I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address this issue. While County Louth falls outside the greater Dublin area and the National Transport Authority's existing statutory remit in terms of transport planning, the NTA is nevertheless actively working on improving public transport options in Louth. In fairness, the Deputy has mentioned a number of them. The development of the Dublin-Belfast economic corridor, whi…
TDs / Darragh O'Brien
Darragh O'Brien
Minister for Climate, Energy and the EnvironmentMinister for Transport
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
168,229
words spoken in the chamber
166,330 as a minister, 1,899 as a TD
323
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 680 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
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|---|---|
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| February 2025 | 30 |
| March 2025 | 29 |
| April 2025 | 54 |
| May 2025 | 22 |
| June 2025 | 59 |
| July 2025 | 4 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
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| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 49 |
| October 2026 | 6 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 529 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Dublin Fingal East 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Transport 23 January 2025 to 1 June 2025
- office Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications 23 January 2025 to 1 June 2025
- office Minister for Transport 2 June 2025 to now
- office Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment 2 June 2025 to now
I have given the Deputy the situation as it is currently. The northern access route is a major benefit to Drogheda. Rail services have improved. There has been a 40% increase in passenger numbers on the hourly Enterprise service. The fairer fares initiative last year significantly reduced costs for commuters, particularly rail commuters, in Drogheda and Dundalk, which was widely welcomed but was not mentioned by the …
I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of pedestrian safety. As he knows, the local authorities are charged with assessing the need for safety interventions using guidelines provided in both the design manual for urban roads and streets, DMURS, and in the requirements set out in the traffic signs manual. Under the regional and local roads grant programme, the Department of Transport provides supplemental …
The Deputy raised an important point about the lack of consistency. Certain designs suit certain areas. The type B raised platform is a good initiative and easier to deploy. Coincidentally, I met the Irish Road Victims Association yesterday. We need to do everything we can to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. As the Deputy said, we are seeing an increase in pedestrian deaths. We need to advance …
I will be sharing time with Government colleagues. I am pleased to be given the opportunity to set out the details of budget 2027 as it pertains to the Departments of Climate, Energy and the Environment and Transport.
First, from an overall budget perspective, this budget focuses on the cost of living and taking the pressure off workers and families. It will deliver significant tax reductions, thereby increasing tha…
I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
I am pleased to introduce this Bill for the consideration of the House. It addresses two separate areas. First, the Bill contains proposals to enshrine the organisation and main functions of the Railway Accident Investigation Unit, RAIU, in primary legislation. Second, the remainder of the Bill contains amendments to update and modernise the Railway Safety Act 2005 …
They have not.
I move amendment No. 2:
To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
"affirms Government's efforts to:
— deliver a more frequent, reliable, accessible and sustainable public transport network;
— rollout contactless fare payments on all public transport, and keep fares low and affordable;
— place the Public Service Obligation (PSO) programme on a more sustainable footing;
— support hous…
The EU energy ministers were over here. I had to attend that meeting.
I was at the UN.
I did not, actually. As it happens, I did not, but go on.
Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá faoin Teachta Michael Healy-Rae.
Danny, as you are here in the Chamber, I just want to pass on my best regards to your brother and to condemn outright what happened yesterday in Dublin. I am very sorry for him, for yourself and for your family. I wish him a speedy recovery. He is a tough guy and I know he will get through it. This should not happen. It should never have…
Ireland's industrial electricity demand is primarily concentrated in our digital economy. This is our core energy-intensive industry. Data centres are fundamental to Ireland's position as a leading global hub for digital and technology-driven enterprise. They form a critical part of the State's digital infrastructure, supporting activities including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, financial services and pub…
We have to manage the demand that is there. Ireland's demand will grow and will double between now and 2050. That is why the grid investment programme is so important, and that we improve the resilience, distribution and capacity of our grid.
To get to the kernel of the Deputy's question, no housing development has not been connected because of a data centre. PR6, which is our investment programme, outlines all the …
I did make reference to the Bill that Sinn Féin published yesterday. As with any Bill, from wherever in the House it comes, be that Opposition or Government, I will look at it and do so in a positive way.
The network charges are set by CRU. From 2020 to 2026, the data centre sector saw an average increase of 175% in network costs. I do not set the network charges; that is just the reality. There is, though, an overa…
Tá an Teachta as láthair.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 6 together.
I cannot announce the budget yet but I understand that energy will be an important part of it.
To deal with both the questions, we know the situation in the Middle East. That is having a serious impact on prices. That follows from the continuing illegal war in Ukraine, which has caused significant disruption to energy markets. I and the Government fully recognise t…
I turn first to Deputy Daly and the area of potential windfall taxes on energy companies. That is something being discussed at EU-wide level. It was discussed in Brussels when I was there earlier this month. If there is an approach on that it will probably be a pan-European approach. The Taoiseach referred to it yesterday. The last time, after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, approximately €200 million was collect…
First, we recognise that €1.4 billion of supports have been brought in already. I do not think anyone will dispute that.
I am going to get to it. We have to put it in context. That is not a small amount of money. That is a major support and marked diesel was included in that in the context of the excise reductions.
Actually, when you look at it overall it is approximately 7 cent per litre. In fairness, the question put by the Deputy relates to progress with the establishment of the scheme for construction contractors that are not covered under the other two schemes.
On foot of the Deputy raising this, I will make urgent inquiries with regard to the progress on that scheme. We provided significant moneys to the haulage sector, …
I answered Deputy Daly in detail earlier on the importance of ICT to the Irish economy. I want to put that in context. We have about 190,000 people working in the ICT sector, underpinned by data centres. It is an important part of our digital infrastructure and it is part of our large industrial energy use. It has to be managed appropriately.
EirGird, as transmission system operator, is responsible for the operation…
First and foremost, there is no red carpet being rolled out. The Deputy has acknowledged, to be fair, the significant employment underpinned by ICT in this country - high-paid jobs, good jobs and careers paths for many of our people. Ireland is at the leading edge of new technologies and we want to remain in that place. That said, we have to manage demand and supply. That is why the grid investment programme is criti…
The charge that the grid is unstable is incorrect. It is not. We have to be responsible in what we say in that regard.
It might suit a certain political narrative of large energy users and big corporations against everyone else, eating up all our energy. That might play well on social media. There is a reality to managing economic growth. Why do we want to manage economic growth? For the good of our people, for jobs, for people's livelihoods, so they can pay their mortgages, so they can live well - that is why. This is part of our in…