Results 9,881-9,900 of 9,933 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: I do not think so. Open strategic autonomy is generally what people would say and this has been discussed over the past number of years. To be fair to President Macron, when he said this first people probably said we were grand, but there have been so many geopolitical changes since then that there is a lot to be said for making sure Europe can do things on its own. Ireland does not think...

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: That is another really good question. If the committee had time, it would be great for its voice to be heard on this issue also. First, we should encourage people to apply to work in the European institutions. That is very important. The Department gives a lot of support to people so if the Senator knows of people who want to work in the European institutions, they can contact the...

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: We do not know if they all got through or if they all had the language skills or passed the tests. We put a huge effort into encouraging people to apply for that and 92 did. I should say we have had a strategy since I was last in the job. It was one of my priorities the last time to try to encourage more people and we have seen an uptick in the number of people going into the system but it...

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: Yes, they do. Sometimes people can get into the institutions as interpreters, translators or linguists and then go to other areas. I am not happy with the way the European Personnel Selection Office, EPSO, the body within the institutions that runs the competitions for admissions, has handled some of the competitions recently.

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: I do not want to go into too much detail but there have been competitions cancelled and competitions held that have had to be cancelled after the exams took place. That is not satisfactory. I engage with EPSO regularly. Next week, I am meeting the budget commissioner, Commissioner Serafin, primarily about the budget but I will also mention the jobs situation as he is also the...

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: Yes.

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: Yes. That is what I am thinking about.

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: If the Deputy sees me talking while he is asking a question, it is simply because I am trying to formulate the correct answer on a particular issue.

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: There is a tricky issue around Article 7 and Hungary, and I just want to get it exactly right. In the context of Hungary, we have been a very strong voice on various laws it has brought in. For example, on a child protection law and a lot of stuff that is really just anti-LGBT. We do not approve of it. We do not support it. We think it is inconsistent with Hungary's membership of the...

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: A large amount of funding has not gone to Hungary. I say that bluntly. If I met the Hungarian minister now, I would say that we will not pay for this. Why should we pay for it? We have to be clear about that. The rule of law is very much a part of our work in the budget negotiations. We have to work with other countries on that as well. It was a major achievement to get this through...

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: Yes. There are others as well. It is not just them. It is not that they are against the rule of law or support Hungary, but they may not want this to happen for various reasons. It is not clear to us. We have insisted on the highest standards from Hungary, but is not clear looking around the table. No one will put down a proposal on this unless they are sure they have the four fifths,...

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: No, we are in favour of the Article 7 process moving ahead. However, we also do not want to hold a vote that does not succeed. Other countries that may not want this to go ahead may not have any rule-of-law issues whatsoever but they may just not like the process and see that someone could use it against them for other reasons. I have never had a substantive discussion about getting the...

Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs Council: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (18 Jun 2025)

Thomas Byrne: I will come in on some of that. If the EU-Israel association agreement comes up at the Foreign Affairs Council again, I am happy to talk about it. It does not come up at the meetings I sit at. The Tánaiste looks after that one. I have no doubt that I or the Tánaiste will be happy to talk about it anytime. I think the committee should be meeting other committees in parliaments...

Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025: Report and Final Stages (2 Jul 2025)

Thomas Byrne: A number of my constituents will benefit from this Bill. I pay tribute to John O'Meara for going to the Supreme Court and acknowledge the circumstances in which he went to it. I know the Minister, Deputy Calleary, will take on board what the Members have said today. I sympathise with Deputy Coppinger as well. It is awful. I acknowledge the officials in the Department under the Minister...

Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(6)) (Defence Forces Tribunal of Inquiry) Regulations 2025: Motion (8 Jul 2025)

Thomas Byrne: I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(6)) (Defence Forces Tribunal of Inquiry) Regulations 2025; a copy of which was laid in draft before Dáil Éireann on the 2nd July, 2025.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (8 Jul 2025)

Thomas Byrne: Thar ceann an Aire Leanaí, Míchumais agus Comhionannais, an Teachta Foley, is mian liom mo buíochas a ghabhail leis an Teachta as an ábhar tábhachtach seo a ardú agus as deis a thabhairt don Aire – is mé atá ag labhairt ar a son – freagra a thabhairt. This Government acknowledges that demand for respite services across the country...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (8 Jul 2025)

Thomas Byrne: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an t-ábhar tábhachtach seo a ardú inniu. We hear the passion Deputy Cahill brings to this issue. The future use of the site is currently under consideration by a working group. The Minister, Deputy Foley, wants to assure Deputy Cahill that this Government is committed to providing services and supports for people with...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (8 Jul 2025)

Thomas Byrne: The Government is committed to the provision of additional special school places for children with more complex educational needs. Over 300 new special school places are being provided for the coming 2025-26 school year. Five new special schools are being established in addition to the 11 new special schools that opened over the past few years. Of these 16 new schools, six have been...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Special Educational Needs (8 Jul 2025)

Thomas Byrne: The Deputy took what I said as bad news. I think I gave constructive news, if she heard what I said, which is that there are 300 new special school places, which it is acknowledged are needed for those who need them, and that the Department and the NCSE in particular have proceeded to decide where they are going. I have no doubt the Department will listen to what the Deputy said in the...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Primary Care Services (8 Jul 2025)

Thomas Byrne: On behalf of the Minister for Health, I thank Deputy Hearne for raising this issue. It gives the Minister the opportunity to update the Dáil on this important issue. What the Deputy has set out is not acceptable. Primary care services, including primary care psychology, play a central role in providing care and treatment to both children and adults in the community. Per the...