Christmas has arrived in Portarlington! Fantastic to see the town lit up and looking so bright and joyful! A big thank you to the Christmas Street Lights committee, Laois County Council and all the amazing local businesses in the town who spend so much time and effort each year to make the ...

Good to join Áine Lawlor on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland to discuss plans by the Government to remove the Triple-Lock on the deployment of the Defence Forces on overseas missions. Listen here.

This month, a memorial was unveiled in Athy to remember Private Declan Deere (21), Private Jonathan Murphy (21), Private Brendan Fitzpatrick (19) and Private Matthew John Lawlor (23) who tragically died in a road traffic accident in Lebanon, while serving as United Nations Peacekeepers on ...

Ireland should be commended for having one of the most robust & transparent BSE surveillance systems in the world. It is vital that this temporary suspension is lifted and that access to the Chinese market for Irish beef is restored as soon as possible. Watch Dr Cathal Berry TD's ...

Delighted to meet up with members of the Portarlington Women’s Shed this week. It’s always a pleasure to welcome local groups to Leinster House! Don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like to organise a tour for your local group in Kildare South.

I spoke in the Dail recently about the important role that Irish people are playing in the Middle East at the moment. I highlighted the Irish civilians working incredibly hard for peace, in UN agencies such as UNRA, and the 500 Irish troops who are out there stabilising the area, maintaining ...

Great to see the new Cadet School HQ in the Curragh nearly completed. A €4.3m refurbishment. Much more desperately needed. Hopefully, the instructor staff can soon move out of the shipping containers on the parade square & into this new facility. Well done to all involved.

A very disappointing budget day for the Defence Forces today. Despite all the warnings regarding defence, the government has failed to deliver. All we are asking the government to do is to implement their own reports. These reports have given Defence Force members nothing but heartache and ...

Delighted to meet with Samaritans Ireland volunteers during the week for the launch of their Impact Report ‘Bringing hope in difficult times’. Fantastic to hear all the incredible work they do on a daily basis by providing support and assistance to so many people. Samaritans volunteers give ...

This week in the Dáil, I raised the School Transport Scheme with the Taoiseach. The review of the system needs to be completed as soon as possible. There is a chronic shortage of school transport for students and far too many families are experiencing difficulties with the current system. ...

“It was a very successful operation, but this was probably due to the courage of the people involved rather than the resources …. and we were asking the individuals to take on additional unnecessary risk as a result of this.” Good to join Áine Lawlor on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics recently to ...

Grand soft day at the Ploughing. Fantastic atmosphere as always though. Great to bump into the French Ambassador, Vincent Guérend too, who is enjoying the authentic Irish agricultural experience