Behind every drug debt is a mother living in terror, a father struggling in silence and a family wondering when the knock will come to the door, or worse. The lessons from the Drogheda feud as far back as 2017 have still not been acted on by the Government. We saw drug debt being bought up by drug gangs acting like vulture funds more than a year before the feud even started. In the following years, many of those inde…
TDs / Joanna Byrne
Joanna Byrne
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
473
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
55,881
words spoken in the chamber
Across 208 contributions
404
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
107
topics asked about
Across 15 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 473 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 208 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 4 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 29 | 25 |
| March 2025 | 38 | 14 |
| April 2025 | 29 | 11 |
| May 2025 | 20 | 10 |
| June 2025 | 11 | 10 |
| July 2025 | 34 | 6 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 12 | 5 |
| October 2025 | 6 | 6 |
| November 2025 | 25 | 4 |
| December 2025 | 2 | 4 |
| January 2026 | 43 | 15 |
| February 2026 | 36 | 13 |
| March 2026 | 23 | 12 |
| April 2026 | 17 | 7 |
| May 2026 | 32 | 13 |
| June 2026 | 42 | 22 |
| July 2026 | 18 | 3 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 40 | 5 |
| October 2026 | 12 | 22 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 121 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 Louth 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
119. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to detail the reasons, missed key performance indicators or criteria that led to his decision to cut RTÉ’s previously agreed public funding for 2027 by €20 million. [73874/26]
As has already been said, no organisation can operate effectively without clarity on its budget. This announcement of a €20 million cut to RTÉ came as a complete shock to it and to everybody else. I am not any clearer than my colleague after the Minister of State's statement as to the reasons. Ambiguous statements and quotes about difficult decisions just do not cut it. Is there genuine discontent with RTÉ in the Gov…
118. Deputy Joanna Byrne asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the way in which he plans to clear the backlog in approved applications for the large-scale sport infrastructure fund when the scheme has only been given an allocation of €39 million for 2027. [73886/26]
I also extend my best wishes to the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan; I wish him a speedy recovery. How does the Minister intend to clear the backlog in the approved applications for the large-scale sport infrastructure fund considering the abysmal allocation in the budget this year?
The Government has to get real and acknowledge that at the rate it is going it will never clear the approved LSSIF applications. This year's budget is just shameful. The Minister of State talks about there being no backlog, yet the Department is not meeting the demand of the applications. Every sporting organisation in this country, including the FAI and the GAA, has report after report, many endorsed by the Governme…
I acknowledge that many projects have come through, and they are all very worthwhile and worthy projects, but some of the approved projects have been sitting there since 2018, with nine construction projects approved under the 2018 round yet to commence. The Minister of State stands here today talking to me about opening a new round in 2028. The Department has not cleared 2018, it cannot meet the demand of 2024 and w…
It is €165 million. You are not.
You are not.
I move amendment No. 1:
In page 8, between lines 1 and 2, to insert the following:
“ ‘new audiovisual works’ where it is referred to in section 159F(2) shall be interpreted to include but not be limited to feature films, animation, drama, and documentary programmes;”.
This amendment is based on a number of proposals put forward by Screen Producers Ireland, SPI, that we feel did not get sufficient discussion on Com…
I move amendment No. 2:
In page 12, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following:
“and
(b) by the insertion of the following after subsection (3)(i):
“(j) support the development of arts broadcasting and promotion, including by progressing the incorporation of regular arts bulletins akin to existing sports bulletins as part of the news service of public service media to inform the public of developments and ach…
I echo everything Deputy Gibney said. A level of faith was provided to the Minister by my colleague Deputy Ó Snodaigh. I am also a member of the Committee of Public Accounts, so I am aware that the delay in passing this legislation is causing problems for the Comptroller and Auditor General. I respect that there has to be some balance, but that that cannot be used as a catalyst to bypass genuine intent for the good o…
I move amendment No. 3:
In page 19, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following:
"Insertion of new section 46MA into Principal Act
19.The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 46M:
"Duty to the whole community of the island of Ireland
46MA.(1) RTÉ and TG4, whose national television broadcasting services shall be made available, in so far as it is reasonably practic…
I will not argue the point.
I will take the Minister of State at his word on this matter. There is cross-party acknowledgement that it needs to be worked through and teased out a bit further. I sincerely hope the engagement does not stall at writing to the British Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. We need actions to follow up on that engagement. If that happens, the Minister of State will have the support of the Sinn Féi…
I move amendment No. 5:
In page 25, line 19, after “TG4” to insert “, and, in the case of at least 50 per cent of the members of the board of RTÉ, to the board of RTÉ,”.
Deputy Ní Raghallaigh will speak on the amendment.
I move amendment No. 7:
In page 34, line 12, to delete “at least 10 members” and substitute “all members”.
I move amendment No. 8:
In page 38, between lines 1 and 2, to insert the following:
“Insertion of new section 105A into Principal Act
41.
The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 105:
“Duties of a Corporation to ensure revenue supports sustainable employment
105A. A corporation shall support sustainable employment where its revenue is used to fund productions, perform…
Government policies have made Drogheda a commuter town and those commuters need a train station on the north side of the town. Almost 20 years ago the proposed train station on the town's north side was included in the Drogheda northern environs plan. This plan foresaw the huge rise in population in Drogheda and the need for a second train station on the north side. The site of the proposed train station was on broch…
I reiterate what I finished with in my previous contribution. No obstacle is insurmountable if the Government wants to deliver it. The Government is spending €3 million on a temporary train station in Adare ahead of the Ryder Cup in September 2027. This is millions of euro on a temporary station. The mind boggles. The Government is investing €150 million to fast-track a 7 km bypass to permanently remove traffic conge…
In a Government budget that has disappointed and failed to deliver for the vast majority of people, the budget that the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan presented for culture, communications and sport this year is the biggest disappointment to those for whom it is relevant, and the biggest failure to deliver. Last year the Department presented a budget of €1.5 billion and this year the package is only €1.3 billion. The det…
Several times this year, I have raised the hot school meals programme for St. John's and St Paul's schools in Drogheda, including with the Taoiseach back in March. These schools have an in-house canteen providing affordable daily hot food options for children. The Department of education saw its value and importance. It has been lauded as a best practice model for school meals and it has been cited in various publica…
There is a lot in this motion, which I thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward, but I will focus on petrol and diesel prices for now as successive Government policies have made my home town of Drogheda a commuter town. Decisions by Fianna Fáil governments that there should be a focus on just one town in a county - in the case of Louth, that is Dundalk - has seen foreign direct investment and a lot of jobs go t…
This week, our national football team looks set to line out against the terrorist State of Israel in the Nations League. The Government has been completely devoid of leadership and humanity on this issue and its inaction and reluctance to intervene or enable the FAI to withdraw from fixtures will be a lasting stain on our nation.
Sporting infrastructure and stadiums have been obliterated and 75,000 Palestinians have…
Ireland has lost 88 personnel from the Irish Defence Forces while serving on UN peacekeeping missions since 1958. Among other places, they went to Congo, Cyprus, and, most famously, Lebanon. They all went wearing the blue beret to protect civilians and to preserve peace. They went assured they were upholding international law and in service of the rules-based order. They did not go as part of wars of aggression. They…