Looking at where we came from, there was 7% year-on-year growth between 2023 and 2024 in our regional airports. That growth is happening. Shannon is profitable. I do not think anybody is necessarily looking for subsidies or additional funding – capital funding, maybe - to improve facilities. I want to see more routes flying out of Shannon and Cork and that is happening. There has been about a 17% increase in passenge…
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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| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 30 |
| March 2025 | 29 |
| April 2025 | 54 |
| May 2025 | 22 |
| June 2025 | 59 |
| July 2025 | 4 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 44 |
| October 2025 | 5 |
| November 2025 | 73 |
| December 2025 | 2 |
| January 2026 | 43 |
| February 2026 | 55 |
| March 2026 | 33 |
| April 2026 | 77 |
| May 2026 | 11 |
| June 2026 | 82 |
| July 2026 | 2 |
| 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 thank the Deputy. The review is not concluded yet. I have not received it. He is right to highlight the importance of the passenger experience. When we think of our public transport system, passengers and customers have to be central to it. Public transport is not just about moving from A to B – it is a vital service that connects individuals to work, education, healthcare and their communities. That is why I am fi…
I understand that. People need to be certain and sure they can rely on their public transport system. In the main, they are and our public transport operators operate very well. We saw record passenger numbers on public transport last year. People are responding because fares are affordable but there are issues from time to time, particularly in relation to our bus fleet and buses not turning up. That is why I have m…
On fares, my focus is on investing in our fleet and infrastructure. That will be Government's focus. This five years to the end of the decade can see a step change in our infrastructure. We have seen some significant projects in Ceannt Station, Galway, and Kent Station, Cork. In Waterford, there has been significant investment in a new bus depot and in the train station. We are looking at how we can do that better. A…
As the Deputy said, this has already been raised by Deputy Ahern. I am happy to say, first, that we are committed to reviewing and updating the national aviation policy, which will bring about a new policy. That will involve stakeholder consultation. Effectively, we will publish a draft in the coming months. The draft will go out to public consultation and consultation in the House, and I would expect Deputy O'Hara a…
I cannot give Deputy O'Hara a timeline, and I am not at all being evasive, because we have commenced the preparatory work for the review. There will also be an updating and there is a clear commitment in the programme for Government on updating the regional airports programme. There will be a new programme for 2026 to 2030. This means we would need most of the work concluded this year or by the end of quarter 1 next …
Public transport connectivity and services to our airports are obviously critical. They are served relatively well. This can always be improved. I would expect it to be part of the input into our national aviation policy. While the existing policy from 2015 needs to be updated, it is not redundant at all. If anything, if we look at the growth in numbers in our airports throughout the regions and focus on our regional…
I thank the Deputy for his question. There is no doubt that the very strong passenger growth in recent years poses some challenges at certain times for the public transport network, including the InterCity rail network.
Like the Deputy, I am eager to see improved rail services rolled out across the network. We know that when people are offered reliable and frequent services, they are more likely to choose public tra…
The new InterCity railcars are being tested right now. We have received them. As the Deputy correctly said, Iarnród Éireann mentioned to him that once they come into use in 2026 additional railcars will then be provided to other routes.
Two carriages on a train at peak times is, I would suggest, insufficient. I am sure the Deputy has raised that specific issue about that train service with Iarnród Éireann. On the ba…
The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, has direct responsibility for the all-island rail review. I expect that matters such as the double-tracking the Deputy has mentioned will be considered as part of that. On timetables, punctuality and reliability, the management of timetables is a matter for Iarnród Éireann. Where specific matters are raised in questions here, we note them and feed them back to the company. I am s…
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding for public transport. The NTA has responsibility for the development of public transport infrastructure including ticketing and technology projects. The next generation ticketing project is very significant and will provide a transformative upgrade to the ticketing system for public transport passengers in Ireland. The project will facili…
I am also very anxious to see this. The Deputy is right; the Leap card is great. That is fine but, if you go to London or other parts of Britain, you can tap on or off with a debit card or credit card, which works fantastically well. When we bring in our system, it will be ahead of those in Britain and most of Europe because it will also involve account-based ticketing. I have asked for a timeline and I have engaged …
I know the Deputy will be raising this issue regularly and he is right to do so because it will make a very significant difference. We will certainly be putting as much positive pressure as possible on to ensure delivery. I will be watching the timeline very closely and, as it becomes firmer, I will keep the Deputy informed. It will not be necessary for someone who is visiting to have an account to tap on and tap off…
I propose to take Questions Nos. 13, 51, 90 and 265 together.
A lot of Deputies have raised this matter. There are questions here from Deputies McGettigan, Cathal Crowe, Quinlivan and Pa Daly. It speaks to the importance, which all of us understand, of our aviation sector. Ireland has done extremely well from a connectivity perspective. For example, Dublin Airport is the fifth best connected airport in Europe. Dubli…
I thank the Deputy and will let him take a breath.
It would have. He could have used the bike.
I have answered the Deputy's colleagues earlier. We are updating the national aviation policy and we will be bringing forward a new one, on which I will need all inputs. The Deputy and his colleagues have regularly championed Shannon Airport. Shannon is a fine airport. I raise the growth in the airport since 2019. In 2019, 1.72 million passengers travelled to Shannon Airpo…
I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for her contribution.
In response to Deputy Crowe, I want to see all our airports grow. I would like to see more flights out of Shannon, Cork and Ireland West. We see growth in all those airports as well as further projected growth this year in Cork, Shannon, Ireland West and Kerry and small growth in Donegal. For the information of the House, I am working on the preparatory work on the P…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a cheist.
The national heat study, published by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, contains a detailed analysis that is being used by my Department to inform the development of policies and measures to decarbonise Ireland's heating and cooling sectors by 2050. I assure the Deputy that the study considered several potential decarbonisation options for a wide range o…
I am considering all options. There is a new Administration and new Minister. I can see where we have done very well in retrofitting. I have already said very clearly that heat pumps represent the optimal solution but not the only one.
We have got to carry out a very detailed assessment of the supply of biofuels, including biofuels used in transportation. If we are to accelerate their use across residential dwelling…
The local authorities are doing a good job retrofitting social housing stock. I had experience of that in my previous portfolio. We have an exacting target of retrofitting 500,000 homes by 2030. At the last count, the figure stood at approximately 165,000 across the country, both public and private. However, there is work to do be done.
To answer the Deputy's question on the grant offering, I have asked the SEAI to …
I thank the Deputy for his question. As outlined in the programme for Government, we committed to taking decisive action to radically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and achieve a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030, while achieving net zero by no later than 2050. We have been making significant progress in that regard. We also committed to achieving 80% of Ireland's electricity generation from renewable sources b…
No.
I need to get clarification from the Deputy's own party on whether it supports the State-led strategic gas reserve. I am not sure where the Labour Party stands on that. All parties should support it because there is a risk to our country, society and economy if we do not build it. We have an oil reserve but we do not have a gas reserve and we need that. It will be State-led.
On the other matters, such as the plannin…
We are absolutely committed to continuing the transition to renewable energy. We are making progress on that with onshore wind. We have created the infrastructure, which I set up in my previous Department under the marine planning Act and the creation of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA. We have six planning applications in for offshore renewables. I will bring forward proposals to Government shortly rega…
To answer the Deputy's question directly at the start, the analysis conducted by CEPA is under review in the Department now and I must review that. However, I can confirm the study finds Ireland will not meet the N-1 infrastructure standard for gas during the 2030s. The report finds the addition of an FSRU will allow Ireland to meet that standard and I will publish that in the coming weeks. I do not have a definitive…