Brendan Smith

I thank the Minister and very much welcome her emphasis on a greater increase in diversity within the Defence Forces. In my constituency, my colleague Senator Diarmuid Wilson is a member of the defence and security committee and attended the event in Renmore Barracks last week. Several people referred to that particular event over the weekend at clinics and other gatherings I was at. This shows t…

99. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth when a much-needed building project will proceed to the next stage (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10770/26]

This is the first opportunity I have had in this Chamber to wish the Minister every success in her role. It is always a demanding and challenging one in a Department that impacts so many people. As the Minister knows, I have been in regular contact with her through representations and parliamentary questions on the need to advance as quickly as possible a number of building projects throughout Cav…

I strongly welcome the major investment in school buildings since 2020, both in my constituency and nationally. In her response, the Minister stated that the Department is awaiting a submission of a revised stage 1 report from the school. I have been in contact with the Department in this regard, as has the school. This will mean that the school will be submitting plans to the Department for the t…

I fully appreciate that the Minister is not to get involved in technical details but the board of management, the principal and I have sought clarification from the Department and it has not been forthcoming. The board of management, the principal, Mr. Keith Conefrey, the parents’ association and all the staff do not want to waste time getting a redesign, submitting it to the Department and then b…

4. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach which Cabinet committee oversees agriculture; and when it will next meet. [69859/25]

The Taoiseach rightly referred in his response to the massive scale of our food exports. Those food export markets have been hard-earned. There has been massive investment by the State over the decades, and by farmers, in building up a top-class, world-standard food industry. We have animal husbandry and food production to the highest standard. That is why we have been successful in so many market…

Food Harvest 2020.

6. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht his views on the findings of the recent report by the GAA national demographics committee; the measures his Department will implement to address issues relevant to this report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8648/26]

The Minister and the Minister of State will be very familiar with the findings of the report of the GAA's national demographic committee. As we all know, the GAA, along with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association and the Camogie Association, comprise over 2,300 clubs and they have 760,000 members. We are not just talking about sporting organisations. We all know that these clubs are a key and inte…

I welcome the Minister's response. I fully appreciate the understanding that the Minister and the Minister of State have of the concerns outlined by the GAA. In my own county of Cavan, we have had a welcome increase in population, but there is a population imbalance and demographic imbalance. The east of County Cavan is in the commuter belt of Dublin. The clubs there face pressures because of incr…

I thank the Minister. As the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach knows, thankfully, in practically every parish in Cavan-Monaghan, we have excellent community facilities. I know that many communities in Dublin and the highly populated areas would love to have those facilities. As the Minister knows well, we have the social infrastructure in rural communities. We have community centres, schools, GAA and other …

4. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach for an update regarding the programme for Government. [74525/25]

As the Taoiseach is aware, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to protect and renew the regional, local and non-national road network. There has been a welcome increase since 2020 in funding to local authorities on an annual basis. We need a more significant increase. As the Taoiseach is well aware, very heavy rainfall is causing awful damage to our local and regional roads. Coun…

95. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the capital funding available to his Department for developments in the further education sector in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6900/26]

I very much welcome the substantial provision the Minister secured in the national development plan for capital developments in the further education sector. Thankfully, there has been a welcome emphasis in recent years on the development of the further education sector. Will the Minister outline some of the projects that will be progressed and will benefit from the funding available to his Depart…

I thank the Minister for his response. With regard to Deputy Ward's concluding remarks, I very much welcome the fact that the Minister was the first Minister who was able to announce an all-Ireland university. He has worked very assiduously, along with Dundalk Institute of Technology and Queen's University, to have Dundalk Institute of Technology as a college of Queen's University. It is the first…

I thank the Minister for his response and I know of his personal commitment to the project. As I assured him previously at the Oireachtas committee and at other meetings, when the project gets to tender stage it will be advanced as quickly as possible by Cavan and Monaghan ETB. We have an opportunity to work in conjunction with Monaghan Institute and South West College in Enniskillen. It is being …

I raise again the urgent need to improve services in Cavan and Monaghan for persons with disabilities. The present totally inadequate day activation unit at Rathcorrick, Cavan town, needs to be replaced with a modern facility that caters properly for the needs of service users. A new day activation unit must have the capacity to provide for increased numbers of attendees. The young adults in need …

119. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if a new north-east regional enterprise plan is forthcoming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1731/26]

I join with others in extending every good wish for Christmas and the new year to all staff and Members of the Oireachtas. In the context of the proposed Mercosur deal, I again raise the detailed report from the IFA and the Irish Farmers' Journal on their recent fact-finding mission to Brazil. That report again outlined very clearly how much inferior food production is in Brazil and elsewhere in S…

204. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the way in which his Department is positioning Ireland’s education, research and skills system as the “economic Ministry” he often refers to and to that end driving national competitiveness, productivity and long-term prosperity. [67812/25]

As the title of the Minister's Department demonstrates, it has a very broad remit. Of course, education, research and innovation are the key elements in the bedrock of any economy. Importantly, I welcome the fact that the Minister is supporting further and higher education throughout the regions. When the late President Patrick Hillery, as a member of the Fianna Fáil Government in the 1960s, laid …

I was very glad that the Minister was able to accept my invitation to attend Cavan Institute and see it first hand, meeting the students, staff and board of management. There is a vibrancy to Cavan Institute and also Cavan Youthreach. Oftentimes, Youthreach does not get the attention it deserves. In Cavan and Monaghan, I see it as a pathway to further education and on to higher education as well. …

I was delighted at the Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science a number of weeks ago when the Minister was able to tell us about the progress made in developing the strategic partnership between Dundalk Institute of Technology and Queen's University. The Minister was able to say the words, "We will have an all-Ireland university". Those of us, particu…