In the week when special school classes were announced for 2026, I need to raise with the Minister the case of River Valley Community National School in Swords. It is not looking for a class in 2026; it is looking for a class now. This is in agreement with the NCSE. The school is a developing school in good but interim accommodation. It is being refused by the Department of education the provision of an autism class …
TDs / Duncan Smith
Duncan Smith
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
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
Uisce Éireann Infrastructure Delivery, Accountability and Repair Timelines: Motion [Private Members]
I thank Deputy Collins for initiating this debate. He has pushed hard for it over the past number of weeks in the Business Committee.
A number of things about Uisce Éireann need to change and change utterly. One is the culture of the organisation, which has shifted hugely in the past four years, and I will outline two examples to illustrate that. One relates to my constituency and the Swords wastewater treatment pla…
One of the areas we are quite concerned about is our reputation for being coherent and trusted within the European Union. To be clear, the Labour Party has been consistently opposed to the Mercosur deal on the basis of its impact on climate and the potential impact on workers' rights. The European Trade Union Confederation has been very strong on this for a number of years. Unfortunately, our Government has been anyt…
I have been ringing alarm bells for several years in relation to coastal erosion in Portrane. Last week during Storm Bram, some families lost 5 m of garden in just a four-hour period. They simply cannot wait around any longer for the planning process, working groups or task forces. They are at risk of losing their homes and they need help. We are looking at potentially hundreds of families being homeless without a sw…
We have deep concerns about the response to the flu outbreak. Accidents and emergency departments are under pressure. We have run out of nasal flu vaccines for infants. We would like to get a response from the Government before we go into the Christmas break, which we expect to be peak flu season.
86. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Defence to provide an update on the drone activity during the visit of President Zelenskyy; to give clarity on the decision to not intercept these drones; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72153/25]
A lot of this has been well aired over the past couple of weeks but I have a number of questions. Will the Minister clarify if this is being treated as an act of hybrid warfare? Was air traffic control in Dublin Airport made aware in real time, or as close to real time, of the incident, and if not, why not? When was it made aware and what protocols underpin engagement with air traffic control in Dublin? Are there pla…
If the Minister does not have the answer now, I would like her to come back on the question relating to when air traffic control in Dublin Airport was informed about this. According to my sources, I understand it was not informed about this and has led to some disquiet about different organisations talking to each other. We have fixed rules regarding drone activity and no-fly zones and for the major airspace to not h…
11. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if the Government will commit to a reinstatement of the supplementary pension facility for uniformed services, to ensure that retention and recruitment can increase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60495/25]
I am glad to have the opportunity to speak. It beggars belief that we did not have pre-legislative scrutiny on this Bill, considering that it arose out of a Supreme Court judgment, which essentially struck down the investor court element of the CETA agreement. I do not think we need pre-legislative scrutiny of every Bill that comes before the House, although we should have it for most, but we certainly should have ha…
I am not but I am very close to finishing.
Every vote in support of this Bill will bring ultimately bring potential harm on the State and it does not have to be that way. We do not need an independent investment court or arbitration system. I ask the Minister to look again and withdraw this, to go about it a different way and to trust our court system. We can have good and growing trade with Canada. We can be good partners and improve things. We do not need t…
We had that regular Thursday pantomime at the end of the first part of Leaders' Questions. I want to focus on an issue that is important to the Labour Party, which is Garda resources and Garda recruitment. Specifically, I want to raise with the Tánaiste the lack of new Garda stations and the Government's continued lack of meeting Garda recruitment figures. According to a reply to a parliamentary question I submitted …
The capital plan that has been drafted does not seem to be rooted in the reality of how towns are growing. My colleague Deputy Conor Sheehan talked about the Garda station and Garda needs in Castletroy. Every Member in this House will say the same. There needs to be a commitment to the reality. I did not mention investment, because we have had no shortage of money; it is a shortage of delivery. There has been some cr…
I am delighted that we are able to bring this motion to the House today. As the Labour Party health spokesperson in the last Dáil, I was privileged to receive a number of briefings and to speak to members of the trans community, a community that is so often talked about but never listened to and a community that is attacked by presidents, authors, writers and other privileged people in this world. Trans people are us…
Hear, hear.
Give us a break. You-----
Will the Deputy be voting for the fox-hunting Bill?
Sit down and shut your mouth. Gobshite.
Speak to the motion.
What is the Deputy's opinion? He is not speaking to the motion.
2. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide an update on the Israeli settlements (prohibition of importation of goods) Bill; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66299/25]
I genuinely wish the Minister, Deputy McEntee, all the best in her new role. I am sure the experience gained in her previous Ministry in European affairs will be a great grounding for the work she has ahead.
My question is seeking an update on the prohibition of settlement goods Bill, which has been the primary Bill in terms of the public's attention during this calendar year. It has been on the books for seven year…
Pre-legislative scrutiny ended on 31 July and a report was delivered. On 2 October in this Chamber, the previous Minister for foreign affairs said it was his expectation that the Bill would be before the Dáil by the end of November. Today is the last sitting day of November, so that is obviously not happening. Between 2 October and now, what has happened and what has changed?
The Minister said in her initial contrib…
Notwithstanding the short time she has been in the job, this is the only new legislation that has come through the foreign affairs brief this year. It is not a small Bill. It has been well aired. The Minister spoke about it in the national media this year as a member of the Government. At this stage, the people of Ireland and Opposition TDs need more certainty in respect of timelines. It is not good enough for the Mi…