The Deputy is making this up.
TDs / Niall Collins
Niall Collins
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
223
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
63,958
words spoken in the chamber
63,945 as a minister, 13 as a TD
351
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
87
topics asked about
Across 17 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 223 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 201 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 14 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 13 | 7 |
| March 2025 | 10 | 7 |
| April 2025 | 16 | 2 |
| May 2025 | 11 | 7 |
| June 2025 | 12 | 3 |
| July 2025 | 13 | 40 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 10 | 13 |
| October 2025 | 11 | 27 |
| November 2025 | 14 | 8 |
| December 2025 | 9 | 4 |
| January 2026 | 6 | 8 |
| February 2026 | 15 | 5 |
| March 2026 | 16 | 7 |
| April 2026 | 4 | 8 |
| May 2026 | 11 | 20 |
| June 2026 | 16 | 0 |
| July 2026 | 8 | 21 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 10 | 1 |
| October 2026 | 4 | 13 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 146 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 Limerick County 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Justice 29 January 2025 to 4 June 2025
- office Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration 5 June 2025 to 28 May 2026
- office Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine 28 May 2026 to now
Targeting the work of organised crime groups who inflict intimidation and violence on families and communities across Limerick and Ireland is a top priority for our Department and the Government.
Since my appointment, I have met with the gardaí in Limerick and I know they, along with their colleagues in Garda national units, are committed to targeting organised criminal groups and individuals involved in the sale an…
It is important to put on the record and inform the Deputy's constituents and my own in Limerick that, as of 30 November 2025, the most recent information available is there are 607 gardaí assigned to the Limerick division, which is a net increase of 25 since the beginning of last year and an increase of 53, which is about 10%, since 2015. As the Deputy knows, the Garda Commissioner assigned 30 probationer gardaí to …
As the Minister has just said, he has been to and is no stranger to Limerick. I outline to the Deputy the huge increase in numbers of personnel to Limerick. There will be further allocations around the country next week. There will be a significant allocation of new probationer gardaí which I think the Deputy will welcome, when we have that officially next week.
I want to detail to the Deputy and the people of Limer…
The primary purpose of vetting carried out by the National Vetting Bureau is to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. This requires a robust Garda vetting process that reassures the public, and in particular parents, that appropriate checks are conducted on people who are seeking or taking positions of trust. The Government is aware that concerns have been raised regarding certain aspects of the vettin…
There are changes that will be made to resolve the Deputy’s concerns and ours. We have listened to the views that have been carefully expressed, we have met directly with the Sports Federation of Ireland on the matter, and our Department has also received correspondence from a range of voluntary organisations informing us of their views. We are aware that concerns have been raised as to the reliability of a portabili…
In general terms and taking on board what Deputy Daly said about the multiplicity of factors, I want to speak about turnaround times. I am advised by the Garda National Vetting Bureau that the target turnaround time for organisations using the eVetting system is five to ten working days for over 85% of vetting applications received. I am informed that 85% of vetting applications are processed within nine working days…
We do not have any knowledge of that, but if the Deputy wants to writes to us about it, we can look into it.
Well done. That is one in a row and the first time he has said it.
I can assure the Deputy that An Garda Síochána is fully committed to tackling all forms of crime and theft everywhere in the country. The Government's first priority is to increase Garda numbers and Garda visibility so all of our communities, rural and urban, can feel safe and be safe. This is reflected in the record allocation of €2.59 billion in the Garda Vote for 2026, which will support investment in equipment an…
It was encouraging to see that the CSO crime statistics, released last week, show that detection rates for crime incidents reported in 2024 were equal to or above those in 2023 for nine of the 14 crime offence groups.
The Department is currently progressing work to develop a retail crime strategy to tackle the complex and evolving nature of retail crime, which the Deputy mentioned. We are all too conscious that this…
The Department has been informed by the Garda authorities that works are planned for Sligo Garda station in the immediate term. These works will support a scene of crime task force relocation. The project is at the tender evaluation stage. In accordance with the requirements of the infrastructure guidelines, a preliminary business case for a new Garda divisional headquarters in Sligo is also being undertaken by An Ga…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann resolves that the period of operation of sections 1 to 7 and 9 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 (No. 14 of 2021) be extended for a further period of 6 months, beginning on the 1st day of December, 2025, and ending on the 31st day of May, 2026.
I am here to introduce a resolution to extend the sunset clause in the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021. Deputies w…
I thank the Deputies for their time and contributions. With the extension of the Act until 31 May 2026, I hope that it sends out a message of our determination to continue to support and provide clarity to businesses, An Garda Síochána and local communities. This is an important extension which clarifies the position of licence holders who wish to sell and serve alcohol adjacent to a licensed premises in an area prov…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure:
Recommendation for a …
I thank all the Deputies for their contributions, which I have listened to carefully. I also thank Deputy Crowe for a very insightful contribution about the reach of Irish missionaries as far as Korea. We know the outstanding contribution of Irish missionaries around the world and that was another example of it.
I reiterate that the proposed opt-in concerns a proposal for a Council decision authorising the opening o…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure:
Proposal for a Regula…
I thank all speakers who contributed to this debate. If you listen to the range of contributions, you will hear wide and varied differences in the views and opinions being offered. For me that reflects the complexity of the whole issue of immigration and migration. There are very little solutions and lots of criticisms, which I can accept but it is the job of Government to try to manage migration and immigration.
Be…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure:
Proposal for a Regula…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to take part in the adoption and application of the following proposed measure:
Proposal for a Regula…
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I had not realised that her mam had passed. She has my condolences and sincere sympathies in that regard. I thank her for sharing her personal experience in the aftermath of the event that is informing our discussion this morning.
I am responding on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Jim O’Callaghan. I hope to be able to provide some clarity on some issues and guidance on wher…
I assure Deputy O'Reilly that our Department is committed to driving the modernisation of the Coroner Service in Ireland, including Dublin, where she outlined the issues many families are experiencing, including her own. The Department has received approval from the Government to draft the general scheme of a Bill to significantly reform the Coroner Service in order to increase efficiencies and minimise the impact of…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan.
The NPWS is committed to strengthening its engagement with all stakeholders and, accordingly, has established a number of fora through which the Minister of State and his officials meet stakeholders. In addi…
Since taking office, the Minister of State, Deputy O’Sullivan, has been acutely conscious of the extensive engagement that has taken place with the NARGC, particularly in the context of the wild birds forum. At the same time, he must acknowledge that the NPWS operates with finite resources and that its executive and ecological capacity is already under significant pressure. The service faces a challenging and demandi…
The Government is committed to the provision of additional special places for children with special educational needs. As the Deputies know, the school referred to by them has three special classes, two dedicated for children with autism and one for children with a developmental language disorder or speech sound disorder.
The school is to be commended on its proactiveness and willingness to open further special clas…