There is a very exciting agenda ahead of us during our Presidency on what is called the one market approach. I have a copy of it here that was given to member states last night. There is a list of items there. At the last count - it may have changed overnight - there were 42 items in that to help bring the Single Market to reality and to give us greater economic prospects. Some 17 of those were slated to be organised…
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
People complain sometimes about EU rules and ask why the EU has rules on certain issues that maybe do not suit us in particular moments. The reality is those rules enable the Single Market to operate. They should be there to enable us to operate on a level playing field. The Taoiseach has already-----
I agree, and I am not saying the Deputy is wrong. I am just setting that out as an objective. We all ask why the EU is looking for this. It is always important to remember that the Single Market is there and the rules are there to facilitate the Single Market to give us as equal a shout as the Germans, French or whoever. That makes it all better for everybody.
The Taoiseach said he wrote to Ursula von der Leyen on s…
I fully agree. Orbán basically wrecked the economy. It shows that the link between adherence to the rule of law and democratic values and a free media is essential for economic growth.
We did not get involved in the election. We did not tell the Hungarian people how to vote. We were very careful about that, even though the temptation was very strong. Over many years, the Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, and I and v…
I would be happy to get an answer for the Deputy but as the Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs, I just do not have sight of documents about Cuba. I will get my officials to come back to him directly on that point.
As I recall, there was nothing at the last European Council meeting but that would be a matter for a more international level.
That is the point. I will get the Minister to come back to the Deputy.
Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí as a gcuid ráiteas agus ceisteanna. Tapóidh mé an deis seo le labhairt go gairid faoi mhíreanna eile ar chlár gnó Chomhairle Eorpach Mhí an Mhárta, lena n-airítear slándáil agus cosaint na hEorpa, imirce, cruinniú mullaigh an euro, sciath don daonlathas agus cosaint leanaí ar líne.
Tháinig ceannairí le chéile i gcruinniú mullaigh an euro chun machnamh a dhéanamh ar chúrsaí eacnamaío…
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue at a time when Ireland's contribution to the global financial ecosystem has never been more vital or more visible. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the importance of the funds industry in Ireland and the need for competitiveness.
I apologise; copies of my script are on the way. We thought they had already been sent down.
The latest estimate from IDA Ireland and Enterpri…
On the alternative investment fund managers directive, the UCITS directive, the transposition was due to be done today but I am very sorry to say that this was not done by the Minister today. There will be a slight administrative delay. Work is continuing to finalise the draft statutory instruments. We hope the delay will be short and they will be ready for signature in the coming weeks. Everybody has to take respons…
In April of last year, the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment obtained Government approval for the general scheme of the short-term letting and tourism Bill. Once enacted, this Bill will provide a statutory framework for regulating the short-term letting sector, including the establishment of a national register. The register will operate in compliance with the EU Short-Term Rental Regulation (EU) 2024/1…
I set out the position and the increase in the number of short-term lettings, even since 2022. The regulation the Deputy mentioned does impose obligations on the State to provide a register. That was passed with almost nobody voting against it in the European Parliament. Nearly 500 members of the European Parliament supported that.
As set out in the A New Era for Irish Tourism document published last December, the i…
I was there with Deputy O’Sullivan at least twice.
I will not forget my visits to Glanmire. The Deputy will remember that I was quite active on the issue when the Sarsfields Hurling Club suffered a disaster. In that case, we established a unique fund so that Sarsfields and other clubs got funding because of the flooding disaster. Another project in Glanmire, unfortunately, escaped my abilities to sort out although, as the Deputy said, it was not my responsibility but…
I will bring it back to the Minister. Up to eight buildings will be selected this year for the State-led initiative.
That will provide places. The level of investment will ramp up during the lifetime of the Government. The initial approach is to purchase and refurbish buildings, given that that is a faster route to delivery, while the option of building new facilities will also be considered. Services will be offere…
That is not my group.
I will say that I am not an EPP member.
As a point of clarity I am in Renew Europe, and I am proud to be part of Renew Europe.
At the outset I return briefly to first principles and set out the reasons behind this legislation. The Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2025 seeks to put Ireland, which is a country that greatly benefits from international trade, in a position where it can decide to ratify the range of EU trade and investment agreements we massively …
It is not the same. It is a different system and people keep quoting the previous system, which the Canada trade agreement has actually worked to improve and to make it more transparent. That is important. Irish companies need access to effective international remedies abroad and companies investing in Ireland want similar reassurance. The Irish Government is working to make the economy more competitive and resilient…
I do believe.
Deputies have raised a number of cases, none involving Ireland. In fact, there was a letter in the newspaper today which criticised me for describing these cases as relatively rare and then it went on to give the reason in the same letter why we have relatively low numbers of cases involving Ireland. We have very few. The cases that have been talked about are not related to CETA. Even the example used of the Canadian…
Exactly. That is my point.
That is my point. These examples have been given as if they are directly related to the ratification of CETA or the passage of this legislation. The cases the Deputies mentioned have not been decided under the investor court system. They have been decided under the old, long-standing system of investor state dispute settlement, ISDS. I have already outlined the difficulties with that. We felt there was a lack of cons…
I had nothing to do with the scheduling of the debate on football. I presume that is a matter for the Business Committee. As Deputies are aware, the Costello judgment prevented Ireland's ratification of CETA and other mixed EU trade agreements containing similar investment provisions. The Supreme Court in the Costello case not only identified constitutional concerns that prevented the ratification of CETA but the cou…
I will answer.