Results 1-18 of 18 for immigration states speaker:Sharon Keogan

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Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 May 2024)

Sharon Keogan: I wish to raise points related to the continued migration crisis in Ireland. The latest immigration figures show that 8,100 people have applied for asylum or refugee status to date in 2024, which is approximately 61 people per day. If this rate of application for international protection continues, Ireland will reach 22,000 applications this year. We already have more than 27,000 people in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Immigration Policy (8 May 2024)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister of State. To be quite honest, I am very disappointed. While the Minister of State said that legal advice is provided to a private client, the citizens of Ireland are his clients. The citizens of Ireland need to know what the Attorney General's advice is. The Minister of State is the servant of the people of Ireland. They are the most important people when it comes to...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Second Stage (13 Feb 2024)

Sharon Keogan: ...system, removing complexities associated with holding relatives financially responsible for social welfare payments. The Bill makes provisions for individuals granted permission to reside in the State under section 60(6) of the International Protection Act 2015, potentially offering supports and assistance to this specific group of individuals aligning with humanitarian and immigration...

Seanad: An Bille um an Daicheadú Leasú ar an mBunreacht (Cúram), 2023: An Dara Céim - Fortieth Amendment of the Constitution (Care) Bill 2023: Second Stage (22 Jan 2024)

Sharon Keogan: ...change, how many people would respond, "Gosh, we need to get it to alter this pesky Constitution, as it has been holding me back psychologically". How many would kill for the chance to vote on immigration, housing or the HSE? Of course, that would be giving up too much power to the people. They must only be allowed to nod or to shake their heads at whatever the Government serves them...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Dec 2023)

Sharon Keogan: ...instead spends its time solving peripheral minor issues, or non-issues, that make it look like it is actually doing something. In the midst of the housing crisis, the permanent health crisis and the immigration crisis, we are going to spend tens of millions of euro, at the taxpayers' expense, to ask the members of the public if they wish to rewrite portions of our Constitution to make...

Seanad: Local Government Matters and City and County Councillors: Motion [Private Members] (6 Dec 2023)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister of State so much for coming in here this evening to deal with this motion. I thank him for not opposing the motion as well. Could we have a copy of his speech? I know that most of it was off the cuff but that would be excellent so we can circulate it to our councillors around the country. I thank the Government parties for not opposing this motion. I thank the 13...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Dec 2023)

Sharon Keogan: ...protesting the use of that building for housing asylum seekers, truly the actions of the xenophobic far right. The International Protection Office form specifies that this family's entry to the State was illegal, with the reason for requesting asylum listed as "other". To put it bluntly, this whole scenario is a shambles. Stories like this make people mad; that someone can pop over to...

Seanad: Recent Violence in Dublin City Centre: Motion (29 Nov 2023)

Sharon Keogan: ...Senators for tabling this motion and for giving us the opportunity to have a debate about the real issues at play. In the hope of not being constantly hounded for qualifications to my following statement, here they are all in front of the House. Racism is abhorrent. Violence is wrong. Crime should be punished. With that out of the way I will quickly run through a few points. The...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Nov 2023)

Sharon Keogan: ...a shock attack that no-one could have seen coming. Of course, this is untrue. Most of us with our heads not buried in the sand knew this was coming. Many Irish people have been unhappy with the state of affairs for some time. They have made their views known in dozens of peaceful protests and walks across the country. Hundreds and thousands of ordinary men, women and children have...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Nov 2023)

Sharon Keogan: ...plan announced by the Department of the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman. It is accommodation for the beneficiaries of temporary accommodation from Ukraine. There are 74,744 Ukrainians currently in State accommodation. Another 30,000 have sought alternative accommodation either by renting because they can avail of the rent allowance scheme or living with family or friends already here....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Human Trafficking (3 Oct 2023)

Sharon Keogan: The Minister of State is very welcome. I want to ask about the current state of play regarding the fight against human trafficking here in Ireland. There are many issues dealt with in these Houses and in Government Buildings which are pressing, obvious and apparent and which demand attention be given to them, as well as that attention being seen to be given to them. There are other issues...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Human Trafficking (3 Oct 2023)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister of State. It was reported in the UK press last year that migrants across the UK are being preyed upon by immigration advisers and solicitors who are taking advantage of the lack of protections for advice seekers. These rogue practitioners are charging extortionate fees for free application forms and are putting in spurious applications and appeals that have no chance of...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Jun 2023)

Sharon Keogan: ...which predicted it does not matter what anyone says; the Government will do what it wants regardless. The philosophy behind this bizarre behaviour is quite clearly that of an avowed nanny state. The members of our Cabinet and our senior civil servants do not view themselves as servants of the public at all but rather as enlightened and elevated individuals with a quasi-divine mandate to...

Seanad: Accommodation for International Protection Applicants: Statements (22 Feb 2023)

Sharon Keogan: There are no wars or other human rights emergencies to justify the fact that more than one third of asylum seekers are from states such as Nigeria, Georgia, Algeria and South Africa. Why is this relevant? It is relevant because, in a shocking revelation, the State has limited resources. Each bed, apartment and house occupied by an economic migrant is one that cannot be given to a genuine...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Sharon Keogan: ...back from our Christmas break, we should waste no time beating around the bush. We need to address the single most important issue in this country at the moment: the Government's unsustainable immigration policy and what the Government's response will be to the public's reaction to its failure. As protests continue across the country, the Government must decide what its response will be....

Seanad: Public Order and Safe Streets: Statements (23 Nov 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Minister of State very much for coming to the House today. This session on public order and safe streets has been a long time coming. As usual, it takes a viral tweet to get the Government to address something, but let us not pretend that the abysmal state of public order on the streets in many locations in the greater Dublin area is a recent development. There has been a...

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...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Experiences of Migrant Communities Engaging with the Healthcare System and State Bodies: Discussion (16 Nov 2021)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the witnesses for their statements today. My first question is about undocumented children who may come into the State without parents. What happens to those children? They end up with Tusla and they end up in care. Sometimes they have difficulties in getting interpreters when they arrive into the immigration centre the following day. What happens to the undocumented children? Do...