I thank the Deputy for his measured approach. The process taking two years is reason enough for him to raise this important issue here. It is welcome that the Department maintains an open and proper relationship with the tenant and is always available to provide an update on progress or to address any queries. As recently as 25 June, the Department provided an email update to the tenant on the current progress. This …
TDs / Frankie Feighan
Frankie Feighan
Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
152
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
35,901
words spoken in the chamber
30,943 as a minister, 4,958 as a TD
420
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
69
topics asked about
Across 18 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 152 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 106 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 15 | 5 |
| March 2025 | 16 | 1 |
| April 2025 | 4 | 2 |
| May 2025 | 13 | 1 |
| June 2025 | 11 | 5 |
| July 2025 | 22 | 3 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 17 | 2 |
| October 2025 | 6 | 7 |
| November 2025 | 15 | 2 |
| December 2025 | 15 | 16 |
| January 2026 | 2 | 2 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 5 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| April 2026 | 2 | 12 |
| May 2026 | 2 | 15 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| July 2026 | 3 | 18 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 4 | 9 |
| October 2026 | 4 | 1 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 81 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 Sligo-Leitrim 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation 19 November 2025 to now
On behalf of the Minister for children, I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue and affording her the opportunity to respond. The Minister would like to make clear at the outset that the safety and well-being of the children in the care of Oberstown, and of the staff who support them, is and will remain the highest priority. The Minister notes that Oberstown, as the employer, is engaging directly wit…
The Minister and I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which is a priority for the Department and I will bring his concerns back to the Minister. In the medium term, there has been a significant increase of €5.75 million in capital funding for Oberstown under the National Development Plan 2026-2030. This sustained investment reflects the Government's commitment to ensuring the campus is properly resour…
I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 23 together.
The Government's better public services strategy commits to delivering inclusive, high-quality and integrated public services that meet people's needs and improve the delivery of services. The Digital Public Services Plan 2030 advances this ambition by embedding a life events methodology whereby services are designed around moments in people's lives, for example, t…
We all have issues, and the Deputy has rightly articulated the issue relating to his area being included. If we look at it from a positive point of view, I understand that NBI is ahead of schedule. However, there are a few areas in respect of which we may need to contact NBI. We talk about public infrastructure. This is public infrastructure that is ahead of what was planned for.
Enabling access to public services i…
It is an interesting question. The Deputy has seen that the Government can consult with banks, but we have a very limited role in that regard. I would like to think that banks would consult with each other. Consider the position of towns where there clearly is no need for two bank branches and both are closed. Instead of talking to each other and saying "Look, we will close our branch in this town and you close yours…
I thank Deputy O'Donoghue for raising this important issue and for offering the Minister the opportunity to respond. As the Deputy outlined, when families are stronger, they works very well. I have full confidence in and great time for the family resource centres. When I started out in politics many years ago, they were known as family life centres. I remember as a councillor, before I became a Senator in 2002, issue…
The Minister and I thank the Deputy for engaging in this important issue. He outlined how important the family resource centre is for Balbriggan and north County Dublin. It is quite obvious that more is probably needed. The Minister is very pleased with the range of recent developments across the family resource centre programme. Core funding increases and expansion over 2025 and 2026 have been very welcome for the p…
I welcome the opportunity to outline the position on this matter today. As An Post is a commercial State company with a mandate to act commercially, day-to-day operational matters, including decisions on the size, distribution and future of the network, are matters for the board and the management of the company and not ones in which either the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, or the Minister, Deputy O’Donovan,…
I have listened with interest to the points the Deputy raised. Decisions on post offices, as we have indicated, are operational matters for An Post and are not a matter over which the Minister has statutory function. The Deputy outlined clearly that the Minister and the Government have a shareholding. He has asked them to use that leverage to make his views known. As I said, however, he cannot intervene. An Post has …
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and giving me the opportunity to clarify the position regarding the basis for the assessment of rateable property for commercial rates purposes and the role of Tailte Éireann in that regard. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne.
Tailte Éireann is an independent Government agency that provide…
It was King George IV who introduced the valuations in Ireland 200 years ago. There has been a lot of change on the island of Ireland. Maybe we need to look at the rateable valuation of all property a bit more closely.
A valuation for commercial rates purposes is arrived at by estimating the net annual valuation, NAV, of a property, at a specified valuation date during the revaluation of a local authority area. The …
To clarify the position, regarding the basis for assessment of property for commercial rates, I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy James Browne, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. While it is not my area, there are areas on which I agree with the Deputy. A lot has been done in updating but perhaps a lot more needs to be done because we are online now with Amazon, etc.…
I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to update the Chamber on what is being done to address vacancy and dereliction. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. The Deputy rightly said we want less bureaucracy and more assistance. Working to end dereliction and vacancy is a key priority of the Government's new housing plan, Delivering Hom…
I again thank Deputy Aird for the passion he has shown on this very important issue.
The Deputy rightly raised the issues and the range of measures being taken by the Government to address vacancy and dereliction, which are a huge success. Vacancy levels are declining. An historical level of funding has been made available and this significant investment, through schemes such as the urban regeneration development fund and the vacant property refurbishment grant, is having a serious impact, bringing v…
Cuirim fáilte roimh an deis an tuarascáil ghrinnscrúdaithe réamhreachtach ar scéim ghinearálta athbhreithnithe an Bhille craolacháin (leasú) a phlé tráthnóna. Ar an gcéad dul síos, tugaim aitheantas don méid oibre atá déanta ag an gcoiste agus an tuarascáil seo á hullmhú. Ba mhaith liom aitheantas a thabhairt freisin don rannpháirtíocht fhairsing agus chuiditheach a bhí ag an gcoiste le páirtithe leasmhara.
I welcom…
I thank Deputy Byrne for her contribution this evening. It reflects the level of scrutiny already undertaken of the provisions of the broadcasting (amendment) Bill. In my opening statement, I did not have the opportunity to discuss some of the areas raised by the committee in the pre-legislative scrutiny report, so I will turn to those first.
The committee made 12 recommendations relating to the audience councils of…
I am responding on behalf of my ministerial colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who are unavailable due to their ministerial duties this evening.
Providing consular assistance to Irish citizens who find themselves in difficulty abroad, including in cases of arrest or detention, is a cornerstone of the work of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and its embassies and consulates around th…
I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett. As I mentioned, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is fully aware of this case and has provided all appropriate consular assistance to the citizen and their family since September 2025 and will continue to do so. The Department, through its consulate general in Munich, has been in regular contact with the citizen since their detention began, and a series of consular visits has be…
Our embassies and consulates overseas play a vital role in providing support to Irish citizens who have been arrested or detained, and this is a core part of our consular assistance mandate. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is precluded from intervening in the judicial and legal processes of another country in the provision of consular assistance. I will bring Deputy Boyd Barrett's views back to the Depart…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Rattoo Round Tower, national monument No. 55, is a national monument in the ownership of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and is maintained by the Office of Public Works. In recent years, as the Deputy outlined, an ongoing programme of repairs has been undertaken, which included the regrouting and repointing of stonework and the installation …
I reiterate that the OPW remains committed to the conservation and protection of Rattoo Round Tower. Repair works will ensure the long-term preservation of the monument and provide the foundation for a careful reassessment of the extent to which internal public access may be possible. The OPW looks forward to the completion of this project and welcoming the Deputy and the local community to view the interior of Ratto…
Reform of procurement is specifically called out under action 25 of Accelerating Infrastructure: Report and Action Plan. There are also a number of actions focused on improving the visibility of the pipeline and providing greater certainty around the timing of the delivery stage of critical infrastructure.
Government policy with regard to public works procurement continues to require comprehensive definition of the …
There are ongoing reforms, as the Deputy knows, on the capital works management framework. It is an integrated set of contractual provisions, guidance material and technical procedure. It covers all aspects of the delivery process of a public works project, from inception to final project delivery or review. The structure of this strategic framework is closely aligned with and complements the infrastructure guideline…