 8 amends the help to buy scheme, but it applies to only new homes. I would like that to apply to second-hand homes. That is my...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (29 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I congratulate the Minister on her appointment and wish her well in her portfolio. I also commend the Leader of the House, Senator Doherty, on her role within the Minister's Department during the early days of the pandemic, when there was not yet a new Government. Her leadership was very welcome at that time. The pandemic unemployment payment is given to people who have lost their sources...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I support this section as well but I highlight the matter of people under 18 in apprenticeships. They could not access any payment during the pandemic. I do not know if this is something the Minister can examine. Some of these kids leave school at 16, perhaps with a junior certificate, and they get an apprenticeship. I know a number of young people in my area who were successful in...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: What about the people under 18 who are apprentices? They could not access any money. They were not seeking the full pandemic unemployment payment but is there anything to encourage these young people to keep working and engaged with working society?

Seanad: Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I know that.

Seanad: Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister. I appreciate that.

Seanad: Tourism: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. I wish her well in her new role as Minister with responsibility for media, arts, tourism, culture, sport and the Gaeltacht. However, it is a cause of great concern and disappointment not only to me, but to those in the tourism industry, which in normal times contributes in excess of €9 billion to the economy and employs more than 250,000 people,...

Seanad: Tourism: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: Minister-----

Seanad: Tourism: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I wanted to-----

Seanad: Education: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: Does the Senator not have 30 seconds?

Seanad: Education: Statements (28 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: That is disgraceful.

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

Sharon Keogan: I echo the congratulations extended by Senator Flynn to Deputy Connolly on her election yesterday as Leas-Cheann Comhairle. It was a wonderful, well-deserved achievement. She is certainly a Teachta Dála whom I admire greatly. She always sticks up for and does the right thing. She is well deserving of the position to which she has been elected and I am delighted that she won the vote...

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service and Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2020: Second Stage (24 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I welcome the Minister to the House. Like my colleagues here in the Chamber, I will be supporting the Bill. There is broad support for this Bill here today. I would like to raise something outside of this Bill. I appreciate the brief that Deputy Donnelly has got at this time, the humongous task that he has ahead of him and the pandemic times that we are living in but I want him to be...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: I raise the availability of land for the provision of housing. Over a quarter of voters told the exit poll during the general election in February that their key concern when casting their ballot was housing. We are all acutely aware of the hardship being experienced by families throughout the country due to the chronic shortage of housing. We all agree what a scandal it is to have 10,000...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: A number of steps can and should be taken now not later. As a matter of urgency, I ask that the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government come before this House to explain his plan.

Seanad: Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: It is with a heavy heart that I address the issue of the Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020. Whatever view one takes on the details of the Bill, it is clear the effects of Covid-19 on our economy will be profound. I am not convinced that debt through loans is the way to proceed. That is certainly what the SMEs I have contact with are all indicating.Taking on further debt through loans,...

Seanad: Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Jul 2020)

Sharon Keogan: It is not available.