Comments by Deputy Brendan Smith at Garda Síochána Seminar on Coco’s Law on Friday 13th February:
“I compliment An Garda Síochána on organising this important Seminar and having representatives of Statutory Agencies, Voluntary Organisations and Second Level Schools participating. It is absolutely essential that there is a greater awareness of these serious issues and the support that is there to help young people deal with difficulties arising from online bullying and harassment.
These challenges can only be dealt with effectively through collaboration across all agencies, both statutory and voluntary. Everybody has a part to play in ensuring that young people and indeed people of all ages remain safe and free of intimidation and abuse. Existing legislation must be implemented and the Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan TD, has stated very clearly, following recent public debate about the creation and sharing of AI intimate images, that further legislative measures will be introduced if such a need arises. I know that Minister O’Callaghan is very committed to having effective laws and regulations in place.
The European Union and other like-minded countries must robustly address the whole issue of abuse, the spreading of misinformation and disinformation with the utmost urgency. It is not acceptable and indeed it is ridiculous that people can have accounts on social media platforms with anonymity and behave in a despicable manner with their commentary. It is beyond time for large social media companies to be reined in and held accountable for abuses. This is a huge issue for society today and governments must be extremely vigilant and active in controlling such media in the best interests of the public”
99. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth when a much-needed building project will proceed to the next stage (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10770/26]
This is the first opportunity I have had in this Chamber to wish the Minister every success in her role. It is always a demanding and challenging one in a Department that impacts so many people. As the Minister knows, I have been in regular contact with her through representations and parliamentary questions on the need to advance as quickly as possible a number of building projects throughout Cavan and Monaghan. This particular parliamentary question refers to the proposed building project at Milltown National School, Cavan, that needs to be advanced to the next stage as soon as possible, particularly to cater for the needs of children with additional needs.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a project comprising two mainstream classrooms, two special education tuition rooms and one special education needs base has been devolved for delivery to the school authority. This project was approved in 2022 and my Department has been engaging with the school to support it through stage 1 of the architectural design process to advance a design solution that is consistent with the approved project brief and in line with the Department’s technical standards. My Department has recently issued advice to the school and is currently awaiting submission of a revised stage 1 report.
My Department has a strong track record of delivering the Government’s school building programme, with over €6 billion invested since 2020. In that period, my Department has provided €92.61 million in capital funding for Cavan schools. There are currently four school projects under construction across the county. A total of 24 schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation.
As the Deputy will be aware, I have recently published the national development plan’s sectoral investment plan for education and youth, which is worth €7.55 billion out to 2030. This sets out my Department’s approach to prioritise investment in school infrastructure. There is a strong focus in the plan on maximising existing capacity and prioritising project roll-out to meet the most urgent needs, particularly to support special education provision. The project at the school in question forms part of this overall pipeline of school building projects that will continue to be managed in line with the funding parameters within which I have to work through the national development plan.
I strongly welcome the major investment in school buildings since 2020, both in my constituency and nationally. In her response, the Minister stated that the Department is awaiting a submission of a revised stage 1 report from the school. I have been in contact with the Department in this regard, as has the school. This will mean that the school will be submitting plans to the Department for the third time. The Department has requested that the design team cuts down on the cost of the project. In order to reduce the cost of the revised project, the architect is proposing that the new extension be elevated by 1.2 m. This will reduce costs of the excavation, earth disposal, retaining walls and access ramps. The proposed new drawings have both steps and an enclosed lift on the main corridor.
In an effort to speed up the process, and before the school sends the drawings to be repriced by the quantity surveyor, the board of management of the school has asked both me and the Department for clarification as to whether the building unit in the Minister’s Department will accept the building with split levels when pupils with special educational needs will be accessing those corridors. I appreciate that detail is not in the Minister’s briefing notes but I ask her to quickly give me a note on this or for the Department to write directly to the board of management and principal stating whether the revised plans with split levels are acceptable to the Department’s specifications. The school does not want to waste money in doing this if the plans will be rejected.
As the Deputy will appreciate, I cannot comment on the technical details of any school across the country. I can advise and certainly assist. I am sure there is a line of communication, as there always is, for these building projects where the design team of the school engages directly with the Department of education. I will certainly follow up with the Department to get clarity around that and ensure it engages with the school directly around those particular concerns. As the Deputy can imagine, I cannot give any kind of confirmation or otherwise in relation to technical and design elements of particular schools. If a line of communication is needed between the Department and the school, I have no issue facilitating that.
I fully appreciate that the Minister is not to get involved in technical details but the board of management, the principal and I have sought clarification from the Department and it has not been forthcoming. The board of management, the principal, Mr. Keith Conefrey, the parents’ association and all the staff do not want to waste time getting a redesign, submitting it to the Department and then being turned down again. We are talking about ensuring the best value for money here. An answer via a note to myself or directly to the school from the Minister’s Department would benefit everybody. It would benefit the Department from an expenditure point of view and it would also help speed up what is very much needed.
The Minister referred to this accommodation being particularly focused on the needs of pupils with additional needs and ensuring there is proper accommodation in that regard. This school’s enrolment has grown from 51 pupils 15 years ago to 175 pupils today. There is a special emphasis in this school on providing for children with additional needs. This accommodation is needed. If this project could be progressed as soon as possible, it would be a good day’s work for that community.
Current dispute must be resolved without delay – Brendan Smith TD
Cavan Monaghan TD Brendan Smith has today through further Parliamentary Questions in the Dáil to the Taoiseach highlighted the need for a properly funded Common Agricultural Policy post 2027.
“The Common Agricultural Policy is essential to ensure a secure supply of safe food for the citizens of Europe and is also an essential income support for farmers.
“A secure supply of food and a vibrant farming and agricultural sector are essential elements, not just of the rural economy, but of the national economy.
“Our Food Export Markets have been hard earned. Individual farmers have gone above and beyond to ensure world class standards in animal husbandry and food production. This has been backed up by the State with major financial investment provided over many years.
“The current dispute between Bord Bia and farmers needs to be resolved urgently. This requires immediate dialogue between farmers and Bord Bia.
“Those talks must be undertaken in good faith so that we can continue with our other important work in ensuring a Multi-Annual Financial Framework that will underpin a properly funded CAP and the sustainability of our agricultural sector into the future,” said Deputy Brendan Smith.
Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan/Monaghan, Brendan Smith welcomes the New Basic Income for the Arts scheme announced this week and stated it represents a ‘significant milestone’ in Ireland’s support of the arts and artists.
Practicing artists based in the Republic of Ireland will be invited to apply for the new BIA scheme, and 2,000 eligible artists will be selected to receive the payment of €325 per week.
The successor scheme to the Basic Income for the Arts Pilot program will solidify Ireland’s place as a global leader in the area of artist supports.
Welcoming the announcement, Deputy Brendan Smith said:
“The scheme announced this week will help sustain careers and retain talented artists in the field. I expect this new scheme will be very welcome across Cavan/Monaghan’s vibrant, creative and prolific arts community,” he said.
He added:
“We are already a global leader in the area of artist supports because of the Basic Income for the Arts Scheme. This further investment will help support the countless positive benefits to society by the arts and will support not just positive economic and health outcomes, but also celebrate our heritage, strengthen our social cohesion and bolster our global reputation.
With a budget of €18.27m, the new BIA will operate in 3-year cycles with artists being eligible for every 3 out of 6 years.
This means that, if selected in 2026 – 2029 for the payment, an artist won’t be eligible for the payment in the next cycle but may reapply in the cycle following that.
Concluding, Deputy Brendan Smith encouraged local artists to apply if they think they would be eligible.
“Those who were on the Pilot and meet the eligibility criteria for the new scheme may apply for the BIA in 2026. Guidelines outlining the details of criteria and parameters for the scheme are currently being finalised and will be published in April.
Following that, the scheme will open for applications in May and these will be assessed over the summer, with payment to selected artists beginning before the end of 2026,” he concluded.
Since the release of the GAA Demographics Committee Report in December 2025 I have been pursuing the issues raised particularly in relation to rural depopulation and community facilities.
Below are written and subsequent oral questions to the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht that I tabled in Dáil Eireann. Also provided is my contribution when the GAA attended the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government, and Heritage and communication received from the GAA in this respect.
GAA Appearance at Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government, and Heritage
20th January 2026 I
Deputy Brendan Smith:
I apologise for missing most of the meeting but I was in another committee meeting. I compliment the GAA, both nationally and in every unit of the organisation, for carrying out this work. It is important to bring a focus to the population diversity in our country today. I represent Cavan-Monaghan. I attended the demographics committee meeting of the Cavan county board in August 2024 and I was very impressed with the membership of that committee. It was not just made up of officers of clubs or the county board. Rather, there were a range of people representing different strata in society. That was extremely important and they do very good work. I remember when the late Seán McCague, iar-uachtarán Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, attended a GAA meeting in Cavan one night. I think it was around the year 2000. He told us that night that he had just travelled from Cork, where he had visited some of the major clubs. He outlined the difficulties the clubs were facing in not having enough facilities while having huge numbers of underage players out training every Saturday morning. We had the opposite problem at that time. We had trouble fielding teams. Thankfully, it reversed in the meantime but now we are facing decline in some of our rural clubs again, as is so evident. Mr. Hurl used the phrase “eastward and urban shift”. To take County Cavan as an example, in the east of county, such as in Virginia, Kingscourt and Bailiborough, across that region huge numbers of people commute to Dublin. The numbers in their clubs are growing hugely, and it is great to see. Often, there are huge pressures on facilities. In fairness, over recent years, there has been huge Government investment in sport. We need to see more of it. All of us, at both Oireachtas and local authority levels, work with our local clubs of all sporting disciplines to get funding to help build up the sporting infrastructure. In communities in the west of the county, such as Blacklion and Swanlinbar on the Fermanagh border, their nearest sizeable town is Enniskillen. They face particular difficulty. Within a county, therefore, there is huge diversity and we must deal with that. The Cathaoirleach outlined so well earlier in his contribution that we have a lot of social and educational infrastructure in rural Ireland that is not being used. I would love to see a proper inventory done with regard to infrastructure that is not being used to the extent it could be. My club, Templeport St. Aidan’s, which is only a junior club in west Cavan located west of Ballyconnell, has fabulous facilities, with two pitches, lights, a gym and everything. Our neighbouring club, another junior club, has excellent facilities as well. Unfortunately, they are not in a position to field a team. They are playing with us at present in an interim arrangement to ensure that everybody who wants to participate has a team to play on. What the GAA is doing in getting this message out is hugely important. It will focus the people’s minds, as Deputy Aird said, at official level in particular. That has to be driven by political people in the Oireachtas, in particular at Government level. There is so much that can be done. I would emphasise the importance of ensuring that we utilise the infrastructure already in place. By and large, every rural parish has a great community centre. There will be a primary school, if not a second level school, and there are other facilities such as meeting rooms and sports facilities such as football pitches, predominantly, and GAA pitches, etc. I do not know if Mr. Hurl and I are the only two people from Ulster in the room, but maybe Croke Park and Comhairle Uladh would give out a good message showing that we want to support the rural counties and smaller towns by stating that the Ulster final will be held in Clones for ever more. Go raibh míle maith agat, a Chathaoirligh.
Speaking in the Dáil, Cavan Monaghan TD Brendan Smith has called on the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD, and the government to commit greater funding for the regional and local road network. This follows Deputy Smith’s recent Parliamentary Questions to the Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien, seeking further financial support for local authorities to carry out road upgrades and maintenance.
“There is a commitment in the Programme for Government to protect and renew the regional, local and non-national road network. The recent very heavy rainfall has caused awful damage to our local and regional roads. Counties like Cavan and Monaghan have particular problems because of our topography and our drumlin soils. We do not have free draining soils and, therefore, face additional problems in the road network,” said Deputy Brendan Smith.
“There has been a welcome increase since 2020 in funding to local authorities on an annual basis. However, we need a more significant increase. Taking into account the fact that 92% of the road network in Cavan does not comprise national roads, there is considerable demand for additional funding to bring our roads up to the proper standards to which people are fully entitled,” he continued
Responding to Deputy Brendan Smith in the Dáil the Taoiseach acknowledged the issues and challenges with regional and non-national roads and that the flooding of recent times has done a lot of damage in specific locations.
The Taoiseach stated that he has spoken with the Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien TD, on the impact of the floods on the roads and the need to review how funding is allocated to non-national roads.
Brendan Smith TD welcomed the Taoiseach’s response. “The inclement, wetter weather of recent years is playing havoc with non-national roads and the 2026 regional and local road grant allocations which will be finalised shortly must take into account the additional expenditure required to improve and maintain the standard of our road network,” he concluded.
Written Parliamentary Question
For Written Answer on: 22/01/2026 Question No.: 312 Reference No.: 5401/26 Department: Transport Asked by: Brendan Smith T.D.
Question
To ask the Minister for Transport if he will ensure a substantial increase in funding for the non-national road network for Cavan and Monaghan County Councils in 2026, in view of the urgent need to upgrade and carry out repairs to roads throughout both counties; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Reply
The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority and Exchequer funding is intended to supplement local authorities’ own resources.
The 2026 regional and local road grant allocations will be finalised shortly and will take into account the expenditure outturn on projects and programmes in the preceding year. Within the budget available, the objective is to allocate funding to eligible local authorities on as equitable a basis as possible, taking the length of the road network into account. The main focus of the grants will continue to be the protection and renewal of the regional and local road network.
Programme for Government
Dáil Éireann Debate – Wednesday, 4 February 2026
Deputy Brendan Smith
As the Taoiseach is aware, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to protect and renew the regional, local and non-national road network. There has been a welcome increase since 2020 in funding to local authorities on an annual basis.
We need a more significant increase. As the Taoiseach is well aware, very heavy rainfall is causing awful damage to our local and regional roads. Counties like Cavan and Monaghan have particular problems because of our typography and our drumlin soils. We do not have free draining soils and, therefore, face additional problems in the road network.
The Taoiseach will recall meeting Fianna Fáil councillors from Cavan and Monaghan, along with me, when they put forward a strong case for a substantial increase in funding for a roadworks programme for 2026, taking into account the fact that 92% of the road network in Cavan does not comprise national roads. There is significant demand for additional funding to bring roads up to the proper standards to which people are fully entitled.
The Taoiseach
There is a big issue with regional and non-national roads. The flooding of recent times has done a lot of damage in specific locations, but the rainfall generally has had an effect.
I spoke yesterday to the Minister responsible – the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O’Brien – on the impact of the floods on the roads, the need to review how we allocate funding to non-national roads and the need to get a serious allocation there. The inclement, wetter weather of recent years is playing havoc with non-national roads across the country.
Residents and businesses of Cavan Town are benefitting from a more resilient and reliable water supply in 2026 after the recent completion of a significant programme of mains replacement in the town.
The Railway Road water mains replacement project drew to its conclusion shortly before Christmas, bringing to a close a major programme of works to replace more than 1.4km of mains in the town centre.
The works along Railway Road (R198) and College Street (R212) involved the replacement of aging mains with new, modern pipes. The project also involved the laying of new service connections from the public main to customers’ property boundaries and connecting these to customers’ supplies.
“This was an extensive programme of mains replacements for Cavan Town and we are proud to have brought the project to completion,” said Patricia Lowry, Programme Manager with Uisce Éireann.
“Residents, businesses and visitors to Cavan Town can look forward to a more secure and reliable water supply as a consequence of these works, while the new pipes will also help us to reduce leaks of leakage on the network and decrease the likelihood of supply disruptions moving forward.
“We wish to thank the community of Cavan Town, including the local business owners, for their understanding and co-operation while these works were ongoing,” continued Patricia.
The Railway Road project was delivered as part of Uisce Éireann’s National Leakage Reduction Programme, which involves reducing leakage across Ireland by fixing leaks and replacing old and damaged pipes on the water network.
Uisce Éireann’s long term goal is to reduce leakage to 20%, and we are committed to achieving this through appropriate and targeted investment in our water network.
To help achieve this, we are investing over €1 billion up to the end of 2029 in the network, including leakage reduction measures. This planned investment will deliver further vital upgrades to the underground water network – reducing leakage, improving water quality, and providing a more reliable water supply for Irish homes and businesses.
Uisce Éireann is responsible for delivering public drinking water and wastewater services for the people of Ireland. We are committed to enabling communities to thrive by continuously upgrading and developing critical infrastructure to support sustainable growth and development, providing safe drinking water, and enhancing the environment.
Glad to receive confirmation from Further and Higher Education Minister James Lawless that the major building project for Cavan Institute, at present at pre-tender project design planning stage, will be progressed at an early date
We had an extensive agenda for our Steering Committee meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly on Sunday evening and Monday preparing for the March Plenary Session and reviewing the ongoing work of Committees.
Very pleasant surrounds in the Scottish Parliament for our deliberations.
