14. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on water quality will next meet. [63480/25]
TDs / Malcolm Byrne
Malcolm Byrne
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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
Notwithstanding other matters that may have happened today, I believe this is the most important debate to be happening in this House. It is not just about Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine but, rather, a question around the war in Europe and, indeed, a war on Europe by an increasingly aggressive Russia. I have to express my disappointment that while every other parliament in Europe has been debating and exploring…
A wise man.
Yes, I am.
I commend Deputy Farrelly on introducing this Bill and on his deep and genuine commitment to young people, engagement in civic life and youth work more generally. I have long supported the reduction of the voting age to 16. In fact, I wrote an opinion piece in August 2007 for The Irish Times and in preparing for this I reread it. The arguments I made then are still as strong 18 years later as they were at…
That is not true.
Hear, hear.
We have worrying news from Arklow this morning. The Merck Life Sciences plant, which is located in the town, is scheduled to close in 2028. About 100 employes are impacted. I have been speaking with the company. There will be efforts to redeploy. Until now, Merck has been a very good employer. I know many of the people who are working there. It is critical, and I would like assurances, that every support will be give…
I echo the remarks of Deputy Eoghan Kenny with regard to trans healthcare and, indeed, condemn outright the appalling personalised attack on the Minister of State for her compassion. I have known the Minister of State for a long time, and she is somebody who wears her heart on her sleeve. It is important to have that within the Department of Health. I will always have her back, as I think will nearly everybody in thi…
I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to regulate the use of the title "accountant", to establish criteria for recognition, and to provide for offences and penalties for misuse of the title, and to provide for related matters.
I am happy to be here today to introduce the Companies (Protection of Title: Accountant) Bill 2025. This Bill is about protecting consumers. At present, anybody ca…
I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."
18. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Taoiseach to report on his engagement with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. [51122/25]
I echo the views expressed by the Taoiseach and my colleague Deputy Brennan on the fact that we need to continue to show solidarity with Ukraine and support, in every way possible, the people of Ukraine in their fight on the front line against Russian aggression. Whatever support we can provide while bearing in mind our policy of neutrality, must be provided. On cyber resilience and hybrid warfare, we need to work wi…
Will the Taoiseach comment on the possibility of President Zelenskyy addressing a joint sitting of the Houses?
I can, but I will not be able to do so in the time allowed. I welcome the debate. That the Minister and both Ministers of State from the Department are present speaks to a recognition of the seriousness of the challenge facing the tillage sector. I have raised this issue with the Minister on a number of occasions on the floor of the House and privately. I know he is aware of the challenge. Colleagues have outlined th…
1. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the economy, trade and competitiveness will next meet. [46519/25]
I strongly welcome the Taoiseach's commitment to the implementation of CETA and to the growth of our trade relations with Canada. However, I want to raise EU competitiveness. It is over a year since the publication of the Draghi report yet the European Policy Innovation Council, the Brussels-based think-tank states that only 11% of the recommendations are on the road to implementation. We are seriously falling behind…
13. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs will next meet. [46520/25]
We are seeing an expanding war in Europe now and Russia’s campaign of aggression against Ukraine but also others. We are seeing horrific things. Up to an estimated 20,000 children have now been abducted from Ukraine and taken into Russian territory. We also know about the hybrid and cyber attacks from Russia on member states of the European Union and, indeed, other European countries. We have seen drone attacks and v…
I praise the very considerable investment in sport that has been made by this and the previous Government and commend the Minister of State and his officials on the co-operation with local sports groups on the sports capital scheme and the LSSIF.
In reviewing both the sports capital scheme and the LSSIF, I will make a number of comments. It is essential, as colleagues have said, that where sporting codes are sharing…
12. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy will next meet. [46518/25]
I am glad to see the Government has agreed to progress with the private wires Bill and the development of a private wires policy. It is critical to addressing the energy deficit we face that we move as soon as possible. It is also important that we ensure we have the necessary digital infrastructure to support the digital economy, and that includes data centres. I am sure the Taoiseach would agree with me that data c…
It is not an exaggeration to say that the tillage sector in Ireland is facing an enormous crisis. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Heydon, is very aware of this. As part of the Government's climate action plan, it is intended that we will have 400,000 ha in tillage by 2030. We are not going to achieve that, particularly given that, since 2022, 1,400 farmers have left tillage. Despite a good s…
I thank the Minister of State for being here to address the question of a national office on artificial intelligence. It is very much within her brief. I welcome the commitments she has made to open a national office on artificial intelligence, establish an AI observatory in order that we will have evidence-based research on the social and economic impact and potential of and the opportunities presented by AI and hos…
I thank the Minister of State very much. I very much welcome the fact that the general scheme is going to be coming before Government, that we will see legislation in place to underpin this office by next summer and that the office will be in place by August 2026. As the Minister of State knows, resourcing is critical to this. During debate on the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, the Minister of State and I ta…
I welcome that the Minister of State is here to take this debate. However, why are we having statements on this issue and not a debate on the legislation? During my time in the Seanad when we debated the legislation on the prohibition of sales to under-18s, there was promise at that time that we would move on legislation to deal with the issue of flavoured nicotine-inhaling products and that we would deal with some o…