23. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the current position regarding the community centre investment fund. [72969/26]
TDs / Brendan Smith
Brendan Smith
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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
100. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the income eligibility limits for social housing in Cavan and Monaghan will be increased. [69157/26]
I welcome the Minister's comments in response to Deputy Gillian Toole's very important question on ensuring we have adequate provision for persons with additional needs and disabilities. We had a detailed discussion on this at our parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday night. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, was with me in Cavan on Monday when this particular issue was discussed and he heard at first hand the…
I thank the Minister for his reply. He will have heard me raise this particular issue on many occasions, both in written correspondence to him in parliamentary questions and within our parliamentary party. I welcome the very substantial funding provided to Cavan and Monaghan county councils since January 2025 to continue a very impressive and comprehensive house-building programme throughout both counties. Houses are…
I very strongly welcome the Minister's concluding remarks. As he has heard from me on numerous occasions, and as I have heard from our councillors in Cavan and from all the officials at all ranks in the housing division in Cavan County Council, it is a big issue that we deal with on a daily basis. Good, genuine, hard-working people are coming to us who are above the income limit. They are not in well-paid jobs. They …
11. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will meet next. [64347/26]
I welcome the fact that last Sunday the Taoiseach described the determination by the Parades Commission as "incomprehensible". I did not genuinely think we would be back watching scenes from Portadown, County Armagh on Sunday morning television which we, unfortunately, witnessed up to 1998. I am very glad the Taoiseach met Prime Minister Burnham and that he visited an Irish centre with him. I do not think we can ever…
7. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister. [49735/26]
I welcome the Taoiseach's engagement over recent months with his counterparts in relation to Ireland's Presidency of the European Union. I am glad that he discussed with the Spanish Prime Minister the multi-annual financial framework. Within that multi-annual financial framework, the proposal by the European Commission in respect of CAP is totally inadequate. We have to have a properly funded CAP. In my experience, t…
Food security is very important.
I renew my appeal in relation to the urgent need to increase the income eligibility limits for social housing in counties Cavan and Monaghan. The social housing income baseline is €30,000 in both counties. This is totally inadequate in view of the costs today for people buying or building a home. Daily I am dealing with constituents who are working hard in relatively low-paid jobs and they are above the present incom…
95. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the additional measures that will be implemented to intensify collaboration and delivery of further and higher education on a cross-border and all-Ireland basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50256/26]
The Minister will have heard me many times in this House, at committees and at meetings of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party advocating for closer collaboration on the delivery of education on an all-Ireland basis. There is fantastic potential, especially in the further and higher education sector. I warmly welcome the Minister’s initiative, along with Dundalk Institute of Technology, DkIT, and Queen’s University, …
I thank the Minister for his reply. I must say that members of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, across all jurisdictions, were very strong in their praise of the Minister’s contribution at our plenary meeting in Surrey, where he spoke about the opportunities for all-Ireland developments and also east-west developments.
At a recent meeting of the further and higher education committee, we had the leadership …
As the Minister is aware, we are very anxious to progress the Cavan college of the future. I sincerely hope there will be further developments on that over the summer months. We are anxious to have that major new extension to the existing college constructed on Cathedral Road, right in the centre of Cavan town, where there is a demand for new accommodation. The Minister saw first-hand the work that goes on at the ins…
I raise again the urgent need for improved services for children with additional needs in Cavan and Monaghan. Specifically, I wish to refer today to the need to provide after-school services, including summer camps and Saturday clubs, in County Cavan for children with additional needs.
Enable Ireland is the children’s disability network team, CDNT, in County Cavan. Due to staff shortages, it has been under extreme p…
Enable Ireland is the CDNT.
26. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the recent UK-Ireland summit. [36905/26]
I welcome the establishment of annual UK-Ireland summits. These have the potential to strengthen further bilateral relationships and intensify collaboration in areas such as trade, business, technology, investment, energy and environment. Alongside these annual summits, the Government must also ensure that the potential of the institutions established under the Good Friday Agreement across our jurisdictions are maxim…
8. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the timeline to enact the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Bill 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44544/26]
It is now a year and five months since Storm Éowyn wreaked havoc on this country and caused so much damage. We were promised at that time that the Government would take effective measures to implement the learnings from this storm. I welcome the Minister's major commitment to upgrade energy infrastructure and to very substantial funding. There is also a need to implement new legislative measures, with particular rega…
I thank the Minister for his reply. It should not be rocket science to bring forward these new legislative measures. The initial legislation in this area in this State is the Electricity (Supply) Act 1927, which was amended in 1999 to address the relationship between forestry and transmission lines. For years, I have raised in this House the difficulties facing communities, especially those in my county of Cavan, and…
I thank the Minister for his reply. I cannot emphasise enough the priority that needs to be attached to this. We know the horrendous hardship and suffering that were inflicted on so many individuals, families and communities. Unfortunately, that also happened prior to Storm Éowyn. We are going to have more severe weather events, according to all predictions. Whatever needs to be done, the relevant measures have to be…
It is the lack of maintenance that has allowed trees and forestry to cause so much damage. What has happened previously cannot be allowed continue. I implore the Minister again to emphasise to the stakeholders, namely, other Departments and the statutory agencies, that this legislation has to be prioritised.
I take this opportunity to pay tribute, as I did in 2025, to members of the emergency services who worked in …
The Rathcorick day centre is the location for County Cavan’s day activation unit. This unit provides adult day services for persons with complex needs. Unfortunately, this centre is totally outdated and needs to be replaced as quickly as possible. The adults attending a day activation unit deserve to have modern state-of-the-art facilities. It is not acceptable that these services are provided in totally inadequate a…