Results 1-20 of 80 for long speaker:John McGahon

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Apr 2024)

John McGahon: ...attached memo, parental leave was available unpaid for up to 26 weeks, which must be taken before the child is 12 years old, or 16 years old in the case of children with disabilities or indeed a long-term illness. This has now been changed for all children up to the age of 16. In the grand scheme of things, that seems like a good thing. However, from 1 May 2024, child benefit will be...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Departmental Schemes (11 Apr 2024)

John McGahon: ...as we see rising costs for building supplies, for example. This scheme has worked very well. We have seen a huge increase in the number of commencements in the past 12 months as a result of it. As long ago as last September or October, only a couple of months after the scheme was introduced, Senators Cummins and Doherty started the process when they said in the House that perhaps the...

Seanad: Death of Former Taoiseach: Expressions of Sympathy (7 Feb 2024)

John McGahon: It has been a very sad few days for Fine Gael, which like most political parties in this country is a family or tribe, as such, and John was our leader for a very long time so there is a huge tinge of sadness there. When I look at John Bruton, I look at a man who gave definition to politics, to Fine Gael and to his role as a leader and Taoiseach. He was absolutely unequivocal in his...

Seanad: Family Carers: Motion [Private Members] (31 Jan 2024)

John McGahon: .... Senator McDowell will speak next but I would like to emulate former Senator Lydon and be here for the next 15 years. It is great to have him here. I welcome him back to the place he worked for so long.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Jan 2024)

John McGahon: I would like to be associated with the comments made by my colleagues on the death of John Connor. John served for a long time as a Member of Dáil Éireann and of Seanad Éireann. Indeed, when Longford was in the same constituency as Roscommon, there were some very close battles between him and the late Louis Belton. On each occasion, though, where either Louis or John lost...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Second Stage (24 Jan 2024)

John McGahon: ...and executives of councils, whether we like it or not, can do whatever they wish. They are not accountable to the Oireachtas. Nobody is asking chief executives why the housing list is always so long, why there have not been any transfers in the county for X amount of time or why the collection of rates has been notoriously poor in that local authority. I was a councillor for six years,...

Seanad: Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Dec 2023)

John McGahon: I will conclude, because I have spoken long enough. Let us bring this charade to an end. We are either going to sit past 6 p.m.-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Shoplifting: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

John McGahon: I was in that shop a couple of weeks ago and they showed me how it works. I thought this could go a long way. However, margins are tight enough, as they are in every sector, and in retail you are trying to make as much potential profit on everything you sell. Even though something like that will save money by reducing the potential amount of theft, it will still be quite a burden for retail...

Seanad: Electricity Costs (Emergency Measures) Domestic Accounts Bill 2023: Second Stage (8 Nov 2023)

John McGahon: ...work of the budget last year. As I said, we are making it more efficient, which is useful. This all goes back 18 months to when Ukraine was first invaded in early 2022 and we did not know how long the energy crisis or the cost-of-living crisis would continue. It has abated somewhat but it is ongoing. We will not be able to insulate everyone against every price increase. No Government...

Seanad: Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023: Second Stage (26 Oct 2023)

John McGahon: ...this is a straightforward Bill initiated by the European Union. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was where the issue with electricity prices started. In the early days of 2022, we did not know how long the war in Ukraine or the fluctuation in energy prices was going to last. What was clear within the first six months of the war was the huge profits that energy companies were making off...

Seanad: The Political Situation in Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Oct 2023)

John McGahon: ...is the politics behind it? Why are you guys, as a Government, after 13 years in power since 2010, now deciding that this Bill has to happen at this point in time?" He said to me that it had been a long-standing commitment of all Governments since 1998 and that the current Government was going to do something about it. That is all hogwash, however, because three days previously, at the...

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

John McGahon: ...in this House with the Minister would be very welcome. Dundalk is the biggest town in Ireland, with one of the most successful football teams in the country and, in the case of Dundalk Football Club, a long and proud footballing tradition.Its stadium at Oriel Park, however, is reminiscent of a football ground in the 1960s or 1970s and that is why I am calling for a debate on large-scale...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 Oct 2023)

John McGahon: ...small and medium businesses and ensure our small country on the periphery of the European Continent continues to punch above its weight in attracting a level of business support and jobs into this country. Long may it continue. Perhaps at some stage we will be able to have a debate on the general state of the Irish economy and some of the measures the Department of Enterprise, Trade and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 Oct 2023)

John McGahon: ...moment with different constituents and groups ahead of budget 2024. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting with Aoibheann Lynch, who is the principal of St. Peter's National School, Dromiskin, along with Andre O'Connell, who is a primary school teacher in St. Joseph's National School, Dundalk. Both Aoibheann and Andre outlined some of the priorities of the Irish National Teachers'...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (4 Jul 2023)

John McGahon: ...work on time. If we put a bit of accountability on Irish Rail such that there would be financial penalties for the company and financial reward for consumers if trains are delayed, it would go a long way towards encouraging more people to take the train. They would know that if there were exceptional delays, there would at least be value for money given back in the context of their...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Textbooks (21 Jun 2023)

John McGahon: I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. The reason I am raising this in the House is as a result of a conversation with a long-time friend of mine, Tom Muckian, from Dundalk who is an independent bookseller in the town for more than two decades. He brought up three issues with the free books scheme from a bookseller's point of view. I am raising those three issues in the...

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

John McGahon: I am joking. I am just saying that we should be allowed to speak for as long as we like as there is no one else here.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services (15 Jun 2023)

John McGahon: ...wish, because staffing arrangements in the HSE are different in Louth and Meath compared with Laois, Offaly, Cavan or Monaghan. It is upsetting to say the least that this is happening. For as long as I am a Member of this House, I will continue to fight for people in my county of Louth and my town of Dundalk have the same right of access to palliative care as that of people in other...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (24 May 2023)

John McGahon: ...for somebody to put solar energy on more than 50% of a particular field. That could be initiated by a quick change in the Finance Act towards the end of the year. If that were done, it would go a long way towards encouraging more people to get into solar farming and to increase the level of solar farming. That is just one example of some of the ways we need to go about it. It is about...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy Poverty: Discussion (23 May 2023)

John McGahon: ...are renting and on the housing assistance payment, HAP, cannot avail of these schemes because they are not the homeowners. How can these people be enticed to take that up? When she mentioned a long-term lease, how long would that be? Would it be five or ten years? Where does that begin and end?