It is a national embarrassment that we are without detection systems in our skies and waters and must rely on the Royal Air Force, RAF. We have outsourced that element of our sovereignty for a long time. The Tánaiste brought a note to Cabinet on a radar detection system that he wants to bring on board. Will he provide to the House more details on the timelines and costs involved?
TDs / Duncan Smith
Duncan Smith
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547
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
93,576
words spoken in the chamber
Across 293 contributions
361
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
162
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 547 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 293 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 12 | 2 |
| February 2025 | 40 | 11 |
| March 2025 | 46 | 10 |
| April 2025 | 34 | 16 |
| May 2025 | 27 | 14 |
| June 2025 | 31 | 19 |
| July 2025 | 19 | 13 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 34 | 8 |
| October 2025 | 31 | 23 |
| November 2025 | 24 | 31 |
| December 2025 | 17 | 18 |
| January 2026 | 16 | 16 |
| February 2026 | 34 | 18 |
| March 2026 | 19 | 14 |
| April 2026 | 25 | 9 |
| May 2026 | 41 | 30 |
| June 2026 | 51 | 12 |
| July 2026 | 15 | 11 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 12 | 9 |
| October 2026 | 19 | 9 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 187 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 Dublin Fingal East 29 November 2024 to now
- party Labour Party 29 November 2024 to now
I thank the Tánaiste. We are so far behind in our capability. Is it envisioned that what is going to be provided and online for the State will be of the highest technical standard compared with other states? Will we be bringing in equipment to a specification that is perhaps ten or 20 years behind other states?
We must improve our national security. Only when we are minding our own shop can we promote our positive n…
The provision of modern fit-for-purpose capabilities is important. There would be more trust from this side of the House if we were not having the parallel debate on the triple lock and what is coming down the tracks there. There are places we can land on in terms of the extraction of Irish citizens and ensuring that capability can be raised but the multilateral backup of the UN for peacekeeping missions is still vit…
Europe Day celebrates peace and unity in Europe, but as we know and are witnessing there is no peace in Gaza and the occupied territories at this moment. This is a huge responsibility and weakness in the foreign policy of the European Union and how it operates in its neighbourhood. It is now more than 50 days since any food or medicine has been allowed into Gaza. Europe, with a few exceptions - Ireland being one and …
I for one do not doubt the Minister of State's personal bona fides in terms of his approach to this role, the success of which everyone in the Gallery and beyond wants to see. If the Minister of State is successful, it will improve the lives of families and children that need special education. However, one of the first acts that the Minister of State could do today is to encourage the Minister to withdraw this insul…
It is not insulting to us as such, but to the families, the parents, the SNAs and the activists in the Gallery, outside and throughout the country. It is insulting to the 126 children who are without a school place now, one of whom, Frankie Edgeworth in my constituency, has been refused 83 different forms of education from preschool to primary school. He is six years of age and severely autistic with intellectual dis…
The proposal for a so-called housing tsar will be one of the most egregious of this Government. The details in the programme for Government stated it would be under the Minister for housing but it is emerging that the pay would come from the Department of Finance. We are still unclear as to the remit or powers this new, well-remunerated role will have. As the Government dragged its heels on setting up committees and …
I am sharing time with my colleague, Deputy Marie Sherlock.
I was taken with the comments of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, in his contribution earlier. The Minister has been Minister across the finance briefs for many years, through a number of crises. His general approach to things is one of calm. He is not one for hyperbole. He spoke about global economic activity increasingly fragmenting along politic…
There is no excuse as to why we cannot roll out the committees this week, and I fully support that.
I turn to CHI. The HIQA report published today is a matter of historical significance. We will now enter a two-week recess for Easter, and we think we should have a full debate this week on the HIQA report into CHI, the subsequent resignations and all the associated issues.
Last night Donald Trump took aim at every traditional ally of the United States with a blunt and destructive economic weapon. The tariffs his administration has imposed worldwide risk plunging us all into a global recession. In his Rose Garden address, Donald Trump exhibited zero economic rationale for pursuing such an approach but perhaps proved why he is one of very few people in the history of the planet that ende…
It might be somewhat optimistic to think last night was a moment and now we can move on to negotiations. My fear is we will have more moments like this from the President of the United States. EU unity is easier on trade because it is the raison d’être of the EU. It is essentially a trade agreement between European states from which peace and prosperity will flow. Therefore, unity is strong and we should ensure that …
I was aghast to read in the Mail on Sunday that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael backbenchers are absolutely livid at the breakdown of time for other speakers.
In the interests of fair parliamentary order, and it being clear that backbenchers in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, with whom I have deep sympathy, who are sent out to bat, (a), did not have a clue what they were arguing for; (b), had no idea ultimately what they were voting for; and (c), were ultimately clueless as to the impact, having been utterly misled by their own Whips, I ask that we convene that Dáil reform comm…
That makes no sense.
Here.
124. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline all engagements he has had with the Trump Administration in regard to its announcement of pharmaceutical tariffs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15825/25]
On the eve of what we are expecting tomorrow, I would like an update on our engagement with the US Administration on the proposed tariffs that are coming into play tomorrow.
The complexity of global supply chains is not lost on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. I am sure it is not lost on the other side either, even though the policies that the US Administration intends to introduce will be blunt and damaging. Approximately 77,500 people are directly employed in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry in this country, although it is not going to be the only industry impacted if th…
In fairness to the Tánaiste, I recognise his productivity in engaging on Irish exports to the US economy and on putting such an effort into the St. Patrick’s Day visits over the course of a week in the US. Across all levels, from local government right up, this has been very important.
There is no appetite for hysteria here regarding what is going to happen tomorrow. No one wants that. However, we will need to be ve…
I extend my thanks to the Social Democrats, and to Deputy Gibney in particular, for bringing this motion forward. In Ireland we have a unique position. As a small European nation with a large global footprint, it is both our neutrality and our commitment to development aid which have given us a distinctive voice on the world stage. While many states, including our European partners, are reducing their development aid…
It is not the first time it has happened to me.
I wish to focus on the massive move towards militarism within the European Union and reflect on what the Taoiseach presented to us. He referred to the loosening of the purse strings in Europe in terms of rearming countries at a time when we have so many crises, including the housing crisis. During the European elections last year, our candidate in Dublin, Aodhán Ó Ríor…
I welcome these statements. I made a request for them at the Business Committee two weeks ago and they were very quickly put on the agenda, which highlights the regard in which we hold this issue in the House. The 1989 academic paper "The End of History?" by Francis Fukuyama, and the subsequent book, The End of History and the Last Man, 1992, make the central argument that Western liberal democracies have won out and…
I commend my colleague, Deputy Wall, whose commitment to carers neither begins nor ends with this motion. He has done, and continues to do, wonderful work. I also commend the young carers who are here. Nowhere in this country does the State get better bang for its buck than the money it gives to carers. That is compounded even more by young carers who get nothing. With what they give, and what they save the State, it…
I will continue from where my colleague, Deputy Sheehan, left off. What the Government intends to do if it implements all the recommendations from the Department of housing is turn a scheme, albeit an imperfect one, that was keeping people out of homelessness into a zombie scheme. It will be a scheme that exists in name but that is not practical and does not help people stay out of homelessness. The plans afoot for t…