Results 1-20 of 2,120 for speaker:Sharon Keogan

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (19 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: Today, I speak about one of the major crises that is affecting Ireland, which is brain drain. This problem has arguably been with our nation for centuries. The latest wave is ongoing since the crash in 2008 but it is lately reaching critical levels. In many ways, we can all come up with explanations or stories to help us cope with or dismiss the issue of brain drain. We say things like it...

Seanad: Migration: Motion (19 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I move amendment No. 1: After the last paragraph under “acknowledges that:” to insert the following paragraph: “- the Irish people, as the historic community indigenous to this island, possess a unique cultural and linguistic heritage of global significance; further acknowledges that, consistent with the principles of the founders of the Republic and the democratic...

Seanad: Migration: Motion (19 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I thank my colleague for bringing this Private Members' motion this evening and I rise to speak on my first amendment because I believe, if we centre this debate, it is an open statement of principle that focuses on the positive rather than the negative and is a discussion that cuts to the very deep question about who we are and what we must do. This debate is not, and should never be, about...

Seanad: Migration: Motion (19 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I move amendment No. 2: After the last paragraph under “urges the Government to:” to insert the following paragraphs: “- seek flexibility within the EU Migration Pact to address migratory pressures, and to give due consideration to an opt-out of the Pact if the needed flexibility cannot be found within the Pact; - review deportation policies for international...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: The ambassador is very welcome here this afternoon. I note the contribution that Latvians have made to our economy and our country over the last number of years. There are now about 25,000 Latvian people here and they make a marvellous contribution to our country. We all agree that desperate times call for decisive measures. The Government's new housing action plan for 2025 to 2030 has...

Seanad: Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I move amendment No. 14: In page 15, lines 40 and 41, to delete “manifestly unfounded” and substitute “an abusive lawsuit against public participation, the court shall determine the application as expeditiously as possible consistent with the administration of justice”.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I rise today to highlight a deeply troubling issue in our family courts, namely, the misuse of the concept of parent alienation. Yesterday, I attended a presentation by the Alliance of Birth Mothers Campaigning for Justice. What I heard was harrowing. They told us how parent alienation is being used as a legal weapon and a tactic to dismiss mothers' allegations of child abuse against...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I rise today to speak on the state of the immigration debate in Ireland or, more accurately, the debate about having a debate. It is progress, but not enough. In one breath, we are told to tread carefully when discussing the origins of the rapist of the ten-year-old girl in Citywest because the case is ongoing, but in the next-----

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: Yes, I am not going to mention anything.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: Thank you. But in the next breath, TDs fall over themselves to denounce the phantom far right in connection with the horrific burning of an IPAS centre in Drogheda only for it to emerge that the alleged arsonists were linked to organised crime and the attack was likely part of a gang feud.Many in the so-called Opposition were quick to point fingers at the Government for even hinting that...

Seanad: Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I have tabled amendment No. 10b to introduce reasonable caps on damages awarded in defamation actions before the High Court. To say something very simple, justice should be fair, proportionate and predictable. This is not a radical idea but the foundation of any functioning legal system. When it comes to defamation laws in Ireland, we are falling short of that standard. At present, there...

Seanad: Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I move amendment No. 10b: In page 13, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following new section: “Amendment of section 31 of Principal Act 17. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following new section after section 31: “Caps on damages in defamation actions 31A. (1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), in any defamation action before the High Court the...

Seanad: Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I move amendment No. 11: In page 14, to delete lines 6 to 22 and substitute the following: " 'abusive court proceedings against public participation' means defamation proceedings or part thereof that pursue unfounded claims and that are not brought to genuinely assert or exercise a right, and have the effect of preventing, restricting or penalising public participation, frequently...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I have great concerns about the health committee's recent pre-legislative scrutiny report on the health (assisted human reproduction) (amendment) Bill. This report is not based on a general scheme but on the policy paper from the Department of Health. The committee admits this is not best practice. Why are we bypassing legislative norms for a matter as ethically complex and legally fraught...

Seanad: Child Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation Material (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (5 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: Is the discussion on the Bill itself?

Seanad: Child Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation Material (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (5 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I support the intent behind this Bill and I will speak plainly about why it matters, not just in legal terms, but in human ones. I welcome the decision to replace the term "child pornography" with "child sexual abuse material". This is not a cosmetic change; it is a moral correction. These are not images; they are evidence of crimes. They are not pornography; they are abuse. As such the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (4 Nov 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I add my voice to those who offered their sympathies on the death of Sr. Stan. I also congratulate our new President, Catherine Connolly. I wish to express serious concern about the European Commission's LGBTQ+ equality strategy for the period 2026 to 2030. This is not a strategy rooted in balance or democratic consensus; it is a document driven by ideology rather than evidence. It...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Child Protection (22 Oct 2025)

Sharon Keogan: This subject might be of interest to the children. There might be some unaccompanied minors from Ukraine here this morning. We are now over three years into the largest displacement crisis Europe has seen since the Second World War. Ireland, rightly so, opened its doors, but opening doors is not the same as ensuring safety. Safety begins with knowing who is in our care. How many...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Child Protection (22 Oct 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister. Unfortunately, none of my questions were answered but the most shocking line of that contribution is that 777 children are under the care of Tusla and 432 Ukrainian children have aged out. They are no longer in the care of or accommodated by the agency. It is only supporting five young people over the age of 18 today. That is absolutely shocking. I know one young...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (22 Oct 2025)

Sharon Keogan: I will address the presidential election and the growing campaign calling for people to spoil their votes. Some have said that spoiling your vote subverts our democracy. I ask such people to look around the Houses they find themselves in today and to look at the portraits on these walls. Was it a subversion of democracy when 73 Irish MPs refused their seats in the British-approved...