I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
"notes that:
— the Government is acutely aware of, and concerned about, the impact of rising prices on Irish households, and it is also aware of the high cost of energy prices and the wider impact of the cost of doing business for firms, particularly small firms;
— in relation to Irish households, the Government has alr…
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
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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 the Deputies for raising this important matter. I acknowledge Unite’s concerns and those of the family of the late Matthew Campbell regarding the protection of workers from extreme weather events. These concerns are understandable and the well-being of workers in all conditions must remain a priority. I am satisfied, however, that strong protections already exist in current Irish legislation.
Ensuring that I…
I reaffirm that worker safety remains a core priority of our Department's ethos.
The existing legislative framework I outlined is strong, comprehensive and designed to ensure employers assess risk and take all necessary steps to protect staff from extreme temperatures and other hazards. While there are currently no plans to introduce paid leave for extreme weather events, guidance is available with regard to employe…
I thank the Deputy for raising this Topical Issue and for outlining the position in terms of commentary regarding Ireland and Dublin in the press this week. The World Economic Forum is an independent international organisation that was founded back in 1971. The forum states that its mission is to improve the state of the world through public-private co-operation. As the Deputy outlined, the forum's annual meeting is …
I again thank the Deputy for raising this important topic. He has made his case very articulately and has demonstrated as well as anybody could the positive impact global international trade has had on this country in terms of our economic growth and our resilience over the past number of years. It is important that Ireland continues to have a presence at Davos. It underscores our position as a stable, pro-enterprise…
As the Deputy is aware, the programme for Government sets out a strong enterprise and fiscal framework that prioritises economic and employment growth and competitiveness, with a target to support the creation of 300,000 extra jobs by 2030. I am pleased to report that, one year on, the Irish labour market continues to record sustained employment growth, rising labour force participation and record job numbers last ye…
I acknowledge the significant buoyancy within our labour market. On the Deputy’s earlier point, it is not a matter of a song and dance; it is actual fact that we are very much creating balanced regional growth. That is evident from the high employment and rising participation rates right across the country. With 2.82 million people at work, a record level, we continue to implement good, sound Government policy.
With…
We are doubling down on skills development. Very much part of that is the fact that we are working with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science on apprenticeships and training courses, expanding many of the skills within Springboard and Skillnet and working on digital and green skills.
The results of IDA Ireland’s most recent report show there were over 183 investments, 57% o…
Regional development is a key focus of our programme for Government and is central to the work of my Department and our enterprise development agencies. The mid-east region, comprising Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, is home to 126 IDA client companies employing 20,284 people. The mid-east has a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across technology, life sciences, international financial services, …
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. I acknowledge her question and her commitment to the people of Louth in regard to high-quality, skilled jobs. The Minister and I recently published the new national development plan and part of that capital plan is an emphasis on regional enterprise and supporting the regional ecosystem. That is around helping SMEs start, grow and scale, while supporting the IDA on next-generation FD…
We are very much focused on working with key State agencies, through Enterprise Ireland and the IDA, to ensure that we can continue investment across regions, including Louth. The most recently published report outlined that over 57% of all IDA investments, that is, 323 investments last year, were in the regions. That delivered huge positivity in the regions to ensure that people can work in their areas close to home…
As set out in our Department's sectoral capital plan, I and my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Burke, published last week, ensuring a vibrant seed and venture capital market that supports high growth and market disruptive businesses at all stages of development from seed to follow-on is a key priority for this Government. The seed and venture capital scheme was established in 1994 and since then has invested €700 mil…
I thank the Deputy for his question and interest in this area. We know how important it is. Recently, the Minister, Deputy Burke, launched the start-up Ireland programme, along with the seed and venture capital scheme. These two pillars are critical to the strategy to make Ireland one of the best places in Europe to start and scale a business. We have allocated over €28 million to start-up Ireland in 2026 to strength…
I thank the Deputy for his question. Enterprise Ireland manages the fund. The fund reflects geography and Enterprise Ireland has a target of up to 60%. Funding is very much targeted at manufacturing, internationally traded services and high-growth potential areas in life sciences, healthcare, pharma, fintech, technology, digitalisation and the green and environmental sectors and is very much focused on areas which ca…
Balanced regional development is a Government priority and a central component of the White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030 is to support balanced regional enterprise development. My Department and its agencies contribute to this agenda in several ways, including through the nine regional enterprise plans, REPs. These are bottom-up plans developed and led by regional stakeholders that focus on collaborative initiatives…
I acknowledge the Deputy's advocacy for Louth and the north east. That is really significant and important. We want to get the regional enterprise plans back up and running in 2026. As part of that, we have looked at ensuring there are programme managers based in each of the local authorities. That is really important to drive implementation, but also to give the accountability piece. We will be focusing on 12 action…
Again, as I said earlier, this Government is very much committed to ensuring we have the skills and talent within each of our regions. We have had a real focus on apprenticeships and upskilling. We very much want that to be a core part of the regional skill set forums, driving investments into areas where it has the talent. Indeed, regional enterprise plans will be a key driver in that regard, working with further an…
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Deputy O’Callaghan, has complete ownership of matters relating to the granting of visa and immigration permissions and is solely responsible for the administration of its registration appointment service. Queries relating to immigration status or any initiatives or temporary flexibilities in accessing its services during periods of high demand should be addressed …
I thank the Deputy for bringing this important matter to our attention. Certainly, a healthcare professional should not lose their job or employment on the basis of a backlog. As I said earlier, employment permits allow for the commencement of work while the registration is pending. That is important to factor in. Our immediate priority, as a Government, is to keep hospital staff and ensure patients are cared for. Pe…
We have made significant strides with regard to our efficiency by transitioning to an online employment permit system. Since its launch, we have processed over 22,000 employment permits and we have issued over 15,000. That has been successful with regard to processing times. We see now critical skills employment permits, including healthcare roles, are being processed within 14 days. That by any yardstick is importan…
On behalf of the Minister for Transport I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address the House on this issue tonight. The DART+ programme comprises five different projects in and around the greater Dublin area. It will extend the existing network from the city centre to Maynooth, M3 Parkway, Hazelhatch and Celbridge, and Drogheda, and will improve current DART services from the city centre to Greystones. The pro…
Again, I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue this evening. I will relay the key important points that the Deputy raised to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien.
As I stated earlier, to recap some of the recent developments within the DART+ South West project, the NDP sectorial investment plan for transport was published in November last. It enables advancements of various elements of the DART+ programme, inclu…
I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien.
From the outset, I would like to clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for both policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.
As a commercial semi-State body, however, CIÉ is responsible for the provision of pension schemes for their employees -…
The Minister for Transport acknowledges the long-standing tradition within the CIÉ Group of ensuring the terms and conditions of employees, which include pension provisions, are negotiated collectively with the recognised trade unions. As I said, the Minister is responsible for policy and operational matters within transport. Pension schemes and provisions are the responsibility of CIÉ and its trusteed. However, the …
I thank the Deputy for her question. In July, the Government approved a €3.5 billion investment in Ireland's electricity infrastructure across 2026 to 2030 as part of the revised national development plan. This represents the largest single investment in the country's electricity network in its history. Some €1.5 billion was transferred this week from ESB Networks to support investment in the onshore electricity grid…