Results 1-20 of 422 for speaker:Duncan Smith

National Training Fund (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (16 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: The Bill before us is not complicated. It makes a small, focused change to the way in which the National Training Fund can be spent. We in the Labour Party have long advocated for better use to be made of this fund. For too long we have seen huge surpluses built up with little in the way of ideas, imagination or indeed a mechanism being put forward on how to spend this money. In the years...

Gnó na Dála - Business of Dáil (15 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: I echo what Deputy Mac Lochlainn said. At all the Business Committee meetings I have been at, we have seldom had such a direct discussion about needing time as last week - it was on the fisheries issue - and the Chief Whip came down strongly, saying the schedule was full, there was loads of legislation and there was no time for anything. Yet we are engineering a parliamentary schedule that...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: I want to raise the early years sector with the Taoiseach today. Much has been made of the Government's failure to live up to its pre-election promises in this area. I want to focus on a specific area, that is, the community not-for-profit and voluntary sector for early years. In the wider Fingal area there are 291 early years service providers but only 16, or 5%, of them are from the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: While I will not be calling a vote on this, I believe that, given the significant developments in Palestine in the past couple of days, it would be of relevance to the House if we had an update on the overall situation in Palestine, particularly in relation to the provision of aid, both emergency and structural, and Ireland's role in that. What does the Tánaiste mean by having an open...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Update on Current Situation in Ukraine: H.E. Larysa Gerasko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland (14 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: I thank the ambassador for addressing our committee today. I apologise for missing the beginning as I was in the Dáil speaking. I will pick up on the point Deputy Ó Laoghaire was asking about. Has Ukraine compiled a list of these third countries that are facilitating these loopholes in dual-use technologies, or at least the worst offenders of this? Have they presented such a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Update on Current Situation in Ukraine: H.E. Larysa Gerasko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland (14 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: We need to focus our actions on pressuring Hungary further.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Update on Current Situation in Ukraine: H.E. Larysa Gerasko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland (14 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: What I found most arresting about the ambassador’s opening statement was the level of detail as to just how active and brutal the war remains to this day. I refer to the level of Russia’s attacks, including missile and drone attacks and the destruction of infrastructure, hospitals and everything else. It is just relentless and it is continuing. While it seems we are a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Update on Current Situation in Ukraine: H.E. Larysa Gerasko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland (14 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: That is interesting, although not unexpected. It is interesting in the context of our internal debates and dialogue and what is going on there. I thank Ms Gerasko.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Update on Current Situation in Ukraine: H.E. Larysa Gerasko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland (14 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: In terms of Ukraine's desire to join the European Union - one which we fully support - how can we in Ireland promote that in advance of cluster 1? Is there anything more we can do or can we do something better to support Ukraine on this?

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (14 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: 228. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if the exclusion of Defence Forces members from WRC remedies under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 is intended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54892/25]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (14 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: 448. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if school bus escorts are entitled to be paid to attend mandatory, full-day child protection training courses that special needs assistants are paid for under the Croke Park Agreement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54933/25]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: 654. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will re-examine an application made for carer’s allowance (details supplied) in respect of backdating; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54577/25]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (14 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: 659. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) was not awarded the blind pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54897/25]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Mental Health Services (14 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: 864. To ask the Minister for Health whether her Department has engaged with CORU on the proposed changes in regulations for psychotherapists and counsellors, which include the removal of mandatory personal therapy and clinical supervision, along with the creation of a rigid separation between counselling and psychotherapy; if her Department has concerns over these changes; and if she will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (9 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: 187. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to complete an assessment of enrolment policies in the secondary schools in Dublin Fingal East; to identify geographical areas in the constituency that are disadvantaged by schools enrolment policies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54330/25]

Financial Resolutions 2025 - Financial Resolution No. 5: General (Resumed) (8 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: This was not a budget for the ordinary worker, the fleeced generation or the hoodwinked masses whom the Government fooled into voting for it last year. I got an e-mail from a constituent of mine in Malahide yesterday afternoon. It might interest the Minister because this individual is not a voter of mine. She is actually a voter of the Minister's party. This constituent wrote to me and...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Policy (8 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: 30. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his Department’s plans to lower housing costs in Fingal; the way in which his Department plans to ensure that the first home scheme keeps up with the housing price increases that Fingal has seen year on year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53742/25]

Financial Resolutions 2025 - Financial Resolution No. 1: Excise (7 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: We have no issue with the increase in price on tobacco, but it is worth stating on the record in the debate on this financial resolution that 2025 was supposed to the year that the policy target of a tobacco-free Ireland would be met and that tobacco prevalence would be at 5%. It has been a common thread through the last four Governments - this Government and previous governments, with Fine...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (7 Oct 2025)

Duncan Smith: 62. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of members of the Defence Forces who have been convicted of crimes under civil and/or military law in the past five years; and of these, the number which remain serving members of the Defence Forces; to provide a breakdown of the types of offences for which these members were convicted; the number of members of the Defence Forces...