Sharon Keogan
Industrial and Commercial Panel · Independent · Ireland
“The future of European border security is being decided right row at the European Commission. It is currently drafting the renewed mandate of Frontex, the EU border police force. As Ireland holds the rotating EU Presidency, the Minister for justice cannot simply pose as a disinterested broker while our European borders are compromised.”
“Holding the EU Presidency gives this Government massive agenda-setting leverage at the Council of Ministers. The Minister must use this chairing power to strip out counterproductive rights promotion provisions. Under the guise of good intentions, these provisions and their enforcers have defanged and undermined Frontex.”
“I thank the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I appreciate that he will engage with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on this. We live in the land of technology.”
“The Minister, Deputy Calleary, is welcome to the House. I rise to focus the attention of the House on a vital public service that sits at the very heart of social inclusion on this island, the free travel scheme.”
“Sitting down with Stormont to deliver a single unified rule book for free travel means we lift everyone to the same high standards of dignity and mobility, ensuring that a person's vulnerability is not penalised simply because of the jurisdiction they happen to live in.”
“It will point to the senior pass scheme, where a resident here can apply for a separate concessionary card to travel into the North. Let us be completely honest with ourselves.”
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Every one of 772 lines we hold for Sharon Keogan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 16.
“In January, I stood in this Chamber and called for the abolition of the universal social charge. Today, in light of the recent protests, the ongoing energy crisis and the relentless cost-of-living crisis, I find myself compelled to make that call again but I want to go further. In recent weeks, we have heard much talk from Government about increased expenditure, more subsidies and so on, justified by the ever-growing projections of a budget surplus. There is another model that deserves serious consideration; reducing and abolishing the burdensome taxes rather than endlessly expanding spending, most especially the USC.”
“She is the most voted female Senator in the Chamber and she has as much right to be here as any of us. I commend her, and I hope she does not take any of that rubbish to heart. I am a believer in free speech and debate, but such abusive comments hurt our national discourse and, most of all, let down those who utter them.”
“These websites provide anonymity for buyers, pimps and traffickers while generating millions in profit. If the law cannot reach those who openly organise, advertise or profit from the breach of our laws then we must ask ourselves who exactly is the law for. I call for a debate to allow the House to discuss these issues, particularly as the continued existence of the website in question is nothing short of a mockery of our laws. I also want to address the online abuse received by my colleague Senator Eileen Flynn. While I disagree with a number of Senator Flynn's opinions, I restrict my criticisms to the opinions and not the woman herself. Comments on Senator Flynn's background as a member of the Traveller community, the way she dresses and the way she speaks are racist, deplorable and, worst of all, intellectually bankrupt.”
“This is organised, transnational activity, not casual online behaviour. These concerns are now underlined by serious, independent research. The Sexual Exploitation Research and Policy, SERP, Institute, which has called on our Minister for justice to take action, reports stark findings. Hundreds of women are advertised daily across the island of Ireland on these platforms, with over 900 on a single site. The majority are young migrant women, many of whom have limited English. In a four-week analysis of online profiles, the SERP Institute identified 19 of 28 internationally recognised indicators of trafficking and sexualised exploitation. Women presented as independent escorts are, in reality, often controlled by organised crime groups that dominate the sex trade.”
“I rise to speak on the issue that is being raised today in Stormont. I refer to the website commonly known as Escort Ireland. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 criminalises the purchase of sex in this jurisdiction. Yet, this platform exists for one clear purpose; to advertise sexual services to be bought here in direct defiance of that law. It is not a marginal operation. It is a large, highly profitable enterprise, reportedly charging weekly fees for advertisements while hosting hundreds of listings aimed squarely at Ireland. Public reporting has identified individuals linked to this operation who have past criminal convictions for pimping. Company records show the business was relocated from London to Spain, where it now trades through a Spanish registered company reporting multimillion euro revenues.”
“I support the amendment. The Minister of State has been very proactive in this role since she took over. I listened to that RTÉ report this morning about the psychiatric nurses' conference in Cavan. I am concerned about the ten-bed closure at the CAMHS unit in St. Vincent's Hospital in Fairview. Perhaps the Minister of State could address that today. We have fewer than 50 beds currently when it comes to CAMHS residential placements in this country. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to deliver more than 100 beds, but we have serious staff shortages. Even Linn Dara is talking about reopening another 11 beds, but is saying it is not going to be able to do it because it has not got the staff. There are another 20 beds to open at the children's hospital and they may not open because of staff shortages.”
“Never at any point in our history have we surrendered it to any one group, nor will we. Our national flag is a symbol of both our uniqueness and our unity. It was not flown by our founders for it to belong to anyone special with approved opinions or credentials. It belongs to every Irish man and woman of every creed and colour and every opinion, whether we like it or not. The Chairperson and Leader know this more than anybody. I thank them for the work they have done over the years regarding our flag and Tricolour.”
“I also want to address the comments made in this Chamber suggesting protestors should be dismissed or condemned by association with the vague and ever-expanding label of the so-called far right and that this label is justified simply because people wave our national flag. These are words that poison the public debate in our country. Too often, people are branded far right not to describe them but to silence them, to delegitimise grievances without engaging with them. Those who casually use this label would do better to educate themselves on what far-right ideology genuinely is before throwing the term around so recklessly. As for our Tricolour, it belongs to all Irish people. It has been flown by every shade of opinion and every kind of group, by extremist paramilitary, our State forces, the left and the right and even by sports fans.”
“Much has been said in this House about the fuel protest, but today, I want to briefly reflect on both the protests themselves and the response to them. The deployment of our Defence Forces raises serious and worrying questions that remain unanswered. Why did the Minister for justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, deploy the Defence Forces? Was the Minister for Defence, Deputy McEntee, consulted? Where was the principle of proportionality in that response? Are there no standard operating procedures to ensure that extraordinary measures are used only when absolutely necessary? We must also ask what damage this decision has done to the reputation of our State, not only at home but internationally.”
“I have been a great champion of the Minister's since he took office. I was disappointed. We have a little rebuilding to do now in relation to our Garda Síochána and our citizens. I will fully support the gardaí to do their job and keep our citizens safe. I will do that 24-7. I will fully support the Minister in this Bill, which cannot come quickly enough, as far as I am concerned. I thank the Minister for introducing this Bill to the House today.”
“It was led by Councillor Paddy McQuillan. Thankfully, the Minister at the time, Helen McEntee, took that on board. The funding the Minister just announced, and which was announced previously over the last couple of years, will make a massive difference. It has grown this year. It started at €2 million and, this year, I think it is at €4 million. It has grown, but how do we build safer communities? We can only do that in collaboration with An Garda Síochána. I am literally just off the phone to an inspector in my area, before I came up here, about property marking, of all things. The citizens of Ireland have a great relationship with our gardaí. They are the cornerstone of keeping us safe in our communities, day in day out. I was a bit disappointed with what happened last week.”
“The Minister is very welcome. To be quite honest, I am disappointed that this is not on full and Final Stage today. For far too long, criminals in this country, particularly the drug criminals, have been getting away with far too much. I am delighted to see that the Minister is trying to expedite the sale of properties belonging to criminals and drug barons in this country. Those properties can be left to rot for years, as the Minister knows. Let us take them off them, get them sold and put them back into good use. I am delighted. I am only disappointed that it is not coming quickly enough and is not going through the Houses to Final Stage today. The proceeds of crime funding initiative was led by an Independent councillor in County Louth. All the Independent councillors throughout this country called for that way back in 2021.”
“To attack the Pope in such a crude and unserious manner is an attack not just on a religious leader, itself unacceptable when not done in a considered manner, but on our shared civilisation inheritance. Finally, I want to place on record my support for Pope Leo and also for Giorgia Meloni and other leaders who have stood by him. They have acted with dignity. As for President Trump, I can only say I am deeply disappointed.”
“We must always be clear about this distinction. The same applies to the Catholic Church. Whatever one's personal belief or whatever criticisms may be made, it is an undeniable historical fact that the Catholic Church is a millenia-old pillar of European civilisation. Through its art and architecture, through the preservation and development of learning during Europe's darkest centuries, and through the safeguarding and renewal of classical Greek and Roman philosophy in which our own Irish saints and scholars played a key role, the Catholic Church helped to shape the civilisation we inhabit today. Without it, European civilisation as we know it would not be recognisable today.”
“Today I wish to speak about the recent comments made by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, directed at Pope Leo. In an increasingly volatile global moment, words spoken by leaders matter. When those words dismiss, denigrate or threaten entire peoples, religions or institutions, they do real damage, not just diplomatically but morally. As some Members may know, it would be an understatement to say that I am no admirer of the Iranian regime. It is a criminal regime and it deserves to be challenged, opposed and ultimately dismantled, but to call for the destruction of the entire Iranian civilisation is something all together different. These are callous and small-minded words. The Iranian people themselves and their beautiful, millenia-old civilisation deserve freedom, dignity and respect.”
“Families see VAT, PSO levies and charges layered onto inflated energy prices, which the Government has the power to lower as it controls the ESB. People are not asking for luxuries; they are asking for relief, for fairness and for action now, not later. If nothing changes, we cannot be surprised when public frustration continues to grow. The tools to ease the crisis exist. Please use them.”
“This demonstrates one simple fact: the State is capable of dramatically reducing prices at the pump immediately if it chooses to do so. Total tax revenue now stands at €126 billion. Fuel taxes alone generate between €3.5 billion and €4 billion annually. We have a surplus already, so this is not an existential threat to the public finances. We are told that the surplus is for a rainy day. Well, that rainy day is here and it is pouring. If difficult decisions must be made, then let us be honest about where waste exists, namely in runaway overspending, poor value for money and a system that objectively fails the taxpayer. The same applies to electricity costs. Even after reductions, taxes and Government levies still account for roughly 10% to 11% of the average ESB bill.”
“We are in extreme situations. People are desperate and we have been driven to desperate measures. The crisis of these protests is entirely self-inflicted by Government policy. According to the AA, the average Irish driver is paying extraordinary levels of tax for a full tank of fuel. If a fill of diesel costs €117.70, approximately €56.65 goes straight to the State. If a fill of petrol costs €95.50, roughly €54 is tax. This is what the average driver faces filling up every week or more often. It does not even account for the tens of thousands of Irish men and women for whom driving is not a choice but a livelihood: hauliers, couriers, tradesmen and delivery drivers who simply cannot leave their vehicles at home.”
“It goes straight into the pockets of already rich landlords and then how many millions of euro go to the NGOs and the quangos with no accountability? These protests were not predictable. They were inevitable and until we see a serious reversal of course and a serious new vision for this nation, this crisis will remain inevitable.”
“These are taxes which Labour and Sinn Féin supported. This insane directionless policy has been sleepwalking us into fatal vulnerability. Now, here we are. A global energy shock happened and life has been made simply impossible in this country. People cannot afford to move out and if they get a job, they cannot afford to drive to it. With the continuing cap on Dublin Airport added to the global energy crisis, soon enough we will not be able to afford to leave the country. Yet, we run a budget surplus and we are supposedly one of the richest countries in the world. God knows, I hear constituents speak of how hard the tax bill hurts them, so where does this money go? The €300,000 bike shed, the €56 million bailout to RTÉ and the €6 billion to IPA accommodation.”
“I am aware there is a motion before the Dáil as we speak, so I will be very careful in what I say in order to respect our Standing Orders. However, I have to say that today's motion is an embodiment of the extreme situation our nation has come to. It is this extreme situation that I wish to speak about. A number of political commentators have said the protests were somehow unexpected and came out of nowhere, but this is totally incorrect. I have mentioned twice in recent months the threat of the collapse of the haulage and other industries posed by the Government’s energy policy. I have spoken repeatedly about the Government's policy on energy that does not exploit or explore our own gas fields, shuts down our peat harvesting plants and then increases tax on increasingly expensive fuel. People need to work.”
“In fact, I was in the house last night of a local Traveller who was known as the king of the Travellers in our area, Tom Maughan, and who is being buried this morning. There are so many decent people in the Travelling community out there who will support the words I am speaking here this morning and who will support John Connors’s words. I call on them to join John Connors in speaking out against the feuds and call on us all to pray for the life and safety of Scarlett Faulkner.”
“Yesterday, I saw John Connors, a Traveller advocate, great actor and a member of that community, who put himself forward with commendable honesty and integrity to speak out against the incident and the so-called honour culture that fuels it. This “honour culture” has created a vicious cycle of violence. As Mr. Connors put it, “there’s not an hour’s look in it”. As those of us who know the Travelling community often hear, there is a greater problem of a culture of silence on this issue, of pretending there is no issue at all and letting the violence carry on. I believe John Connors is showing us all what a real honour culture looks like by speaking up and calling for an end to the beatings, videos and feuds that keep it all going. We all know the majority of the Traveller community are good, hard-working and honourable men and women.”
“I want to speak on the vicious and horrific attack on Scarlett Faulkner, a young woman and mother from the Traveller community, in Birdhill in Tipperary last weekend. The footage and descriptions that have emerged are absolutely harrowing and worse still is the result that Ms Faulkner is now in hospital fighting for her life. I believe I can speak for everyone here in this Chamber in saying all our thoughts and prayers are with Scarlett and we hope with the help of the doctors and the help of God she will pull through this. I believe this appalling attack merits being mentioned today as it should give us all a moment to reflect, not just on the current state of the Traveller community, but on Ireland as a whole. I would like us to not only condemn the violence but also focus our attention on a glimmer of hope.”
“Taxpayers need to know if people are not turning up for their interviews and they turn out to the non-co-operative because they lied when they presented to the International Protection Office, IPO, at their first entry. They go missing, but they are getting welfare, accommodation and a medical card. Everything is being met by the State. That is simply not good enough. We need to know how many such people are in the country at this moment in time. If they are not here legally and claiming asylum, they should be deported.”
“I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I am not filled with confidence in relation to the question I asked about how the data is kept on non-co-operative people that turn up within the international protection application process and who are taken out of the system. Are the taxpayers in this country still paying the daily allowance for that individual? Are they still paying for housing for that individual? Are they still paying for the medical card for that individual? I refer to cases where the person is non-co-operative. The problem is that we do not know how many of those people exist. That is a broader problem for the Department, which has responsibility for international protection. There is a body of work to be done within the Department.”
“The staff deserve workable systems and the Oireachtas deserves the information it needs to do its job. If the Minister is serious about transparency in the international protection process, then implementing systemic data recording on interview attendance is not just advisable; it is unavoidable.”
“This is not a criticism of staff but, rather, the systems design and governance. Without systemic data collection, we cannot identify trends, allocate resources or understand how much of the backlog is avoidable. Public debate becomes guesswork, which is unfair on everyone involved. A modern asylum system must be evidence-based and transparent. Anything less is unsustainable. Today, I ask the Minister of State to do three things, namely, provide the most recent figures of interview no-shows; explain why they are not centrally stored; and commit to implementing a proper recording and reporting system in order that this House and the public can understand how the process is functioning. I raise this matter because the public deserves clarity.”
“How can we talk about capacity backlogs or efficiency when such fundamental facts are unknown? Over the past year, I have repeatedly been told that no-show figures exist only within individual files and retrieving them would require an onerous manual trawl. Whether that is accurate or reflects deeper structural issues, the effects are the same - the Oireachtas is left without essential information. We cannot legislate, scrutinise policy or reassure the public in the dark. What makes this more troubling is that the Department’s standard operating procedure, SPO, shows that interview attendance is already recorded, reasons for no-shows entered, daily reports issued, spreadsheets updated and no-show statuses tracked. How can data captured across multiple internal points not be retrievable at an organisational level?”
“The Minister of State, Deputy Collins, is welcome to Seanad Éireann this morning. I rise today because this House cannot meaningfully discuss international protection or the functioning of the process of the International Protection Office, IPO, without access to the most basic operational data. Right now, we do not have that data. The matter I raise is the need for the Minister to provide the annual number of applicants who fail to attend their scheduled international protection interviews, to explain why this information is not stored in a systematic, accessible format and to set out when a proper system for the recording and reporting of these figures will be implemented. If the State cannot tell us the number of people who miss their interviews, how can it claim to understand the system it administers?”
“This motion does not force the Government to choose a specific number. It simply calls for a referendum empowering the Oireachtas to set that number, whether it is 174, 180 or whatever the House deems appropriate after debate, but it does insist that we cannot continue to expand representation indefinitely while the real business of governance at local level remains structurally unchanged. For reasons of fairness, sustainability and democratic integrity, the time has come to act. I commend the motion to the House and thank my colleagues for supporting it.”
“All of us here know from our experience of constituency offices that TDs and Senators are being asked to perform functions that in any modern system would be competently handled at local government level. Ireland remains one of the most centralised democracies in Europe. If the number of TDs is capped, that cannot be the end of the conversation. It must be the beginning of a broader rebalancing of power between national and local levels. We need stronger local authorities with real decision-making powers, that are properly funded and democratically accountable so that not every problem has to travel the chain up to a TD's office. Capping TD numbers would force us to confront that reality. It would compel us to modernise a system that is now creaking under the weight of its own expectations.”
“The fairest way forward is to tie representation more closely to the number of eligible voters, neither simply the number of residents nor eligible voters. Representation in a democracy ultimately falls from the franchise and the strength of a vote and the number of TDs to represent them should be based on those who actually possess it. I say this while remaining open to other models colleagues may propose, such as, for example, automatic registration for voters or even mandatory voting. Yet, that alone is not enough. The deeper truth is that we have outgrown the constitutional architecture designed almost a century ago. Our population is larger, more diverse and has more complex needs than ever before. The State does exponentially more than it did when these ratios were written into the Constitution.”
“In the last election, Dublin West and Dublin Central returned a TD for roughly every 15,000 voters, while Limerick county required 25,000 voters per TD and Donegal more than 26,000. That means a vote in some parts of Dublin is almost 40% stronger than a vote in Donegal. That is not a minor discrepancy; it is a fundamental distortion of the principle of one person, one vote. It is true that differences in voter registration rates contribute to this, but even accounting for that the disparity remains too large to ignore. As matters stand, two voters in Dublin carry the same electoral weight as three in Donegal. No healthy democracy can look at that reality and shrug its shoulders. We face a choice. We either continue to expand the Dáil indefinitely or address the underlying imbalance.”
“By 2027, the Dáil may have 181 to 185 TDs and if different trends continue, my colleagues have rightly calculated that by 2050 the number could approach 250 TDs. This is simply unsustainable. The central argument of this motion is not only cost, though cost matters. As the media note reminded us, we all saw the €300,000 bicycle shed and none of wish to contemplate the hundreds of millions it would cost to expand the Leinster House complex every decade. The deeper argument is democratic sustainability. The Electoral Commission fulfilled its mandate by ensuring there was a TD for approximately every 30,000 residents, but that is residents, not voters. If we shift our analysis to voters per TD, which is a far more accurate measure of democratic proportionality, we uncover a stark imbalance.”
“The Minister of State is welcome. I support this motion calling on the Government to initiate a constitutional amendment to specify the number of Members of Dáil Éireann. As colleagues will be aware, Article 16.2.2° of the Constitution requires there to be no fewer than one TD per 30,000 people and no more than one TD per 20,000. That provision served a very different Ireland, one that was smaller, more homogenous and had vastly fewer State responsibilities than today. As has been outlined, the State's population is now 5.458 million and it is projected to exceed 5.56 million within just two years. The Electoral Commission is already working at the edge of the constitutional ratio.”
“However, the Minister has engaged with this Bill since 2020. He has engaged on Committee Stage in the justice committee. He has engaged with us all, as did the previous Minister. Did I want us to opt in to this Bill? Absolutely not. However, the Minister has been extremely fair. It is a massive Bill, which I will be voting against. What we heard was very personal and targeted and it was unnecessary.”
“I take exceptional opposition to Senator Flynn's outrage. I get that we are all very upset about this Bill and that Senators are very upset about the humanitarian aspects of this Bill. There are many issues I would not be happy with.”
“I have a point of order while the Minister is on his feet. If an applicant refuses to give their biometric data and the State detains them, how long can they be detained for and what happens to that applicant?”
“These are just two examples of the mountain of work that our asylum and migration systems have to do in terms of gathering, monitoring and reporting data. This is not an obstructionist measure. It does not slow implementation or bind the hands of the Minister beyond asking for transparency. It honours the principle we discussed repeatedly on Committee Stage, namely, that good legislation requires ongoing scrutiny and the Oireachtas must retain the ability to correct course when necessary. If the Government believes the Bill is robust, then it should welcome the opportunity to demonstrate that through a formal review. If challenges emerge, whether administrative, operational or resource based, then the report gives the Department the space to explain them and gives the House the opportunity to respond.”
“I believe the amendment is a natural continuation of those Committee Stage arguments. It builds on a structured requirement for democratic accountability. It ensures that the Minister returns to the House with evidence and a factual assessment of how the Act has performed. It is vital that we in the House and the public at large get a full look into the realities of what is happening at our Border and in our immigration system. For example, I learned that on one occasion during the Ukrainian crisis, 59 unaccompanied minors were brought into Ireland and were assigned at the Border to the impromptu guardianship of adults who were in their group. I was recently informed by the Minister's Department that we did not systematically store or analyse data on no-shows to IPA interviews.”
“I support the amendment, which simply requires that, within 12 months of the enactment, the Minister lays before both Houses a report stating how the Act has functioned. It is reasonable and entirely in keeping with the oversight responsibilities of this House. On Committee Stage, many of us highlighted concerns about the practical operations of the legislation once it left this Chamber and entered the real world. We spoke at length about capacity, transparency and the risk of legislating without clear mechanisms to measure how the core concepts of the Bill would function in practice. I made the point then, and I repeat it now, that no system can operate on abstractions. If we do not monitor and report on its effectiveness, then we are legislating in a vacuum.”
“What capacities and capabilities does the Government currently have to monitor emerging risks? How is intelligence policing being done and community engagement being co-ordinated? What concrete steps are being taken now to prevent further incidents? This House needs a full debate on the State's preparedness. The Government must outline what additional tools and resources are required to keep people safe. Transparency and action are needed now.”
“International experts and people who monitor this have warned of Islamic extremist networks in Ireland, including the Muslim Brotherhood front organisations. Recently I visited Dubai and met Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, chairman of the defence affairs committee of the UAE Federal National Council. They have recently cut all of their student grants here in Ireland with the Irish universities and asked their students from that area not to attend universities here in Ireland. Let me be clear. There is a crucial distinction between Islamism and the vast majority of Muslims who are law-abiding members of our society. That distinction must be maintained not only because it allows us to identify genuine threats but because confusion and ambiguity are assets to extremists and a danger to genuine Muslims.”
“I rise today because this House must confront a pattern of incidents that raise serious questions about public safety, national security awareness and the State's capacity to respond. Most recently in Navan, County Meath, a woman claimed to have a bomb strapped to her during a children's confirmation in a church. While the details are still emerging, the targeting of a place of worship fits into a broader and troubling pattern. Last year, two gardaí were attacked with a knife on Capel Street with the attacker shouting the term "Allahu Akbar" and later stating in court that he was inspired by ISIS. The year before, an Army chaplain was stabbed in Galway by a perpetrator who also admitted being inspired by Islamic extremism. These incidents do not exist in isolation.”
“Does the Minister know how many Ukrainians are in possession of the rent allowance supplement as well? Do we have a figure for that? They were always able to get the rent allowance from the moment they arrived in the country if they could not get accommodation in hotels or bed and breakfast accommodation. They were always able to apply to county councils to get rent allowance. Does the Minister know how many are getting rent allowance and how many properties are being rented at the moment? For me it is the inequity and unfairness of the scheme to the Irish taxpayer, and I will be supporting the Sinn Féin motion.”
“I thank the Minister for coming here. I concur with what Senator Ahearn has said in relation to the kindness of the people of Ireland in March 2022 when the nation was faced with taking in Ukrainian refugees because of the war with Russia. Many thousands of people opened their hearts and homes to the Ukrainian people. Here we are four years later, and we are saying another year and looking at the cost of that one year. I looked up the figures. There were 19,000 properties availing of this last year in March 2025. This year it is 23,000 properties so it seems to be going up. If it continues like that, it is a cost of approximately €165 million to the taxpayer. I will be supporting the amendment put down by Sinn Féin. I feel it is distorting the housing market.”
“Therefore, I am calling for a full debate in this House and for the Government to consider legislative options to regulate how commercial rates are apportioned in such settings. More immediately, the Minister for enterprise should be investigating allegations relating to the DAA and similar institutions. Transparency must be the standard, not the exception.”
“I have heard similar complaints from constituents as a member of the Industrial and Commercial Panel and there are many on the public record, particularly in respect of our airports. This lack of transparency is not a minor administrative detail. It affects the viability of small businesses, the security of workers' jobs and ultimately the prices paid by the public. When tenants cannot see the basis for the charges they receive or independently verify what proportion of council rates they are responsible for, and when they operate in captive environments without bargaining power, the Oireachtas has a duty to ask whether the system is serving the public interest. Otherwise, we risk allowing the management of the DAA and similar institutions, to run their premises like their own private baronies.”
“I rise today to highlight the lack of transparency and fairness in how commercial rates are handled in large State-controlled campuses, particularly our airports. Across the country, commercial rates are supposed to operate on a simple principle: the local authority levies them and the occupier knows exactly what they owe. In complex environments where a single semi-State landlord controls access, however, tenants often have no visibility into how those rates are calculated, allocated and passed on. There was a recent case in which a tenant of the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, was allegedly overcharged by huge amounts on their rates. I will not comment further as this is part of an ongoing court case, but it is worth mentioning the allegation as it comes as part of a much bigger and consistent pattern.”