Sharon Keogan: Criticises Silence on Immigration and Defends Debate
Senator Sharon Keogan addressed immigration and freedom of debate, arguing that a culture of silence has suppressed dissent and enabled controversial interventions. She criticised colleagues who denounced Conor McGregor while having remained silent for decades, and defended influencer Garen Noon after he faced harassment for acknowledging an immigration issue.
Central argument
She told the chamber that many members who lined up to denounce Conor McGregor ignored their own decades of silence on immigration, and that this silence ultimately enabled his intervention.
Incidents cited
Keogan referenced McGregor's White House speech and the subsequent denouncements in this chamber and in the Dáil, and described how influencer Garen Noon was bombarded with abuse and forced to take down his accounts for a mild statement about immigration.
Critique of parliamentary culture
She argued that a culture of silence and the suppression of dissent has been created and even actively encouraged by the vast majority of these houses, and reminded the house that the government had, last year, attempted to eliminate the presumption of innocence in the name of fighting hate speech.
Support for the influencer and tone
Keogan applauded Noon for returning to social media and standing by his statements, praising his integrity. She closed with a lighter note — referencing future reviews of 'chicken rolls and cocks of tea' and urging colleagues to 'stay delicious.'
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Thank you for being here. Our next speaker is Senator Keoghan. Thank you. I have to welcome our guests since this afternoon as well. I rise today to address two important issues, immigration and freedom of debate. Last week in this chamber and in the Dáil, many of our colleagues were lining up to denounce Conor McGregor and the speech he gave in the White House concerning our current immigration crisis. While there are criticisms to be made of McGregor, ultimately he was enabled by the decades of utter silence on immigration by all the same members who criticised him. This point was made last week by the famous Irish influencer Garen Noon. And for the sole act of acknowledging that there was an immigration issue, Noon was harassed and bombarded with abuse and was forced to take his accounts down. If the severity with which Noon was treated for an objectively mild and milquetoast statement came as a shock to anyone in these houses, the fact is that this incident is typical of a culture of silence and suppressing dissent. A culture which has been created and even actively encouraged by the vast majority of these houses. Let's not forget that only last year the government was attempting to eliminate the presumption of innocence in the name of fighting hate speech. Luckily, I am glad to see that Noon has come back to social media and says he stands by his statements. I applaud his integrity in standing up for himself and staying honest. And I look forward to his future reviews of chicken rolls and cocks of tea. Ladies and gentlemen of the house, stay delicious. Any Shannon or Riley? No. No. No. No. No. No, no. No. No. No. No. No. No.
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