It is important to briefly set out the process. The Commission will publish the proposal next Wednesday. Ultimately, it is a matter for the leaders to agree this, in conjunction with the European Parliament. Over the next year and A half, starting on 18 July, governments will discuss the Commission's proposal and, in effect, negotiate it. Next Wednesday's proposal should be seen as the first outing. We will have a mi…
TDs / Thomas Byrne
Thomas Byrne
Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and at the Department of Defence
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
12
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
76,972
words spoken in the chamber
68,043 as a minister, 8,929 as a TD
268
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
11
topics asked about
Across 6 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 12 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 314 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 4 | 7 |
| March 2025 | 3 | 15 |
| April 2025 | 0 | 6 |
| May 2025 | 4 | 27 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| July 2025 | 1 | 36 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 | 5 |
| October 2025 | 0 | 2 |
| November 2025 | 0 | 20 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2026 | 0 | 53 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 12 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 4 |
| April 2026 | 0 | 37 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 19 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 20 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 11 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 40 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 113 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Not enough questions on record to compare.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Meath East 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Foreign Affairs and at the Department of Defence 29 January 2025 to 25 March 2025
- office Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and at the Department of Defence 26 March 2025 to now
During the Presidency Ireland will, in effect, be in charge of the negotiations. We will have to act as an honest broker. It is important that between now and then we get our spoke out, so to speak. That is why met Commissioner Serafin at a very early point and immediately after that meeting I met all of our MEPs, all of whom were invited to be briefed on our position. I am more than happy to do that with the committ…
This is just terrible stuff.
This is terrible stuff. This is shocking.
From this side.
On vaccines.
On vaccines.
He did not say that. He never said that.
There is always a bit of confusion about this slot. A range of questions have already been asked and I am more than happy to answer them now. However, the ruling from the Chair is that the questions should be fresh in coming forward. I am in the Chair's hands on this.
It is always the way.
The Deputy can ask me anything.
It might be easier if I just quickly answer Deputy Ó Laoghaire's question because it is likely there will be several questions. On tariffs, there were discussions about tariffs and this particular debate on the margins of the European Council meeting. Discussions between the EU and the US are ongoing. As the Taoiseach already said, President von der Leyen spoke to him on Monday. Commissioner Šefčovič, who is lead for…
I will get the Deputy an exact answer on that. As I understand it, we are not part of that. The decision was taken by the Council, of which we are part, and our position is generally to facilitate what other member states want to do. As the Taoiseach has said, we are very clear that defence is a national competency. There is no EU army. If Deputy McDonald said what she said today in a presidential debate, people simp…
We are working very closely with the Commission. The Council has taken its own decision and that is the position we have taken on the matter. I do not accept what the Deputy has said, which is that we are funding arms manufacturers and research on how best to kill people. That is not happening. There is a country called Russia. Deputy Seán Crowe criticised us and told us not to use Russia as a bogeyman. I know Sinn F…
I am raising the issues the Deputy raised when she spoke.
I will come back in.
I will be clear. We have called for follow-up action on the association agreement report. I will attend the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on the issue next week and I will be taking a very strong position that is consistent with what we have done before. The report is brief but it tells you enough about what Israel has done, which is exactly what the Deputy has said. The Government has taken a leadership role in ap…
Ukraine is a top priority. I told ambassador Gerasko that was the case. I had an article published in the Irish Examiner this week reflecting on my visit there. I certainly encourage Members of the Oireachtas to visit Ukraine if it is safe to do so. It is never 100% safe, but it should be organised at an Oireachtas level. On my impression of the situation in Ukraine, what really struck home to me was the lack of slee…
It is relevant because we are talking about a meeting of the European Council and there will be an informal meeting of the European Council in Ireland during our Presidency.
The final decisions have not been taken as to where the locations will be.
There are not many places in the country that have the capacity to hold such an event. I have no doubt that whatever decisions are taken, there will be some events in Kerry, and I certainly hope there will be some in Tipperary and Meath.
I do not know the answer about the one in Bogotá, but we were to be heavily involved in the one France and Saudi Arabia were organising in the UN. In fact, the Taoiseach was asked to chair one of the working groups. What Ireland has done in support of the two-state solution goes back to Brian Lenihan as Minister. We think of all the great Irish foreign Ministers. Even in the conclusions this week, the non-proliferati…
On the simplification agenda, there is an agenda on reporting requirements that we support. What is happening at European Commission level is that every part of the Commission is coming forward with simplification proposals that have to get discussed in the European Parliament and at the Council of Ministers. The idea is to cut red tape, not to reduce our human rights compliance or environmental credentials but to pr…
The work of the Gates Foundation is very important. I know the Taoiseach recently addressed the summit in Brussels and spoke to Bill Gates.
We are aligned with the work that needs to be done around the world to ensure people have better lives and outcomes.
We have had a range of statements and questions and there were some other items on the European Council agenda, including Moldova, the western Balkans and EU int…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft:
Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(6)) (Defence Forces Tribunal of Inquiry) Regulations 2025;
a copy of which was laid in draft before Dáil Éireann on the 2nd July, 2025.