I cannot be any clearer in my view that Europe has not been strong enough. We have not responded effectively, and that is why we are where we are now. Ireland has not just woken up to this. At an EU level, we have consistently been advocating for the EU to step up and take a stronger stance. That is why we have been advocating - I have been doing so in the past few weeks - for the EU-Israel Association Agreement to b…
TDs / Helen McEntee
Helen McEntee
Minister for DefenceMinister for Foreign Affairs and Trade
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
245,309
words spoken in the chamber
245,286 as a minister, 23 as a TD
321
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
Members of the Government answer parliamentary questions rather than ask them, so this page lists none of theirs.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 806 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 58 |
| March 2025 | 1 |
| April 2025 | 69 |
| May 2025 | 45 |
| June 2025 | 32 |
| July 2025 | 38 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 8 |
| October 2025 | 13 |
| November 2025 | 74 |
| December 2025 | 40 |
| January 2026 | 2 |
| February 2026 | 28 |
| March 2026 | 32 |
| April 2026 | 2 |
| May 2026 | 161 |
| June 2026 | 34 |
| July 2026 | 65 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 50 |
| October 2026 | 54 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 727 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Meath East 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Education 23 January 2025 to 1 May 2025
- office Minister for Education and Youth 2 May 2025 to 18 November 2025
- office Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 18 November 2025 to now
- office Minister for Defence 18 November 2025 to now
This is an issue that my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has been actively pursuing. She is engaging in particular with the pharmacy associations. It has been the case that there were different charges being applied in terms of dispensing and the overall blister packs themselves. An unequal approach was being taken, depending on the pharmacy and its approach. The work the Minister is doing is to mak…
No one wants to hear of somebody of any age, let alone an 80-year-old person, having to go into homeless accommodation. It is important to stress that we have cost rental in place, which we did not have a few years ago. That is helping a lot of people. Without knowing the exact details of this case, perhaps there is an opportunity for the local authority to step in with the tenant in situ scheme. I am not sure but I …
We all know as local representatives, because first and foremost, we are local representatives, how important it is that when we build new homes, we build new communities as well. It is not just about houses but about shops, community centres, recreational facilities, playing pitches, schools and all of the things we need to build a new community. It is important to get that right when we are developing our county de…
I concur with everything the Deputy has said. When I spent almost a year in the Department of education last year, special education was one area on which I really wanted to work and make greater progress. There is a greater level of need in special schools but there has also been an increase in need across mainstream schools, if you want to call them that, including special classes within those schools. We need to m…
-----and four more will open later this year.
This is a priority for us and we need to enhance it in every way we can.
My experience and what I saw when I was on the ground in Rafah at the beginning of the year was not inaction by the Egyptian Government or our own officials. It was a preventing of aid or these types of supports by the Israeli Government. I am happy to engage directly with my team on the ground to see what the current situation is. I am happy to engage with the Minister, Mr. Abdelatty, my counterpart in Egypt whom I …
While I am not aware of how information is gathered or whether it is held at a national level as opposed to a county level, I will ask the Minister to come back directly to Deputy Nolan to relay whether this is a practice that happens or does not happen at the county level, in particular, or at national level, or if there are plans to do this.
I thank the Deputy for raising this. For the first time, the most recent family law strategy - which I published two years ago, I think - places a greater emphasis on children, on the impact separation can have on them and, most important, on how we provide supports to young people as they go through the court process with their parents or outside of it where there are experts who engage with them. I have heard a lot…
We have towns and villages that have seen significant growth in recent years, but where the provision of services has not matched it. The Deputy mentioned Kilcock in particular. There are a lot of young families where both parents are working. We need to make sure we provide support for them through childcare so they can continue in their work. As he said, some of Kilcock is in my constituency so I am very aware of t…
Under the early learning and childcare capital programme, the Government and Department will select up to eight facilities a year.
I will ask in my engagement with the Minister for these areas to be identified as there is large population and family growth-----
-----in the areas the Deputy mentioned, such as Kilcock. However, I do not have a specific timeline for that.
While the Deputy has outlined some of the details, I obviously do not know all of the facts of the case. I know that when it comes to teacher allocation, it is very much based on pupil numbers. Where you have such a small gap between what would allow the second teacher, there are always appeals that can take place. I know from experience that sometimes it is not fully understood how to put in the appeal because if yo…
The over-riding priority needs to be two things, and I know the Deputy will agree with this. First, we need to ensure the students currently in the college can complete their studies. I have been given assurances that that will continue. The agreed approach is to support Carlow College in delivering the existing programmes through to their completion to August 2028. Second, as the Deputy rightly said, we have excelle…
I will start by fully agreeing with the Deputy. We all know that our secretaries and caretakers are at the very heart of our schools. They are the first people you meet on the grounds as you are walking in. The first person to welcome you is generally the secretary. They are absolutely invaluable in our schools. For me, and I think all of us, it is really important that a resolution is found to the ongoing dispute. T…
First, I acknowledge that a number of hundred people have lost their jobs this week. I have no doubt that it is a very difficult time for them and many of their families. I stress that our enterprise agencies, first and foremost, are trying to assist in whatever way they possibly can those who are impacted to help them to find alternative employment. This includes sharing the skills profiles of the employees who have…
The one thing we can all hope for when we get older is that we have the supports we need and that we are treated with dignity and respect. To the Deputy's point, what this gentleman needs is to ensure he has a place outside of a hospital, in a home where he is cared for and supported. I have no doubt he is being cared for in the hospital and in the setting he is in now by the fantastic staff we have in our hospitals …
The Deputy will appreciate that without knowing the details of the case as to why the man is not being released or sent home or another care facility I cannot comment. I am happy to take the details and pass them directly to the Minister.
I will flag it with her.
I am very to sorry to hear of this case and offer my condolences to his family. As the Deputy outlined, the Office of the Inspector of Prisons makes sure these types of cases and challenges in our prisons are highlighted and, most importantly, addressed. I can certainly raise the case directly with the Minister.
The wider point is that we have too many people in our prison system with mental health problems who shou…
At the outset, I want to join many colleagues in acknowledging the exceptional service of the men and women of the Defence Forces currently deployed overseas. As we know, their work in peacekeeping missions often takes place in challenging and dangerous environments, as demonstrated most particularly in south Lebanon, and continues to reflect our enduring commitment to international peace and security. I am deeply co…
-----we are trying to keep peacekeeping troops on the ground for. The practical reality is that the veto power exercised or indeed threatened by permanent members of the Security Council can and does prevent action, including in circumstances where there is broad international support. For Ireland, this can create and in fact does create real and immediate consequences. In the absence of a UN mandate, deployments can…
Some commentary has been made on our investment in defence and in security. Being a neutral country does not mean that we should not invest in our capabilities to defend ourselves or that we should not be able to engage with other countries so that we are working collectively together. That does not in any way impact on our military neutrality.