Go raibh míle maith agat. I start by expressing the Social Democrats' warm welcome for President Zelenskyy's upcoming visit and our absolute, unreserved condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which is an imperial war that has caused massive loss of life. We talk about the war in Ukraine and Russia's attack and sometimes I think there has not been enough focus on the number of people killed in that war, and par…
TDs / Rory Hearne
Rory Hearne
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
487
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
142,007
words spoken in the chamber
Across 575 contributions
398
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
112
topics asked about
Across 17 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 487 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 575 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 6 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 21 | 16 |
| March 2025 | 24 | 21 |
| April 2025 | 20 | 27 |
| May 2025 | 22 | 28 |
| June 2025 | 23 | 28 |
| July 2025 | 126 | 46 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 25 | 7 |
| October 2025 | 24 | 40 |
| November 2025 | 12 | 17 |
| December 2025 | 10 | 28 |
| January 2026 | 38 | 53 |
| February 2026 | 5 | 53 |
| March 2026 | 40 | 28 |
| April 2026 | 27 | 19 |
| May 2026 | 12 | 65 |
| June 2026 | 26 | 26 |
| July 2026 | 11 | 26 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 11 | 22 |
| October 2026 | 4 | 24 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 359 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 Dublin North-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Social Democrats 29 November 2024 to now
No accountability
I thank Deputy Farrelly for introducing the Bill. Dr. Farrelly and I were lecturers together in the department of applied social studies in Maynooth, and one of the areas he worked on in particular, as was spoken about, was the issue of youth work. His research has been in this area and he is one of the foremost experts in the country on it. We really need to take seriously the evidence base understanding and the exp…
The issue Sinn Féin has raised is extremely important. The cost of motoring, particularly in the context of tolls, is a massive issue for people. This is another example of the price gouging taking place in this country. The Government throws its hands in the air and asks, "What can we do about the cost-of-living crisis?" The Government created the aspect of the cost-of-living crisis that relates to tolls.
It was Fi…
Táim anseo today to speak about an issue related to disability services in my constituency but which affects the wider Dublin area and the country. I will speak about St. Michael's House and about a constituent whose issue I have raised and want to raise again today. St. Michael's House on the Ballymun Road provides a range of services and supports for people with disabilities and their families, from residential sup…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit but that is an inadequate response. He acknowledged that the HSE is facing significant challenges in the provision of residential placements and in the availability of suitable housing and staffing, as well as the increasing costs of providing residential care and the changing needs of service users. He has outlined the challenge, but we need to see solutions. While there is an inc…
Yesterday's report from the Department of Finance said that the housing disaster will continue for another 15 years. That seems to be an optimistic forecast based on housing delivery doubling to 60,000 by 2030. We are facing 30 years of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil housing failure unless their housing plans radically change or they are removed from office. The lives of generations of people in this country have been des…
-----trying to put together a housing plan. Does the Minister agree that we face another 15 years of a housing disaster?
Who is actually to blame for this housing catastrophe?
Have you just figured this out now?
In recent weeks we have seen in Citywest and Drogheda absolute violence with the potential for children and adults to be murdered with that arson attack. That is the reality. The Government can talk about condemning and say it absolutely thinks this is disgraceful, but I encourage people to read what the Hope and Courage Collective has put out. It makes it clear that it is the words of political leaders that have fan…
I thank Aontú and others for bringing forward the motion today. It is an important discussion about how we choose our President, the processes set out for that and who is eligible to vote. The Social Democrats are open to engaging in a cross-party discussion about the processes in place to elect a President. Uachtarán na hÉireann, as has been set out, is the highest office in the land. It is a position that sets out …
I completely back my colleague, Deputy O' Callaghan. The Minister talked about politics of the lowest kind. Politics of the lowest kind is to allow over 5,000 children to be homeless every single year and to vote, year after year, against implementing an eviction ban. The Minister is a Minister of homelessness. He stands over all the things he been done in this country, all the great development, but year after year,…
The Social Democrats are happy to strongly support this motion. I thank Deputy Ward and the Independent and Parties Technical Group for bringing it forward. It is absolutely one of the most important motions that will be brought forward in this Dáil term because the issue that faces people across the country who are affected by defective blocks is twofold. It is State and market failure. It is market failure because …
It is the developers. You just give it to the developers.
More emergency accommodation.
Because the Government is causing-----
The Social Democrats are happy to support this increase to the borrowing ceiling for the Housing Finance Agency. It is the correct thing to do, but it is limited. We would like it to be higher. We believe there needs to be a significant increase in the delivery of social and affordable housing beyond what is currently being delivered and financed.
Many questions are being asked at the moment about housing and the Go…
In this budget, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael once again showed that they put generation rent behind the developers and investor funds, which were completely prioritised. During the election campaign, they never said that their big idea was going to be a tax-cut giveaway of up to €500 million a year to wealthy developers and funds. Today, the Government's developer VAT cut has been torn apart by none other than its own P…
Who is? Is the Tánaiste saying I am?
That is completely untrue.
No, it is not. It is a fact that the Government is giving billions to developers and investors.
Can the Tánaiste justify billions for apartments that are built?
It is half a billion.
In two years' time, it will be up to a billion.