There has been strong demand. There were almost 70,000 applications in 2024. There have been over 40,000 so far this year. Through the national retrofit programme, we are seeing further capital funding under the national development plan. We will see an additional €264 million through the European regional development fund. Local authorities will also have an opportunity through their energy efficiency retrofit progr…
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 move:
That Dáil Éireann, pursuant to Article 29.5.2 of Bunreacht na hÉireann, approves the terms of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (known as the 'BBNJ Agreement'), adopted at the United Nations in New York on 19th June, 2023 and signed by Ireland on 20th September, 2…
I thank the Deputy for his question. It is a priority for the Government to narrow the employment gap to which the Deputy refers. Working to enable people with disabilities to pursue freely chosen employment is an important personal priority for me.
The forthcoming national disability strategy will include employment as an important consideration as one of its five key pillars. The national disability strategy is in…
Narrowing that employment gap for people with disabilities is a Government priority. The Minister, Deputy Burke, the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, and I are very much focused on this. The forthcoming national disability strategy, which will be published in the coming months, is really important in respect of employment. That strategy is a whole-of-government framework and relates to the implementation of the UN Co…
Our enterprise agencies are already active in this space. Our local enterprise offices offer tailored supports for entrepreneurs with disabilities. Enterprise Ireland has an open door mentoring programme, which provides mentoring and capability supports, while IDA Ireland connects companies with talent from under-represented groups, including those with disabilities. I hear what the Deputy is saying. We hope to conti…
The introduction of alcohol labelling under the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
As regards the question more broadly and measures to support businesses in response to tariffs, the Government recognises that this is a dynamic and evolving situation, which is being monitored closely by the Government. A key element of the Government's re…
Let us be absolutely clear that the introduction of alcohol labelling is a Department of Health function. If the Deputy wants to ask this question during oral questions to the Department of Health, she is welcome to do so. Ours is the Department of enterprise, however, and I am responsible for small businesses. As a result, I have a duty to defend the interests of Irish indigenous SMEs, which are facing unprecedented…
We are very much committed to a whole-of-government approach not only to public health but also to economic sustainability. The national alcohol labelling regulation, while rooted in public health objectives, must be implemented in a way that does not jeopardise Ireland's export-led recovery. Indeed, the alcohol beverage manufacturing sector employs more than 5,500 people and is a strategic contributor to our nationa…
My Department is committed to delivering an efficient and responsive employment permit system which supports businesses and ensures that we are well positioned to maximise the benefits of economic migration. The system is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills and-or labour shortages required to develop and support enterprise for the benefit of our economy.
The Dep…
We recognise the pressures faced by many in the licensed haulage sector. I assure the Deputy that the Government is responding to those concerns. We have made significant progress with the new online employment permit system. It is delivering an effective and responsive system to provide the maximum benefits of our economic migration system. Over the past three years, we have increased staff resources, streamlined in…
These are accurate figures presented by the Department.
I am not aware of the cases the Deputy raised.
If he wants to send me a note in relation to them, I will be happy to take the matter up. As stated, there is a more modern and integrated system now. We are working with the Department of Justice to try to streamline matters more. There is also a single application process for visas. We have made significant progress in relation to labour shortages in many sectors. The Minister and I have made additions - most recen…
The programme for Government outlines our commitment to addressing skills shortages and supporting economic growth through a strategic migration approach. Ireland’s general policy is to promote the sourcing of labour from within Ireland and the EEA. To fulfil this policy, Ireland operates and manages an employment permits system designed to fill critical skills and labour shortages in the short to medium term where t…
The employment permit system is demand-led and designed to respond to the real labour market needs. The occupations list is reviewed periodically. The next formal review is scheduled for the summer. It will be open to all sectors. We invite many representative bodies, Departments and NGOs to make submissions. It is evidence-based. It is reviewed and overseen by an interdepartmental group on economic migration, the sk…
I thank the Deputy for his focus on this important area. The consultation will open shortly. We will make that announcement in due course. It will open for an eight-week period. There will be an opportunity for employers, representative bodies and Departments to make submissions. This is very much a transparent, data-driven process. It is open to all sectors. Most recently, we opened the eligible occupation list for …
I thank the Deputy for his question. Balanced regional development remains a key Government priority. One central aim of the White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030 is to support balanced regional economic development. My Department and its agencies contribute to this agenda in several ways, including through the nine regional enterprise plans or REPs. These are bottom-up plans developed and led by regional stakeholders,…
I agree with the points and the principles the Deputy has presented. The regional enterprise plan for the west is very much a collaborative initiative and must be focused on digitalisation and decarbonisation and on ensuring that the region itself is put to the fore. We have a good story to tell about sectoral growth in ICT, agritech and medtech. It is great to hear about the large multimillion euro investment in Dep…
-----a core element of that will be how we use digital technology to support the plans in the future.
The fact that the tourism function has moved into the enterprise Department means there is a role to expand within the agrifood and tech sector. In my county, agritech is an important sector. We have McHale Farm Machinery and Malone Farm Machinery.
The west must be a focal point and have centres of excellence. It is great to hear about such positive developments such as CREW and the other sectors within Galway.
It …
I move: "That the Bill now be read a Second Time"
I am delighted to bring the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025 before the House. It is vital that we have an effective legal framework in place to support copyright and intellectual property. It is a necessity for the economic health of the creative sector, which is a significant employer in the State.
This short Bill introduces amendments to the Cop…
I thank all Deputies for their engagement and comments on Second Stage of this Bill. I am delighted to see the aims of the Bill are not opposed and are supported. I reiterate what I said earlier about the importance of this Bill to ensure Ireland is fully compliant with EU and international law. The Bill sets out a new framework and process for the agreement of the division of royalties between music, performers and …
I move:
That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment pursuant to Standing Orders 103 and 188.
I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising this important issue. Last year, the Government introduced two business support schemes that were designed by my Department and administered by the local authorities. The increased cost of business, ICOB, scheme was launched in March of 2024 and was delivered in two phases. The first phase was a broad scheme that distributed over €154 million to 75,000 SMEs in all sectors of the e…
I again thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As outlined, my Department is actively working with local authorities and the LGMA to finalise the details of the appeals process. This process will allow businesses that were misclassified to have their cases reviewed and, where appropriate, be given access to the supports. This is a priority for the Department. We want to ensure that we do everything possib…