Cuirim fáilte roimh an deis labhairt ar an Non-Binary and Intersex Recognition Bill 2026. I begin by making the Government's position very clear. We absolutely recognise that the question of legal recognition for people who wish to identify as non-binary is important. This is not, therefore, a question of whether the concerns raised by this Bill deserve consideration. They absolutely do. The question before us is whe…
TDs / Dara Calleary
Dara Calleary
Minister for Rural and Community Development and the GaeltachtMinister for Social Protection
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
234,885
words spoken in the chamber
234,882 as a minister, 3 as a TD
406
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
Members of the Government answer parliamentary questions rather than ask them, so this page lists none of theirs.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 896 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 42 |
| March 2025 | 66 |
| April 2025 | 12 |
| May 2025 | 140 |
| June 2025 | 43 |
| July 2025 | 32 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 46 |
| October 2025 | 40 |
| November 2025 | 42 |
| December 2025 | 42 |
| January 2026 | 43 |
| February 2026 | 74 |
| March 2026 | 31 |
| April 2026 | 45 |
| May 2026 | 46 |
| June 2026 | 40 |
| July 2026 | 37 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 45 |
| October 2026 | 30 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 735 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Mayo 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Rural and Community Development 23 January 2025 to 1 June 2025
- office Minister for Social Protection 23 January 2025 to 1 June 2025
- office Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht 2 June 2025 to now
- office Minister for Social Protection 2 June 2025 to now
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Ó Snodaigh as an gceist seo a ardú agus as a chuid oibre ar an ábhar seo. Is fiú nótáil gurb í an Roinn Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitiúil agus Oidhreachta, faoin Acht Pleanála agus Forbartha, 2000, atá freagrach go príomha as pleanáil agus tithíocht i gceantair Ghaeltachta. Mar sin féin, is cinnte go raibh plé leanúnach agus comhoibriú idir mo Roinn féin agus an Roinn sin agus an dréachtrá…
Tá muid ag iarraidh go mbeidh cinneadh anseo in gach cuid den Ghaeltacht faoi chúrsaí pleanála agus tógáil tithe. Níl an cinneadh sin réidh againn ag an bpointe seo. Tá rialacha difriúla ag na húdaráis difriúla sa réimse seo. Níl mé ag iarraidh aon rud a dhéanamh leis na treoirlínte a dhéanfaidh rudaí níos measa sa Ghaeltacht, go háirithe sna Gaeltachtaí ina bhfuil figiúirí móra. Tá muid ag oibriú air seo. Gabhaim bu…
Bhí mé ag caint le Cathaoirleach an choiste, an Teachta Shane Moynihan, agus bhí sé ag rá go mbeidh tuarascáil ann. Tá suim agam í a fheiceáil chomh maith leis na figiúirí a bheidh istigh inti a phlé. Tá an tsuim céanna againn faoi na cúrsaí seo. Tá muid ag iarraidh cuidiú leis an Ghaeltacht agus leis an nGaeilge sa Ghaeltacht. Is mian linn beirt an Ghaeilge a chosaint sa Ghaeltacht agus bealach éasca a chruthú do dh…
Since its launch in 2021, Our Rural Future has delivered vital investment and supports, strengthened local economies and improved the quality of life across rural Ireland. Significant achievements include improvements in digital connectivity through the delivery of the national broadband plan, the development of a national network of over 400 remote working hubs, improvements in essential services and a sustained exp…
I can assure the Deputy that we work very closely with the Minister, Deputy Browne, on the rural planning guidelines. I welcome them.
They have brought consistency and stability to rural planning and, as we discussed earlier, we have some work to do on the Gaeltacht piece, which we will do in the coming weeks.
The success of the croí cónaithe grants, introduced by the then Minister for housing, Deputy O'Brien, and …
The national broadband plan is running ahead of schedule and is on budget. It will ensure that many rural areas have the highest quality connectivity. Indeed, in some areas it is higher than some of our urban centres. The 400 remote working hubs are dispersed right across the country and some of those include the gteics being rolled out by Údarás, which give high-quality space for people to come together with secure …
I thank Deputy Carrigy for asking this. The rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, is the major capital investment programme in the Department. It seeks to support large-scale, ambitious projects that can achieve sustainable economic and social development in rural areas. The focus of the RRDF is on rural towns and villages with a population of less than 10,000 people. To date, the RRDF has allocated over €61…
I have noted that. As I said, the fund is exceptionally competitive. Applications are assessed under the oversight of our project advisory board. The proposals are assessed in accordance with the published appraisal scheme, and we go through each application. As the Deputy can imagine, for projects under RRDF, each community has the same level of ambition as Newtown Forbes. We are going through them at the moment, an…
I can assure the Deputy that every other Deputy and Senator has the same ambition for their community, and they would all have the same quality of application. We will keep it in mind. I would like to put on record my best wishes to Paddy Mahon, the former chief executive, who retired over the summer. I wish his successor well. Paddy is returning home to Mayo, where I am sure Castlebar Mitchels will make use of him. …
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 13 together.
I thank Deputy McAuliffe for the question. I assure him that the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I had a particular focus on the community section of our Department for budget 2027. We secured funding of €628 million for the Department as a whole, €260 million of which will be available for community development. As the Deputy knows, we joined him in Ballym…
I agree about the systematic approach. This is what we have tried to do with SÍOL, to align it with the CLÁR programme in rural areas so that there is consistency to it. We will be making funding announcements. They are small, but Deputies McAuliffe and Ó Snodaigh will see the relevance and the support of SÍOL on the ground in their areas. This programme was set up quite quickly during 2026. We are going to stand bac…
I do not disagree with the Deputy. One of the biggest things that fries my head is the siloing in Government that means people get lost. It means communities get lost and people who need support get lost because it is always some other Department's problem. Having a DEIS or SÍOL filter is a good idea. In fairness to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and the Ministers of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, Deputy But…
I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh, who is playing a super-sub role today in terms of all the questions. The LEADER programme is funded as an intervention under CAP. Therefore, the development of EU regulations relating to the post-2027 CAP and the new national and regional partnership plan is of significant importance to my Department. To facilitate the ongoing negotiation process for the post-2027 period, the Department of …
LEADER has been a game-changer for rural communities since it was introduced. I visited a number of LEADER companies this summer who marked 35 years. The approach was championed by former Commissioner Ray MacSharry and has driven a bottom-up and locally led approach. I reiterate what I said to the Deputy. The Government and I, as Minister, along with the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, are very committed to the n…
The Deputy touches on a very important point. The level of paperwork and bureaucracy around LEADER is intimidating for many community organisations. That is something we need to look at in the context of EU regulations and our own regulations. I thank the LEADER companies the length and breadth of the country that do extraordinary work through the programme and in bridging the gap with community groups by bringing th…
I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 50 together.
I thank both Deputies for raising this issue. I wish to say to Deputy McGuinness that earlier we expressed our sympathies to him and the community in Waterford on the appalling tragedy that happened on Tuesday. I assure him and all our colleagues of the support of the Department for the community afterwards.
To answer the questions asked by Deputies Gould, McGuin…
I thank both Deputies for their remarks. We had a very good visit, along with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, earlier in Lismore and Cappoquin. It is possible to see the difference our schemes are making. Equally, there is also evidence of what the Deputy has just said in respect of dereliction being able to take a whole town down. It was the same in respect of what Deputy O'Shea said. We do fund the town regen…
Deputy O'Shea hit the nub of this issue regarding the difficulties of complex cases. Some local authorities have been good. We see this as we go around the country. These local authorities have ripped off the plaster and done it, and it has made such a difference. The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, who has responsibility in this space, and the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, are committed to this.
Returning…
I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 22 and 57 together.
I thank Deputy Daly for his remarks. We were delighted to announce a departmental budget package of €628 million for 2027, including a total of €208 million for the rural development programme. Budget 2027 demonstrates the Government’s ongoing commitment to support communities across the country, including Gaeltacht and island communities. Communities will ben…
The CLÁR transport programme to which the Deputy referred, which the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I announced a few weeks ago, makes such an enormous difference through meals on wheels programmes across the country, not just in terms of the delivery of food but because, for some, it may be the only human contact they have on a given day. The Department of Social Protection also works through community empl…
I thank the Deputy for that tour of the constituency. We want to acknowledge the strength of all of those applications. I know that the Ballygar community has put in extraordinary efforts in respect of the sensory park application and the autism-friendly town. CLÁR is making an enormous difference right around the country. It is a great pleasure to be able to visit projects and see the impact the programme is having.…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Ó Murchú as an gceist seo faoi Chontae Lú. The TVRS is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages across Ireland. Since 2016, over €217 million has been allocated to 2,000 projects across the country, with over €6.6 million allocated to 71 projects in Louth.
The 2026 TVRS building and land acquisition measure invited local authorities to apply for fun…
We have had a pretty good discussion all morning in relation to this. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I are very focused on it. There is no point in us allocating grant funding to any local authority under any project unless it makes a difference on the ground and is delivered. The assessment process seeks to capture that, in that we look at the local authority's capacity to deliver, its delivery of previ…
I had the privilege of being in Dundalk in May and was really taken aback, in a good way, by how vibrant it is. A lot of the difficulties that face other towns in terms of dereliction and vacancy seem to have been addressed within the town. There is a very vibrant town centre, with investment from Louth County Council, the Government and, more importantly, local enterprise and local entrepreneurs. Town regeneration o…