I thank the Minister for her response. Our colleague, Deputy McGreehan, will be glad to hear of the Minister's commitment to further investment in Aiken Barracks.
I am glad that the Minister emphasised that accommodation needs to be upgraded. As a member of the then Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence some years ago, I had the opportunity to visit some barracks and I have to say I was very disappoint…
TDs / Brendan Smith
Brendan Smith
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
919
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
21,766
words spoken in the chamber
Across 158 contributions
407
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
211
topics asked about
Across 20 departments
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
What they ask about
The subject headings the Oireachtas filed their questions under.
Who they ask
The departments their questions were addressed to.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Questions asked 919 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 158 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 17 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 45 | 8 |
| March 2025 | 73 | 6 |
| April 2025 | 26 | 4 |
| May 2025 | 63 | 20 |
| June 2025 | 52 | 6 |
| July 2025 | 88 | 5 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 48 | 0 |
| October 2025 | 39 | 14 |
| November 2025 | 57 | 10 |
| December 2025 | 62 | 8 |
| January 2026 | 58 | 6 |
| February 2026 | 52 | 27 |
| March 2026 | 33 | 3 |
| April 2026 | 23 | 4 |
| May 2026 | 39 | 12 |
| June 2026 | 36 | 10 |
| July 2026 | 74 | 8 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 25 | 2 |
| October 2026 | 9 | 5 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 154 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Worked out by computer from the subject headings of each TD's questions, giving more weight to headings few TDs use. It shows shared subjects, not shared views.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Cavan-Monaghan 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
I thank the Minister for her response. Deputy Timmins quite rightly referred to investment in cybersecurity. We all agree with that and we know the urgency of it.
In the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces of 2022, the preferred enlistment is 11,500 by 2028. That is the target that was outlined in that report. To cater for that enlistment that I sincerely hope will be reached and exceeded, additional acco…
What I have suggested, and some of the senior Army personnel at a committee said should be considered, and I would hope the Minister would ask her Department officials to consider, is that Dún Uí Néill could be opened again as a forward operating base-----
-----where members of the Defence Forces could acquaint themselves with the topography and detailed knowledge of that Border region because we are in a difficult security situation and we never know what is ahead of us.
151. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Defence the measures being taken to increase recruitment into the Permanent Defence Force; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12481/26]
As the Minister is well aware, the Commission on the Defence Forces produced a very important strategy in 2022, and the subsequent implementation plan outlined a series of measures that needed to be taken to strengthen our Defence Forces. One of the key issues was the whole area of recruitment and retention of personnel. I welcome the progress that has been made, but I am sure the Minister will be the first to admit …
I thank the Minister for her reply. Again, it is important we recognise there has been stabilisation in the whole defence numbers, with a welcome increase also.
Recent programmes for Government gave a welcome commitment to build on improvements in the recruitment process and, as the Minister rightly referred to, better representation of women at all levels of the Defence Forces. Are there any particular additional m…
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 the general interest …
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 Cavan and Monaghan. Thi…
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 third time. The Depar…
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 being turned down aga…
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 markets throughout the wor…
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 integral part of every c…
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 increasing numbers of pa…
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 sporting organisatio…
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. Counties like Cavan and …
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 Department in 2026 for cap…
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 all-Ireland univers…
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 practical, for which…