The general scheme of this Bill has been subject to considerable scrutiny. In line with normal practices, it was referred to the Oireachtas committee for pre-legislative scrutiny. The committee members worked well on that, and a wide range of views were expressed. The Government has listened to those views and to the stakeholders who participated in the process. We have considered the recommendations and we have take…
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
I am happy to go through other sections, if people have questions, because there are some others to go through.
There is not.
The Deputy is telling them it is about war.
And we currently do not need the triple lock for that.
Just on a point of information that does not currently require-----
There is disinformation being thrown out here.
But it is disinformation.
That is in the legislation.
It is covered.
No, that is the point I made.
I made the point-----
-----that the figure of 12 related to Dáil approval.
Okay. I am only trying to help the debate.
I am the biggest advocate for this.
It was a lie.
That is not true.
Seán Russell.
No, we could not.
That would be unconstitutional.
Article 29 of the-----
No.
It is in the legislation.
We cannot. The law prevents us.
The triple lock is stopping us.