I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and for affording me the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley, who is not here today. The Government is committed to the family resource centre programme and cognisant of the benefits that family resource centres bring to their communities. The family resource centre network is an important component in how issues that arise in communities …
TDs / Colm Brophy
Colm Brophy
Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
69,320
words spoken in the chamber
68,175 as a minister, 1,145 as a TD
397
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
The record holds no parliamentary questions from them in this Dáil.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 206 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
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| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 |
| March 2025 | 2 |
| April 2025 | 12 |
| May 2025 | 34 |
| June 2025 | 8 |
| July 2025 | 12 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 1 |
| October 2025 | 14 |
| November 2025 | 12 |
| December 2025 | 10 |
| January 2026 | 14 |
| February 2026 | 30 |
| March 2026 | 11 |
| April 2026 | 3 |
| May 2026 | 0 |
| June 2026 | 0 |
| July 2026 | 3 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 12 |
| October 2026 | 28 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 124 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Dublin South-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Justice 25 February 2025 to 4 June 2025
- office Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration 5 June 2025 to now
Obviously, the Minister, Deputy Foley, is not here today, but I will pass the Deputy's questions directly to her, as I know he will himself. The Government fully supports the family resource centre programme and the positive impacts that family resource centres have had nationally. The centres are a great endorsement of what can be achieved locally and with the associated good for communities. Family resource centres…
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is an issue she is passionate about and she does an awful lot of work in this area. I apologise the Minister is not here to reply to her directly. The national childcare scheme provides financial support to help families with their early learning and childcare costs. The families of almost 247,000 children availed of NCS subsidies in 2025 to help offset the costs of early…
I thank the Deputy. I agree that it is unfortunate as I know she wanted an engagement with the Minister. Hopefully, there will be an opportunity to have a further engagement with her on those very important points she raised. The Minister has outlined her position on how the model works and the ongoing independent evaluation of it to ensure a better operating system in the future. I will convey the Deputy's views to …
I thank the Deputy. I am taking this issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne. I understand that the Dublin Region Homelessness Executive, DRHE, recently released information on the number of homeless people who died in homeless services in 2025. The death of any person in emergency accommodation or a person rough sleeping is a tragedy, and I would like to extend my sincere condolence to the families and friend…
Of course, I will convey directly to the Minister the points and questions raised by the Deputy. I acknowledge and thank the Deputy for raising them. More than €543 million has been allocated to homeless services in 2027. The funding will ensure local authorities can provide emergency accommodation, homelessness prevention and tenancy sustainment services, including Housing First and outreach supports and other servi…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue for his constituents. It is important to note that the Minister, Deputy Browne, not only sends his apologies but has engaged extensively on this. He, along with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is focused on the issues surrounding this.
Statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services, planning delivery and operations rests with Uisce Éireann at n…
I thank the Deputy and I appreciate he has expressed concerns for his constituents. Playing politics around this with Ministers who do not have direct responsibility for this does not help. The Deputy is well aware that there is now a €1.4 billion capital investment in Uisce Éireann as part of the budget.
He is well aware the Ministers are focused, like everybody else, on working with Uisce Éireann. It is important …
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. It is one he has done an awful lot of work on over a long period. He has raised it with me and with the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan.
As he is aware, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions under the Courts Service Act. The allocation of court business is a matter for the Presidents of …
I thank the Deputy. As always, the arguments he makes are very clear, very good and very strong. I have no doubt he gave that commitment and that the people of Laois can rely on him to always honour his commitments because he is that type of public representative and that type of Deputy. I hear him very clearly. The record of this Topical Issue Debate will be read by the Courts Service and the Minister hears the Depu…
I acknowledge the contributions made during this debate. I have listened carefully to the contributions that were made to me and I know that the Minister, Deputy Chambers, listened to the contributions made when he was here, and in particular those concerns that have been raised on behalf of public servants. I hear what has been said. I understand the concerns about inflation and the cost of living. I hear the concer…
No, you actually cannot say that, Deputy.
I have a closing set of remarks but I first want to address one matter. Deputy Conway-Walsh in the final minutes of her remarks talked about how, if Sinn Féin were at some point in time in government, she thinks it might do things in a more inclusive way. She might have a word with her colleague who described another Deputy's contribution as BS, which was acceptable to the Sinn Féin Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. I find th…
It is regrettable and tonally unacceptable.
The naming of the national children's hospital has prompted an important discussion about our history and values, and the way we recognise those who have contributed to the development of healthcare in this country. To name the hospital after of Dr. Kathleen Lynn is rooted in a legitimate desire to honour a pioneering physician whose commitment to children and women in pub…
It is a central priority for me and for the Minister that Ireland's immigration system is firm, fair and effective. The number of international protection applications had been rising over recent years, reaching 18,500 in 2024. In 2025, application numbers fell by approximately one third. The number of applications received up to the end of August 2026 shows a further reduction compared with the same period in 2025. …
As the Deputy will know, we have discussed this on many occasions in the past. The growth in appeals has been triggered by the fact that we have increased the processing time. Obviously, the number of appeals will grow as a result. As I indicated to the Deputy in my earlier reply, we have put in the resources. The Minister and I fully intend to ensure that system continues to work and that we successfully process tho…
Significant resources will be applied to the appeals process to reduce those numbers over the course of this year. It is very important to note that we have an ongoing relationship with the European agency in supporting our work. I accept the Deputy's point that, the longer people are in a process, the more it costs. That is the reason the Minister and I were absolutely focused on making the necessary changes to the …
-----but to ensuring that the people already in the system are processed as quickly as possible.
I thank the Deputy. The State is currently providing accommodation at 297 IPAS accommodation centres around the country, located in every county, in a combination of commercially contracted and State-owned accommodation centres. I clarify for the Deputy that in all IPAS operating accommodation centres, whether they are commercially provided or State owned, the centre management and providers are responsible for day-t…
I will repeat to the Deputy that we enter into a contract, and we have been going through a process of renewing all of these contracts and delivering really substantive savings to the taxpayer by ensuring that the rate card for IPAS centres and the cost to the State of providing them have been substantially reduced. As part of that, we sign a contract with service providers to provide an inclusive service to the Stat…
I am sorry, because I genuinely believe that, underneath it all, the Deputy is able to comprehend things and work them out. It is fairly straightforward. If something is costing the State less to provide at the moment than it did in the past, we are having a saving. Not even in the Deputy's world of make up can he turn that on its head and say it is costing us more.
Sorry, but I did not interrupt the Deputy. The situation is straightforward. We have a wraparound contract. We have a rate card with service providers. They provide a range of services to us. Included in that is security. What has been taking place from the Department's point of view, led by the Minister and me, is meant to ensure that we are saving the taxpayer money year on year on this, and the figures clearly sho…
I did not say I do not know.
I thank Deputy Murphy. The Government, the Minister, and I, very much recognise the really incredible contribution migrants make to Irish society, to communities and the economy, no more so than in our own constituencies.
The programme for Government contains a commitment to continue to implement a firmer and more sustainable migration system which protects the integrity of the State's immigration framework. In that…
Regardless of what the Deputy might like to think, imply or say, the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan and myself are absolutely at one on this. This is a policy which both of us are bringing forward. It is a policy which at its heart is about introducing a modern, progressive system in relation to citizenship, that is fair for our country and for people going through the process. The combination of measures we are lookin…