I will engage directly with them.
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
I commend and acknowledge the role of town councils. We had some in my constituency in Meath. I have worked with councillors since then who perhaps share the same view as the Deputy and would like to see things resumed as they were. I understand the local democracy task force is due to make recommendations or findings on this matter soon. When we are presented with those findings, I will be happy to engage with colle…
The Department's budget for this year has been set. The housing budget has been set. At the same time, we have a new budget coming up. All of these different matters have to be taken into consideration, to make sure funding can be most impactful and support people who need it most. I will certainly raise this issue with the Minister.
I will sound like I am taking on my previous role, but the deployment of An Garda Síochána is a matter for the Garda Commissioner. The most important thing is that we are starting to see, in all of the changes that have taken place in recent years, the numbers of recruits coming through at the high level that we need and, most importantly, that they are now flowing down to various parts of the country, including Dubl…
Nobody wants to see the National Ambulance Service or paramedics on strike. I commend the fantastic and unbelievable work they do. The Minister for Health has assured me that she, the HSE and the Department are open to further engagement with the National Ambulance Service and want to engage with them through the industrial relations mechanism. That offer, I believe, is there and it is open to the NAS to engage. The …
I am happy to raise the matter directly with the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and, in particular, the Minister. It is essential, whether through legislative means or financial support that is required, that people have access to dental care. I am happy to raise that directly.
Overall, the Government fully recognises the need to create more connectivity to make sure that people living in rural and not-so-rural areas are able to use public transport and that there is greater investment. A huge focus of the €102 billion investment in our infrastructure plan is for public transport, investing in our roads, railway networks and bus networks to ensure that they are joined up and connected insof…
There is a very clear commitment in the programme for Government. We have seen a reduction in recent years, in particular under the previous Government. We know the impact it has on students and on teaching, coupled with the significant increase in the number of teachers, including special or additional needs teachers who are supporting our mainstream classes. We know when we walk into a classroom now there are more …
I am happy to raise this matter directly. There are a number of things we need to do in response. We need to ensure we have enough qualified people and ensure we have enough courses and training opportunities working with our universities. That is happening already through the Department of the Minister, Deputy Lawless, working with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. We also need to consider where legislative cha…
Obviously, if this is a planning matter, it is something for An Coimisiún Pleanála. If it is about any scheme, the need for funding or investment, I can raise it directly with colleagues. Some €40 billion will be provided over the next number of years directly for housing development and water infrastructure. There will also be additional funding to make sure that grid access or any other type of infrastructure to op…
Our laws are very clear: it is illegal to create nuclear power in Ireland. Any proposal to change that would have to be done with agreement and debate, not just here in the Houses but more broadly. At the moment, there are no direct plans but given the situation in which we find ourselves on a global scale, we should not rule out discussions about things. However, the law is very clear at the moment: nuclear power is…
No.
No.
I move:
That Dáil Éireann, pursuant to Article 29.5.2° of Bunreacht na hÉireann, approves the terms of the Convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine, signed at The Hague on 16th December, 2025, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 1st May, 2026.
I welcome the opportunity to discuss this motion today. The convention we seek to ratify is about establishing an international clai…
I join colleagues in supporting this motion of confidence in the Government today. We are living through a period of profound global instability. Across the Gulf, we are seeing not only disruption to energy supply and vital shipping routes but we are witnessing the further appalling and unacceptable loss of life, the human cost of which cannot be overlooked. It is essential that we progress and engage with colleagues…
A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, if they do not want to listen to the women of the Dáil-----
I thank the Deputy for raising this question. He is right that this something we have debated and discussed many times, and not just the Bill itself but the ongoing devastating conflict in Gaza in the Middle East. That conflict has now, unfortunately, escalated and widened and is now including many more innocent civilians. Everything that this Government and the previous one have done and everything the people of thi…
I agree with the Deputy that what is happening is appalling. I fully agree that what we are seeing is appalling. The ceasefire is not a proper ceasefire. Over 400 people have been killed since then and proper aid is not being let in. I visited the area myself at the beginning of the year and saw that goods that are by no means, or could ever be described as, a threat are not being let in. Enough food is still not bei…
In terms of the programme for Government commitment, it was relating to goods and we were very clear on that. The Oireachtas committee then asked that we would look at services and it is important that we engage with the committee and its recommendations on any legislation. That was the advice that was asked of the Attorney General and that was the advice that I received soon after coming into the Department, just be…
I agree with the Deputy that the UN is the best place for all of us to work together and Ireland, as a member and a partner, will always stand up for and advocate for the UN and its structures. We understand how important it has been, not just in this conflict but in many conflicts and, most important, in its resolutions over decades. In relation to the uniting for peace resolution, Ireland will always take part in a…
I agree with the Deputy. My biggest concern is that the ongoing conflict in the wider region of the Middle East will take away our focus on our priority, which should be trying to find a way forward for the civilians in Gaza. We are, and I am, absolutely determined to ensure that will not be the case. At every meeting we have had, even where it related specifically to the ongoing conflict in Iran, I have raised the s…
We have not joined the Board of Peace and have been clear in our reason for not doing so. We do not believe that any other structure should be mirroring the work of the UN at all. It is doing work with a particular focus on Gaza. That is why it was established. That was the UN resolution for which we and everybody else voted so that a structure would be put in place to support the redevelopment of Gaza and so that we…
Ireland has consistently supported strong sanctions in response to Russia's illegal war of aggression in Ukraine, which, as the Deputy said, has been ongoing for more than four years. The sanctions adopted in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine are the most expansive and hard-hitting sanctions in EU history. Over 2,700 individuals and entities are now subject to EU restrictive measures. An unprecedented range of …
We have supported and will always support further sanctions. The Deputy can be assured we will continue to support any sanctions package that is brought forward. There are considerations that have to be taken into account. In this particular instance, there are very clearly concerns that have been raised by a number of member states in terms of their own energy security. Nonetheless, even with those issues, 2,700 dif…
Apologies; I thought I was clear. We have already supported that. However, there was not unanimity. My understanding is that will not change. We have already supported the progress of sanctions in all instances but there is not unanimity. It is not Ireland's choice at the end of the day. We are one of many member states. We have supported all the packages that have been agreed unanimously over the past number of year…