18. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth the rationale her Department has in choosing particular schools for priority building lists, to outline the denomination of each of the 105 schools chosen by category; if schools that are currently at stage 2b will be progressed over the next two years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28885/26]
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
I want to reference one school in particular. I taught in Coachford College for a year. The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, will be acutely aware of Coachford College. I know he has engaged with the school on a consistent basis as it represents a number of his own constituents. Coachford College is a fantastic school with around 900 pupils. It has a huge offering of subjects. However, Coachford College has been w…
I was in communication with the Department last Thursday at the Committee of Public Accounts. We have moved to a modular accommodation style of building works. While we are still building traditional school buildings we have significantly moved towards modular accommodation on which a significant amount of money has been spent over the past five years. I am not saying at all that modular accommodation is not welcome.…
I wish to raise the ongoing issue of Garda numbers in Cobh in County Cork. This issue has been brought to my attention by my Labour Party colleague, Councillor Cathal Rasmussen. Over the past number of months, and including this week, there have been a number of knife attacks in Cobh. Recently the doors of the Garda station itself were closed with no access to the public because of the lack of gardaí. There are four …
211. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of purpose-built student accommodation beds that will be available in the State for the coming academic year; the amount that this has grown on the previous academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22017/26]
In relation to the student accommodation strategy, the Minister knows I am not in the business of criticising in any way, shape or form any new development and I welcome it. However, I will call out certain aspects of it that I do not perhaps agree with. We might differ on that but that is fine. I have a sense that the strategy itself is developer-led with an enormous reliance on the private market. It fails in very …
I thank the Minister for clarifying that and I will correct the record on that. I also want to speak to the broader aspect of accommodation that is being used by students in our cities. Since the Minister has taken up his position, in regard to communication he has with the Minister, Deputy Browne, there has been a significant amount of it in relation his own strategy. For example, in regard to private rental accommo…
228. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of apprenticeships the State has taken on each year from 2020 onwards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22012/26]
What number of apprenticeships has the State taken on each year from 2020 to date? We have discussed apprenticeships previously in this House. They are extremely important to me as a public representative and as someone who has grown up with many family members who have become apprentices.
I firmly welcome the developments in the public service apprenticeship model made by the Department of further and higher education. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, and I have had many exchanges on the role of apprenticeships in our public services. It is being focused on by the Government and I welcome this. It is something I am absolutely focused on. We all know of the difficulty with the number of apprenticeships ou…
The increase is significant and I am glad that some of what I spoke about 15 or 16 months ago has been taken on board, relating to the role of apprenticeships. With regard to students in fifth or sixth year who may be thinking about going into third level or progressing their academic life, or people in their 20s or whatever age they may be, where or how can they access this information? Is it being publicised correc…
241. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the level of demand for specific courses particularly in health services, inclusive of medicine, nursing and dentistry; the number of applicants who apply for a particular course that will be granted a place on the course; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22015/26]
I wish to ask the Minister about the level of demand for specific courses, particularly in healthcare including courses in medicine, nursing and dentistry; the number of applicants who apply for a particular course and the numbers that will be granted a course for the coming academic year.
The question generally relates to the number of courses available in medicine, nursing and dentistry and if all applicants for whom it is their number one choice on their CAO form, for example, will receive a place on those courses.
I thank the Minister for that. I asked the question because a lot of people have come to me who achieved the required points but they did not get the actual course because of a lack of places. I also asked it because we all see the extensive waiting lists across our health service, particularly for those trying to access a GP in their local area. There are also extensive waiting lists within community hospitals and i…
The question is based on the fact that people have come to me because their child has been waiting on a dental appointment for two years. People cannot get access to a GP, particularly those who are living in rural areas. I am sure the Minister is acutely aware of that. The first question that is often posed by constituents is around why we do not have more nurses, doctors or dentists because that would bring down th…
I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
I thank the Minister of State for being here and Deputies Darren O’Rourke and Jen Cummins for being in the Chamber. As I speak on this legislation for the second time, it is important for me personally and professionally, being a former secondary school teacher, as well as being an epileptic, having been diagnosed at the age of 21. This legislation is personally and…
I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, and the other Deputies. The Minister of State is here longer than me, but this is probably my first time to agree with everything that has been said in the Chamber, from both this side of the House and the other side of the House.
A timed amendment is appropriate and necessary. I thank the Government for engaging me on this crucial legislation. The Minister of State re…
Since November, the Government has been acutely aware of the exponential growth in the number of children who require an additional needs school place for the coming academic year. While I welcome the fact that over 430 classes have been made available, the exponential growth in demand means that nearly 600 special classes are required. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Ministers have been aware of this since Novem…
The Labour Party will be fully supporting the motion. I thank Deputy Darren O'Rourke for tabling it. It is important to remember that behind all the statistics we discuss are children and families who are waiting, worrying and, too often, struggling to be heard. Special education is not an niche issue or an add-on to our system. It is a fundamental test of whether our education system is fair, responsive and genuinel…
Yesterday we saw the announcement of new special classes across the country and, for the first time, the introduction of these new so-called classes or hubs which will be in our schools and in which schools can enrol up to 12 students. I welcome proposals and reform but they do not negate the need for appropriate classes. I note the name of the proposed model is "inclusive autism classes". All autism classes are incl…
I thank my colleague Deputy Smith for working tirelessly to get these statements on the agenda of the House. I pay tribute to the senior women’s team on their win last night.
Soccer is often seen as the sport of the working class. From the outset, when clubs and teams were established by workers in industry and in working-class communities, up to the present day, soccer clubs have played a pivotal role in communitie…
I thank my colleague, Deputy Ahern, for allowing me to share time with him. I am extremely disappointed that those who criticised my party have not waited for a response. I did not want to speak about this tonight but if people want to stand here and criticise my party, scrapping the carbon tax would have allowed a €1 billion hole in the public finances. I am not sure what I would say to an elderly person who has mad…
When we speak about Bessborough, we are not speaking about an abstract planning file or a routine decision before a local authority. We are speaking about a place that goes to the very core of who we are, or who we claim to be, as a republic. There are moments when politics must step back from process and confront conscience. This is one of those moments. The history of mother and baby homes is not distanced or detac…
I thank my colleague, Deputy Alan Kelly, for bringing this extremely important motion forward. I start by acknowledging the gardaí on the ground, particularly in my own area, who do extraordinary work in very difficult circumstances. They deal daily with antisocial behaviour, drug intimidation, thefts, public disorder and repeat offenders, and they are doing so often with limited numbers, limited resources and increa…