I want to elaborate a little on the work of the funding. The funding will build upon the existing programme of Holocaust education provided by the Department of Education and Youth in Irish schools. It will enable the foundation to make available to schools in Ireland virtual guided tours of the Auschwitz Museum and Memorial, further enhancing opportunities for Irish young people to deepen their understanding of the …
TDs / Neale Richmond
Neale Richmond
Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
100,288
words spoken in the chamber
97,626 as a minister, 2,662 as a TD
278
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
The record holds no parliamentary questions from them in this Dáil.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 265 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 8 |
| March 2025 | 46 |
| April 2025 | 4 |
| May 2025 | 4 |
| June 2025 | 8 |
| July 2025 | 9 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 1 |
| October 2025 | 13 |
| November 2025 | 33 |
| December 2025 | 2 |
| January 2026 | 14 |
| February 2026 | 35 |
| March 2026 | 4 |
| April 2026 | 24 |
| May 2026 | 9 |
| June 2026 | 11 |
| July 2026 | 28 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 11 |
| October 2026 | 1 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 161 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 Rathdown 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs 29 January 2025 to 25 March 2025
- office Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 26 March 2025 to now
I am very grateful to both the Deputies for their timely interventions. To directly answer Deputy Ó Fearghaíl's question, it is expected that these tours will be made available to Irish schools in the next academic year, so that is not too far away at this stage. There is a great opportunity for all of us as local representatives to engage with schools in our constituencies to encourage them to be part of this progra…
Ireland remains deeply concerned at the ongoing erosion of human rights and democracy in Russia, which has been exacerbated by Russia’s illegal, full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we have seen a heightened number of arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as harassment and persecution, of peaceful anti-war activists, human rights defenders, journalists, cultural …
There are a couple of measures there. First and foremost, Ireland has fully supported all 19 sanctions packages promoted by the European Union against Russia, the latest of which was agreed in October 2025. A 20th package of sanctions is currently being worked on and Ireland will be to the fore in supporting it. We absolutely condemn Russia's withdrawal from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and I…
It should be really important to say the Irish Government condemns the Russian Government. The Irish Government and our European partners condemn the regime of Putin and those who support it and fund it, particularly the oligarchs. We have great sympathy for the people of Russia who live in a state of fear and repression and it has been made quite clear what happens to those who speak out against the regime. Alexei N…
I am grateful to the Deputy not only for raising this issue but also for her consistent advocacy for stronger Irish-Canadian relations in her role as convener of the Canada-Ireland Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group.
As the Deputy knows, Ireland and Canada have cultivated strong political, economic and cultural connections, grounded in our shared history, values and commitment to a rules-based international order.…
From a Department point of view, most of our spending in relation to strengthening ties with Canada happens within Canada. This is not just from the direct diplomatic missions, including in Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa, but also with a range of groups that promote Irish culture and heritage and work with the Irish communities across the broad expanse of Canada. In relation to funding in country and the opportunity f…
One of the key strands to the Government's approach to Canada is promoting those cultural and historically links. That will not only be reflected in the new Global Ireland diaspora strategy that I look forward to launching at the end of April, but also in our commitment to working with our Canadian counterparts and using CETA not just for economic enhancement but looking where the real cultural and shared values are …
I propose to take Questions Nos. 65 and 70 together.
I am grateful to both Deputies Gibney and O'Rourke for tabling this timely intervention. The Government strongly supports the EU’s competitiveness agenda. Simplification is a key enabler of this. The European Commission put forward ten separate simplification omnibus packages in 2025. Each package usually contains several legislative proposals relevant to multiple…
It is important that I be crystal clear on this matter. The Government's position is that simplification must be about better regulation, not deregulation. We need to reduce the regulatory burden, particularly for SMEs, while maintaining high ambition in terms of protections, including environmental, human health, privacy and a range of other standards. The omnibus proposal is not actually an omnibus; it comprises te…
Where is the relevance?
I will not be baited by the needless false comparison from Deputy Gibney in somehow bringing the triple lock and neutrality into this really serious debate. She asked who the stakeholders are before, without any evidence, telling me they are just businesses. In fact, stakeholders include civil society, work organisations, the trade union movement and citizens as a whole. There is a clearly enshrined EU consultative p…
I propose to take Questions Nos. 66, 87 and 90 together.
It might not be wise for me to tell Deputy Ó Fearghaíl how I feel about the situation in Belarus. Personal emotions might be slightly stronger than the Government position. Belarus continues to live under the shadow of repression. The Government remains extremely concerned at the ongoing erosion of human rights and democracy there and Belarus's ongoing support…
It is a very serious proposition by the Deputy that needs to be dealt with quite delicately. In December of last year, the EU widened the scope of sanctions against Belarus in response to hybrid activities affecting EU member states. That decision was not taken lightly. While, of course, we welcome the release of political prisoners by Belarus and we are very grateful to the role of the US Administration, we have yet…
In direct response to the Deputy's question, I do not envisage a lessening of sanctions any time soon. They were only just increased in December due to the hybrid incursions into Lithuanian airspace. I go back to his original point on how we get guided by the application of sanctions. Sanctions do work. Sanctions forced the Belarusians to release so many prisoners and the sheer prospect of them being weakened by the …
I thank Deputy Gibney for raising this. If the Deputy does not mind, I acknowledge the work of Senator Alice-Mary Higgins in this regard. I have taken a Commencement matter for her in the Seanad and have had many engagements on what is a complex issue. It is good that we are discussing it.
On 4 October 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld an earlier ruling of the General Court annulling the Counci…
It must be made clear that Ireland maintains bilateral relations with the Kingdom of Morocco. We have an embassy there and a resident ambassador here, but we also maintain engagement with the opposition within Western Sahara. We do have that full engagement with all peoples, recognising that about 20% of Western Sahara is under the control of the self-determination movement. We tread a delicate line here, to be quite…
I appreciate the intervention - I am looking up to make sure I am not missing anyone - from all three Deputies. What I want to get through is real clarity. Ireland's position on Western Sahara has been, and continues to be, guided by the aim of achieving a just and lasting political solution that will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, as to Deputy Ó Laoghaire's point, and we make tha…
The Deputy and I occasionally disagree. We actually agree more times than we disagree but let us not let the people of Dublin Rathdown know that. I like to think one area we passionately agree on is Ireland's role when it comes to official development assistance and development. I am relishing Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union putting development back at the centre of European discussions.
We…
Crucially, every challenge we face in Europe at the moment goes back to global instability. When the pillar of development is removed, the foundation stone of that global stability is removed. You are creating more problems for yourself on direct bilateral relations and allowing more malevolent actors fill the space of more benevolent actors.
The Deputy is quite right that certain member states are cutting developme…
Absolutely. As I said, I have no issue with European member states or the Union investing in security and defence. It is sensible, but I do not think you can make the argument that money can be taken from development and not expect to end up spending more on security and defence as a result. The Deputy mentioned early intervention and the source of the conditionality of aid. Something I am concerned about is the noti…
I will address the generality of the Deputy's point and then get to the specifics.
Ireland's engagement with the European Union is comprehensive and deep, reflecting our commitment to the European project. Since the Minister, Deputy McEntee, assumed office in November, she has participated actively in all three formal Foreign Affairs Council meetings that have taken place, including most recently in Brussels. These …
The Deputy's point is well made. He knows as well as I do the complexities of EU law and the right of the European Commission to negotiate a trade deal and of the European Council to give it the power to implement something in reflection of a vote passed by absolute majority or qualified majority voting, QMV, as was decided.
The Irish Government is clear that it does not back the Mercosur deal. We are against it. We…
We voted against it.
I greatly welcome the opportunity to briefly respond on aspects of this debate. It is a vitally important debate at, to be quite frank, an extremely delicate time in international politics, one that many people, in particular our Taoiseach have said, requires cool heads and very clear thought. It is also an opportunity to reassert absolutely and unconditionally Ireland’s commitment to the global rules-based order, mu…