Again, I thank the Deputies for raising this important matter. I am sure they will understand that the Government and the Minister for Health are very much committed to ensuring that all women and families receive the highest standard of care, both at Portiuncula and across all maternity services nationally. The Minister and her Department officials will continue to work closely with the HSE, the clinical leads and f…
TDs / Alan Dillon
Alan Dillon
Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
2
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
112,967
words spoken in the chamber
112,959 as a minister, 8 as a TD
392
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
2
topics asked about
Across 2 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 2 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 415 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 2 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 | 23 |
| March 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| April 2025 | 0 | 31 |
| May 2025 | 0 | 23 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 35 |
| July 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 | 35 |
| October 2025 | 0 | 4 |
| November 2025 | 0 | 46 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 18 |
| January 2026 | 0 | 21 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 33 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 25 |
| April 2026 | 0 | 31 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 12 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 39 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 6 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 22 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 10 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 347 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 Mayo 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications 29 January 2025 to 1 June 2025
- office Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment 2 June 2025 to now
I thank Deputy Farrelly for raising this important matter. I take his point. I was a backbencher too so I understand the frustration when you put in a Topical Issue and the relevant Minister or Minister of State is not present. I will relay that back to the Chief Whip.
The Government is very much committed to supporting children with additional needs to reach their full potential, and the programme for Government ma…
I thank the Deputy for articulating the case for Scoil Mochua and the challenges it faces. It is no different than any other constituency. Indeed, I have faced many challenges regarding families and children deserving and demanding access to resources. There is a challenging environment. I acknowledge the particular circumstances the Deputy mentioned. When one engages with the NCSE, it is responsive. It is being cons…
I thank all the Deputies for raising these important matters and allowing time to discuss them. I also welcome the opportunity to discuss the pressures Irish householders are facing as a result of high energy costs and the actions the Government is taking in response.
The pressures placed on households and businesses by high energy costs remain a deep concern for the Government. Providing supports to alleviate these…
I thank the Deputy. I convey the apologies of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. He is at an EU Environment Council meeting on the 2040 environmental targets. We sought a swap but due to the Dáil resuming that was very difficult.
On the Deputy's question, the Government has made a number of important commitments in respect of addressing the continued high cost of energy. The programme for Government acknowledges the incr…
We have as a Government delivered over €3.3 billion in credits to over 2.3 million households in recent times, but we need to be strategic with this upcoming budget. Once-off measures are certainly not a long-term fix. That is why, as I said earlier, we have established the national energy affordability task force which is preparing an interim report to inform budget 2026. We are also looking at structural reforms, n…
In the context of what we are discussing, the reality is that Ireland operates in a liberalised EU energy market where prices are set commercially, not by governments. That said, we are not passive observers in this regard. The CRU has statutory powers to oversee suppliers' conduct. We have recently strengthened its protections for consumers this winter. On profits, I accept that energy companies have posted strong r…
The programme for Government sets out a clear policy direction that balances energy, housing, climate and economic development. It recognises that increased and unprecedented investment in our electricity grid and generation capacity is essential to meet future demand, not just for data centres but for housing, electric vehicles, heat pumps and a growing population. The electricity and gas retail market in Ireland op…
Let us be clear: households are not subsidising data centres. All users of our electricity grid contribute to its development. The CRU, as the independent regulator, ensures costs are fairly and proportionally allocated. In fact, extra large energy users, including data centres, have seen network costs increase in recent years compared with those for domestic customers. Price review 6 is a great opportunity. Transmis…
I thank the Deputy. First, the Secretary General of our Department rightly pointed out that policy choices must be made, and we are making them. Certainly, that is why we are investing in housing, the grid and water infrastructure. These are the three pillars that will support sustainable development in this country. The idea that data centres are being prioritised over homes is not supported by facts. That will not …
I thank the Deputy for the question. The deposit return scheme was introduced in February 2024 to encourage higher recycling rates for plastic bottles and cans and to help Ireland meet its EU recycling targets.
Since becoming fully operational in June, 2024, the scheme has delivered strong results. According to Re-turn, the scheme operator, Ireland achieved a 66% collection rate in 2024, which has since increased to…
The reality is that Ireland currently does not have a facility capable of fully recycling PET bottles into new food-safe drinks containers. Some operators do look at the processing of PET into flakes. That said, the DRS has created a consistent stream of high-quality recyclate. Re-turn is actively exploring the viability of establishing Ireland's first bottle-to-bottle recycling plant. Building a stable supply chain …
The Deputy should bear in mind that the current technical capacity was not in place previously. The scheme was only introduced in June 2024.
The company had to establish a supply chain to strategically invest in a facility of this type. Thanks to the DRS, we now have a supply chain and market conditions that are favourable and make economic sense to establish a facility like this. We are all in agreement that we nee…
I am pleased to confirm that the 2025 funding round for the circular economy innovation grant scheme, CEIGS, was launched on 10 September. This scheme is a key driver of Ireland's transition to a circular economy supporting innovative projects led by social enterprises, voluntary and community organisations and small businesses. Since its launch in April 2021, we have awarded €1.8 million to 36 projects while tacklin…
I am in full agreement that we need to continue to scale-up the scheme to sustain the investment by many SMEs and community organisations. That is why at the end of this year we will have allocated over €2.4 million. We need to continue on that trajectory of supporting many of these pioneering projects. I had the opportunity to visit the Irish Manufacturing Research facility in Mullingar to see the work of Circuléire…
I thank the Deputy for her interest in this area. It needs to be a bottom-up, top-down led approach. We are looking to publish the draft of the circular economy strategy. A key area of focus will be targeted actions. Local authorities can play a huge part within the local government system. However, we need a stronger uptake around innovation in these areas. We will have a public consultation. We will welcome feedbac…
The deposit return scheme was introduced in February 2024 to help Ireland to meet ambitious EU recycling targets and to encourage more sustainable consumer behaviour. I am pleased to report the scheme has made a strong start and is delivering on its core objectives. Re-turn, the not-for-profit operator, has seen the registration of 287 producers covering over 11,000 products and the installation of 2,750 reverse vend…
I reassure the House that the unredeemed deposits are a normal and expected feature of deposit return schemes internationally. As of the end of 2024, €320 million had been refunded to consumers with €66 million remaining unclaimed. This is not a failure. It reflects the early phases of the scheme but it also will naturally reduce as we move forward towards our EU targets of 90% redemption. Importantly, these funds do…
The Deputy rightly asks the questions regarding the unredeemed deposits. I have outlined the reinvestment into the operational costs for setting up the DRS. I have also outlined-----
-----that will see a reduction in those unredeemed deposits as we move forward with more campaigns and more informative education. We are also looking at expanding the DRS for municipal bulk machines to ensure people can come to municipal areas and to address that.
Regarding the salaries, as I said earlier, Re-turn is a not-for-profit organisation. Individual salaries are not reported to the Department. Re-turn is r…
I thank Deputy Whitmore. The warmer homes scheme, operated by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, on behalf of the Department, is really important in efforts to tackle energy poverty and improve the energy efficiency of homes for those most in need. It is fully funded through carbon tax receipts and the European Regional Development Fund. Last year saw a record spend of almost €230 million, resulting i…
I absolutely share the Deputy's concerns about the high energy bills. That is why we want to ensure that equity is at the heart of our energy transition. The warmer homes scheme is designed to deliver maximum bill savings per euro spent for those most in need. Many of these homes, it is often said, could be cold, damp and poorly insulated. Basic installation can cut energy costs by up to 30%. It is really important t…
I can confirm to the House that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has written to the energy suppliers and is preparing to meet them over the coming weeks in regard to the challenges around costs. This Government is very much focused on responding through the warmer homes scheme. This year, we have increased the level of funding to €280 million to fully fund upgrades for those who are most at risk and we are also looking …
The Government is committed to continue delivery of the SEAI's residential and community energy upgrade scheme, which is central to achieving our national retrofit plan targets. This includes delivering more B2 home energy upgrades, revising and improving grants and financial models for homeowners, supporting group retrofits and area-based approach in enhancing energy efficiency to reduce the cost for households. In …
The SEAI has confirmed that it does not record applications that have been withdrawn. It only records them for homeowners who have agreed to proceed with the works through the one-stop shop. However, the SEAI has reported that over 3,500 homeowner efficiency assessments have been completed in 2025. That is the first step in the process. Approximately 44% of those have converted into grant applications under the SEAI.…