Yesterday I visited the proposed site of the national children's science centre at Earlsfort Terrace. I walked through the derelict north wing of that building with members of the board. It is a space that is full of potential but today it lies idle in the heart of our capital city. The Taoiseach stood on the site in December 2022 and announced, to be fair, the great redevelopment of the National Concert Hall. The fe…
TDs / Eoghan Kenny
Eoghan Kenny
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,325
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
81,310
words spoken in the chamber
Across 303 contributions
392
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
244
topics asked about
Across 20 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 1,325 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 303 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 25 | 5 |
| February 2025 | 82 | 19 |
| March 2025 | 47 | 13 |
| April 2025 | 51 | 8 |
| May 2025 | 30 | 10 |
| June 2025 | 39 | 12 |
| July 2025 | 169 | 17 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 88 | 10 |
| October 2025 | 77 | 10 |
| November 2025 | 116 | 22 |
| December 2025 | 62 | 22 |
| January 2026 | 105 | 15 |
| February 2026 | 146 | 33 |
| March 2026 | 24 | 9 |
| April 2026 | 44 | 27 |
| May 2026 | 75 | 29 |
| June 2026 | 36 | 8 |
| July 2026 | 36 | 28 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 33 | 5 |
| October 2026 | 40 | 1 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 206 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 Cork North-Central 29 November 2024 to now
- party Labour Party 29 November 2024 to now
Yes, on the same site.
Yes, absolutely.
I am not saying-----
The National Concert Hall might have to close if construction was to begin again on the science centre.
It is on the same site.
That is not-----
I am happy to share my time.
Today we must recognise the immense pressure that our nurses are under in this country, but also other front-line health professionals across Ireland. This morning, I met with paramedics outside Mallow General Hospital who do not take this strike action lightly. Listening to them this morning, it was clear that this dispute was more than pay and grading. It is about burnout, staffing pressures, retention and a workfo…
151. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he and his Department have considered not proceeding with the planned reduction in student contribution fees for the 2026-27 academic year, in light of the recent Government decision requiring Departments to absorb expenditure overruns within existing budgets; and if he will make a statement on the matter…
I appreciate that. The Minister will be acutely aware of the level of concern among families and students to the news that there is a possibility that the incremental decreases in student contribution fees will not go ahead. The Minister mentioned that this must be done in a financially sustainable way, which is something that is not spoken about perhaps in the media or by other spokespeople. The Department might be …
Is there a date on which that paper will be made available? Those costings will be very important to politicians in this Chamber but also extremely important to the very students who we profess to represent in this Chamber regarding to the amount they will have to pay for the coming academic year. I represent the students across this country and the important issue for them is that there was a commitment in the progr…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire.
157. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the engagement he has had with University College Cork and Munster Technological University Cork on the housing crisis and the impact on student accommodation in Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34346/26]
I wish to ask about the Minister's engagement with University College Cork and the Munster Technological University in Cork on the housing crisis and the impact on student accommodation in Cork. This is something that has been spoken about at a consistent level by the Labour Party and by me and my colleagues, Senator Harmon, and an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, Deputy Sheehan.
I appreciate that there have been developments in student accommodation. However, Cork, as a county with a huge university city, has the lowest proportion of public student accommodation beds available at 18%.
In February 2026, a report by Sherry FitzGerald showed that the State needs at least 38,900 beds to keep up with the demand. The report says that for every 13 students across the south-west region, which is in…
In relation to what my colleague, Senator Harmon, has said in relation to the technological universities being allowed to borrow to build student accommodation, is it something that the Minister and the Department are taking seriously? There would be an appetite there from MTU.
In relation to private rented accommodation, we have had many debates across this House on private rental student accommodation, particularl…
Will the Minister explain why the Government has chosen to impose expenditure levies on Departments given that the State is currently running a surplus of more than €9 billion? The State has run surplus budgets for 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, all while the top 10% hold nearly 50% of total net wealth in this country and the number of super rich has doubled in the past five years. Successive Governments did not apply th…
I must note the irony of a Fianna Fáil Minister coming in here and trying to lecture the Labour Party on fiscal responsibility. It is unbelievable. Fianna Fáil crippled the country and allowed the Labour Party to try to bring it back from the brink and the Minister of State comes in here and tries to lecture us on fiscal responsibility.
This is a vital and timely motion. It is clear to many of us in this House that …
What about those parents who are struggling to get their children to school, predominantly children in rural areas who the Minister of State professes to represent? Education in Ireland is supposed to be free. It is clear to parents across the country that it is only free in name.
Prior to the general election in 2024, the then Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Government implemented supports to households to cope with soar…
-----but we profess to and do represent ordinary working people in this country - for example, by putting forward this mini budget, with practical, real-life solutions that will help in the here and now, rather than the Minister of State just throwing his eyes to heaven in the face of the people and the families across this country who are struggling to put food on the table for their children.
You cannot blame the housing prices on that.
2. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth if a memo has been sent to Cabinet in relation to the way in which her Department plans to deliver enough special class places and special school places to match the level of demand; the number of children who await a special class or school placement; the number of children who made an application for a special class or school placement; the number of…
At the Committee of Public Accounts in February, the Secretary General of the Department of education told me that a memo would be sent to Cabinet in relation to how we are going to deal with the exponential growth in the level of demand for children who require school places. Last Thursday, the Secretary General told me that the memo is set to be sent to Cabinet. Has that memo on how we are going to deal with this e…
There are also a lot of parents who know their children need a special class or special school placement and they do not know whether their child will get a school place. The memo sent to the Government did not only relate to special education, but it must have included the number of children who require a special class or special school placement. The Department knows that figure. The NCSE has told me that every Fri…