I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for this pertinent question.
The Government remains deeply concerned by the devastating conflict in Sudan, which has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. More than 150,000 people have been killed and some 12 million people have been forcibly displaced. The conflict continues to have a catastrophic impact on civilians. Despite reports of better access in some areas in recent months…
TDs / Neale Richmond
Neale Richmond
Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
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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
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Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 265 in all
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| June 2025 | 8 |
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| 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
To be frank, the two main parties to this conflict - the Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, and the RSF - show absolutely no signs of willingness to negotiate a ceasefire, let alone a peace agreement. The conflict is becoming increasingly internationalised with external actors involved, refugee displacement and spillover risks, including in neighbouring Chad and South Sudan.
Since the beginning of 2025, the SAF has made si…
Ireland is gravely concerned by reports that arms continue to reach parties to conflict in Sudan despite existing UN and EU embargoes and sanctions. Specific allegations of embargo and sanction violations are primarily pursued through the appropriate multilateral forums, including the UN Security Council, the European Union and the relevant UN sanction committees. Through these channels, Ireland continues to call on …
We have to raise it through the UN multilateral forums and all appropriate forums.
I am grateful to Deputies O'Meara and Lahart for raising this very timely issue. Ireland condemns Russia’s escalation of large-scale aerial attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. In recent weeks, Russia has launched thousands of drone and missile attacks into Ukraine, some of which have been the largest aerial attacks since the start of the war, resulting in high numbers of civilian casualties and large-scale de…
Another figure that the Ukrainian ambassador cited was that 1,000 drones are being built every day in Russia. Those drones are not being used for delivering a cup of coffee or medicine, we all know that, stark as it is. The sanctions package is very interesting. An Irishman, David O'Sullivan, has the EU responsibility of monitoring sanctions and seeing how they impact. I attended a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in …
The primary role of the de-mining is in respect of training Ukrainian civilian authorities to clear mines. This is done by members of the Defence Forces. Ireland has a particular expertise globally in de-mining. We have been to the forefront of a number of training missions across Africa. We are still active in Uganda through the United Nations. In the last two years the Defence Forces acquired new de-mining equipmen…
Hear, hear.
I am due to be sharing time with other Deputies, who will no doubt be here imminently. We are splitting 25 minutes between four of us.
On a serious note, before I commence this debate, I sincerely and personally commend the work of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, who has left the Chamber. That sentiment was echoed by the Ceann Comhairle. Her closing line was an appeal to men of my generation - I am a man of a …
I thank all Deputies for their very sincere and heartfelt contributions to what is, once again, an extremely difficult debate that has taken place against the backdrop of a genocide and a famine unfolding on our television screens or on our mobile phones in our pockets. Let me be clear from the outset: there is no room for ambiguity. The war in Gaza must end. There must be an immediate ceasefire. The unconditional an…
I join with everyone in acknowledging the friends, family and supporters of those on the flotilla who join us in the Gallery. I thank them as representatives of their loved ones, but also for their own advocacy.
In closing today’s session, I echo the sentiments expressed throughout the House in conveying my deep concern over reports of attacks on the flotilla and take this opportunity to reiterate that no unlawful o…
I genuinely and sincerely thank Deputy Crowe for tabling this very timely Topical Issue. Even though it is a late hour, it is the most appropriate opportunity to talk about a key aspect of a vicious and bloody conflict that has seized the Irish and global body politic for quite some time, particularly since the horrific events of 7 October, followed by the brutal and unacceptable response of the Israeli Government.
…
I do not know. I do not think we are doing enough. I do not think any of us are doing enough because, ultimately, there will be scores of Palestinian children killed tonight. I think we accept that with heavy hearts, but I wonder what more we can do than what we are doing. It is important that we constantly have this debate. That is why I repeat my genuine gratitude to the Deputy for tabling this debate and giving us…
I sincerely thank Deputy Dolan for raising this important matter and allowing me the opportunity to outline the changes on behalf of the Government and his party colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for special education, Deputy Michael Moynihan, that have been recently made to the enrolment criteria for specific speech and language disorder special classes.
There are 63 special classes for pupils wi…
As I outlined previously, the Department has reviewed the enrolment criteria and updated the circular. The updates to the circular were informed by robust engagement with the speech and language therapy service in the National Council for Special Education, the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists, and speech and language therapists in the HSE. It was a multifaceted process. There has also been ongoing…
If it is arranged, then that is the next step. I am more than happy to put on pressure to ensure that it delivers a welcome outcome.
As the Deputy will know, I am very aware of this issue and I have been lobbied intensely by the local councillors. I will lay out a few points for the interest of the Chamber before I get to the meat of the ask, as is appropriate in such a debate.
It is important to state for the record that the annual enrolment process for new junior infants at primary and new first-years at post-primary is a very large-scale opera…
I thank the Deputy for using the time available to highlight a really important issue. Being married to a special education teacher, I hear about this quite regularly, as the Deputy can imagine. For anyone who thinks politicians are going on holidays in two weeks' time, I can assure them not only are we not but our school leaders and teachers certainly are not on holidays at the moment. This is perhaps the busiest an…
I thank the Deputy for expressing condolences in the House. I suppose when he submitted this Topical Issue, he did not think we would be thinking of tragedies on our roads and indeed more high-profile ones. It is a timely reminder. The Ceann Comhairle has such a strong track record on road safety, it is appropriate we take a moment before discussing this specific issue.
As the Deputy is aware, the Minister is respon…
I am glad to hear that the response was of some use. We look at the quantums available, as I alluded to at the outset of my initial response, in terms of the capital spending budget, not necessarily for new national road projects but the €2.9 billion allocated for the protection and renewal of the existing national road network, with a considerable amount, €502 million, made available this year. The Deputy will recal…
I really appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I can confirm the Government is of course not opposing this motion. From my time in this Chamber and before that in the Upper Chamber, I know we all share a long-standing desire to deepen the connections between Ireland and the global Irish, but especially on this island. I know there are very few of us in the Chamber who have not been touched by emigr…
I sincerely thank Deputy Ó Muirí for raising this topic, which he knows is extremely close to my heart. He has years of experience of involvement, in his local community of Clontarf and beyond, in this specific area and this is a great opportunity to delve into it a little bit.
Since 2020 the Department of education has invested more than €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the national developmen…
I fully empathise, especially with the comparison with Manor House School. I happen to know the pitch quite well from previous exploits as a really bad coach. I appreciate a pitch of that size represents serious capital work that is obviously way beyond the schemes laid out that are open at the moment. However, we have seen examples where there have been what I would not call public-private partnerships but community…
I had to check my phone because in the Deputy's new guise as Oireachtas AI committee chairperson, I had to see if he had been reading my phone for the correspondence I have just had with the principal of a local national school in my area on more or less this exact point. This is an issue that regularly comes up for every Member of this House and I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline to the Hous…
I will address three points in response. I will come to a broader point, but the first is that if there are specific schools, the financial support services unit, FSSU, on behalf of the Department plays a crucial role in seeing where there are funding gaps. In order for the Department to assess the current financial situation, the school needs to engage with the FSSU for the purpose. The Department will refer this sc…