I thank the Deputy. The accommodation recognition payment was introduced to recognise the generosity of people who opened their homes to provide accommodation to beneficiaries of temporary protection in Ireland who fled the war in Ukraine. The ARP scheme is provided in Part 2 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 and is administered by the Department of Social Protection on behalf of our Department. Th…
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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| 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 |
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| January 2026 | 14 |
| February 2026 | 30 |
| March 2026 | 11 |
| April 2026 | 3 |
| May 2026 | 0 |
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| 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
The scheme has worked, but the time for the scheme should come to an orderly conclusion. Like all temporary schemes, I believe you must look, introduce where needed and phase out where it is no longer appropriate. It is therefore my view that we will be extending the scheme as indicated for 12 months. This will be part of a phasing out process of the ARP. It will also be the intention to reduce the payment from €600 …
I acknowledge what the Deputy is saying but we have to remember how the process of temporary protection came about. It was a temporary process in reaction to accommodation being made available to provide for Ukrainians who had fled from a war. It was designed and put in place as a very particular measure and to facilitate people welcoming people into their homes. It is something for which its time and place is natura…
I begin by joining the Deputy in offering my sympathies to Deputy Colm Burke.
The registration office of the Department is currently experiencing an exceptionally high demand for immigration permission renewal applications. This has regrettably reduced the timeline of the service to our customers. I understand that the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants but I assure the Deputy the Department is ex…
I will do so. As part of that assurance, it is important to say if a person's IRP card has expired and he or she is unable to obtain his or her new one by the expiry date, he or she is still legally permitted to remain in the State. His or her existing IRP card has another maximum of 12 weeks. I fully acknowledge it is frustrating and worrying for people going through this process but, again, I assure the Deputy reso…
We want an efficient and effective service that allows for the fact of those 12 weeks and the fact people are getting a turnaround. There are some exceptional reasons for the surge in demand in terms of the number of people applying. There are particular surge points at different times a year where the numbers go up. We are putting the technology and the systems in place that we believe will allow us to manage this a…
I really welcome the opportunity to address Dáil Éireann today regarding the Criminal Justice (Rehabilitative Periods) Bill 2018 on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan. Unfortunately he is in Brussels today and that is the only reason he is not here.
At the outset, I acknowledge the work that has brought us to this point, some of which was so well described by Deput…
No.
We are obviously not accepting this amendment. I do not know if Sinn Féin fell asleep in 2024 but its members have gone assiduously out of their way - I know they would not do so deliberately - not to mention the new rate card introduced in May 2025 or acknowledge that this rate card is delivering €83 million in savings to the State. It has been applied across 147 centres and the process of putting in place these con…
The Deputy mentioned 2023 to 2024 three times. He never said anything about 2025.
The purpose of having a rate card and delivering those savings, which are in the millions of euro, while having a transparent process under which payments of over €20,000 are recorded is to have a system where people can see what has been paid and we have an ability to negotiate and deliver the best value for money for the taxpayer. When every contract comes up, and there are 147 of them so far since the summer of la…
I have given my answer to the Deputy.
I will rely on a rate card that is delivering millions in savings to us in this area. It is delivering value for money, which we wanted to see, and I believe it is working for us. I will stand over the fact that there is transparency in the payments that are being made. We will not agree, I am sure, but that is the case.
I refer Members to the conversation we had last week. It is the Government’s intention to ensure the system is fully resourced to deal with the outcomes of this legislation.
I propose to take amendments Nos. 21, 27, 29, 79 and 83 together and I will reply to each one. I just want to say, though, before I begin that reply to each individual one, that I am a true believer in democracy. It is very important that we respect democracy and democratic outcomes. We have a Government, and this Government is committed to reform. That is what this legislation is about.
I believe it is important to…
There will be a process. We have a refugee process as well and we have people who come here to work. All of them remain. It is very wrong to portray what is being done here in a particular way when what is actually being done is a process of reform.
Amendment No. 21 proposes to delete section 22(5). That subsection provides that a member of An Garda Síochána, an immigration officer or an officer of the Minister may …
I do not propose to accept amendments Nos. 2 and 3. I will go into that in detail but it is important to make a point at the very start. If a party is anti-EU, and Sinn Féin is, in my opinion, with platitudes to the left and the right of what it may or may not want to say about it, its members would be far more honest to come in here and say that. On every occasion when I listen to its members speak - they come in an…
It is important to recognise there is ongoing co-operation in terms of the management of the common travel area. It is extensive co-operation, as I said in my initial reply. That is at official, political and operational level between An Garda Síochána and the police services of the United Kingdom. All of that is effectively ongoing and continues to be strengthened and deepened in terms of how we actually deal with m…
It is important to note the overall numbers coming in year on year are going down. That is very important and it is the result of a range of measures - some I will accept before the Deputy says it are international and some are directly as a result of the actions taken by myself, the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan and this Government in terms of dealing with the inward flow of migration into the country. That is a very…
I move amendment No. 12:
In page 23, lines 33 and 34, to delete "174(1) or 174(5)" and substitute "174(1), 174(5), 176 or 193".
I propose to take Amendments Nos. 12, 137, 138, 140, 144, 155, 159, 167, 194, 197, 221 to 224, inclusive, 245 to 247, inclusive, 255, 263, 266, 267 and 269 together.
They are technical and drafting amendments providing clarity and correcting errors in the text.
It is the Government's intention that the system will be properly resourced to deal with the issues and matters arising that the Deputy has mentioned.
Sorry, the Deputy is talking to an amendment-----
Yes, but he is referring to his amendment. Tusla is not under my control as Minister of State.
I am not.
I am not. I very clearly said it is the Government's intention that Tusla will be properly resourced.