I thank the Minister of State for taking this on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth. Listening to him respond to the last matter, I understand his passion for primary schools, which we all share. Primary schools are at the hub of all our communities and we often marvel at the work done by principals in primary schools who not only are they leading in the education of the children in the schools, but they …
TDs / Malcolm Byrne
Malcolm Byrne
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,895
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
92,967
words spoken in the chamber
Across 348 contributions
416
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
356
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 1,895 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 348 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 81 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 42 | 16 |
| March 2025 | 71 | 12 |
| April 2025 | 50 | 21 |
| May 2025 | 72 | 28 |
| June 2025 | 46 | 22 |
| July 2025 | 94 | 15 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 68 | 15 |
| October 2025 | 95 | 13 |
| November 2025 | 179 | 22 |
| December 2025 | 111 | 12 |
| January 2026 | 143 | 28 |
| February 2026 | 183 | 31 |
| March 2026 | 136 | 16 |
| April 2026 | 94 | 22 |
| May 2026 | 121 | 18 |
| June 2026 | 102 | 19 |
| July 2026 | 128 | 16 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 45 | 13 |
| October 2026 | 34 | 9 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 258 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 Wicklow-Wexford 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
I thank the Minister of State for his response. I totally get that there are differences between schools. Even within the primary school sector, I made the point that an old school that is very difficult to heat is totally different to a new modern build school. However, a lot of the costs will be the same. There is obviously a question about the overall quantum and there is certainly a case for additional funding fo…
4. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy will next meet. [29735/25]
Up to 25% of Ireland's coastline is facing the serious problem of coastal erosion and the proportion in counties Wicklow and Wexford is higher. The Taoiseach will be aware that I represent an area that stretches from Brittas Bay to Morriscastle. We have some of the finest beaches in the country, but many of them, most notably Courtown and Kilmichael, are in serious danger.
We need to look at addressing this from a c…
I thank the Minister for bringing forward this legislation. The bigger debate we need to have is precisely that around the funding of local authorities. It is interesting that our debate is focusing on the question of the local property tax. The Minister will be aware that the overall budget for local authorities in the country is in the order of €6.7 billion annually.
We are here debating the 6.5% of budgetary inco…
I thank the Minister of State for staying to this late hour to take this question about Coláiste Bhríde in Carnew, Wicklow. This is a progressive secondary school of almost 1,000 pupils which serves a predominantly rural area in south Wicklow as well as parts of north Wexford and south Carlow. The local community rightly takes great pride in this school. The whole school evaluation reports regularly speak of the posi…
I welcome that the Minister of State indicated the stage 2b process is in its final stages. However, he knows as well as I do that the critical next step is moving to a tender so that a contractor will be appointed. With the best will in the world, even if the Minister of State announced tonight that stage 2b was complete and it was moving to tender, we would still probably be looking at more than two years by the ti…
On 10 September 2024, the Cabinet in the previous Government agreed to a Bill that would provide for further regulation of nicotine inhaling products, particularly with regard to a ban on disposable vapes and restrictions on advertising, colours, flavours and imagery used on nicotine inhaling products. It is also in the programme for Government. This is a public health emergency. It has been an active campaign by Wex…
Is there a timeline for the Bill?
I warmly welcome Ireland's decision to apply for associate membership of CERN and want to see a strategy of us moving towards full membership. I commend the Minister personally. He has been a big supporter of this. Indeed, he and I laboured in the last Oireachtas to ensure that this got over the line. I also commend his departmental officials on the work done to join the world's largest and possibly most important sc…
1. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Taoiseach to report on his attendance at the European Council on 20 and 21 March. [16780/25]
I thank the Taoiseach for his comprehensive outline of what happened at the European Council. He indicated we will have initial sight of the next multi-annual financial framework this month. It is critical that we see a fully funded EU budget. From Ireland's point of view, it is critical that the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, is fully funded and is not just there to meet current requirements. While it is essential…
Shame.
On Ukrainian accession-----
Hear, hear.
I thank the Leas Cheann-Comhairle for the indulgence, and I welcome the fact that there are members of Sinn Féin present although I notice that members of "performance before policy" are not present or, rather, the bourgeois wing of the party who, since the split happened, seem to be cosying up to Sinn Féin, according to other Members. It marks the fundamental difference between Government and Opposition in many ways…
109. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his views on whether it is critical that Ireland generates sufficient energy to meet both housing needs and the requirements of a digital economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30257/25]
Are the Minister and his Department sufficiently ambitious to ensure that Ireland will generate sufficient energy to meet housing needs and the requirements of the digital economy?
I am glad the Minister has clarified how the ambition of the Government is to meet those future needs. The future is both green and digital. It is wrong that the debate has been presented by some as a choice between one and the other. The critical issue is that we have a sufficient supply, particularly of clean energy, to meet our future needs.
On the new economy, data centres often get a very bad reputation. I want…
I welcome what the Minister is saying. The Secretary General might wish to reflect on some of her words because the Minister's Department is responsible for ensuring we have a sufficient level of energy. My frustration, as I know is the Minister's, is about the delays, particularly when it comes to offshore renewables. We are talking about 5 GW of offshore wind energy being generated by 2030. Our target then will be …
Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. I entirely agree with Deputy Ó Murchú on the importance of district heating systems, but a very successful model to examine is the one operated by South Dublin County Council which heats facilities of TU Dublin and the council. It was opened by the previous Minister, Eamon Ryan. It provides a sufficient level of low-carbon heating to a number of connected buildings i…
I thank Deputy Ó Muirí for raising this matter. I express concern about the remarks reported in the Irish Independent today by the Secretary General of the Department of energy. It is not about a choice between housing and AI. We need to build housing but we also need to prepare for our tech future. This is also, by the way, the same Department that is responsible for the development of renewable energy, particularly…
My next question will not be reached but it is related to this one as it concerns the efficient use of public moneys. I welcome the launch by the Department of guidelines on the responsible use in public services of artificial intelligence, AI. The Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, and the Minister both launched that document and I commend the Department on it. The use of AI can lead to greater efficiencies in decis…
9. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Taoiseach to report on his recent engagement with the US President. [27216/25]
I strongly agree with the importance of maintaining our friendship with the United States and that our engagements with Congress must be conducted on a bipartisan basis, notwithstanding the concerns we have about the Trump Administration. I am particularly concerned about recent decisions by President Trump to deny access to international students to Harvard University. I hope that in the plans of the further and hig…