I welcome and acknowledge the fact childminders can now provide supports of the national childcare scheme and that will perhaps encourage or allow parents the choice rather than choosing a formal childcare setting. This is particularly so in rural areas where childminders would be used a lot, especially where they can provide flexibility that perhaps the formal childcare setting cannot. I have met representatives of …
TDs / Claire Kerrane
1,216
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
52,368
words spoken in the chamber
Across 221 contributions
425
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
214
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 1,216 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 221 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 8 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 54 | 19 |
| March 2025 | 72 | 7 |
| April 2025 | 86 | 15 |
| May 2025 | 58 | 9 |
| June 2025 | 70 | 9 |
| July 2025 | 70 | 7 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 84 | 18 |
| October 2025 | 41 | 5 |
| November 2025 | 94 | 12 |
| December 2025 | 47 | 21 |
| January 2026 | 58 | 11 |
| February 2026 | 98 | 18 |
| March 2026 | 80 | 6 |
| April 2026 | 58 | 22 |
| May 2026 | 75 | 5 |
| June 2026 | 61 | 24 |
| July 2026 | 37 | 1 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 47 | 6 |
| October 2026 | 18 | 6 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 170 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 Roscommon-Galway 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
There will be a review between now and September 2027, which is the transition period. That is really welcome.
I encourage the Minister, if she has an opportunity between now and September 2027, which I would like to think the Minister will, that she might meet with representatives from Childminding Ireland. I was very impressed with them. The organisation obviously represents a huge number of childminders right acr…
I am really glad to have the opportunity to speak on these statements this evening and that the Minister is in the House to listen. My home town is Ballaghaderreen, west Roscommon. This is an issue I have raised repeatedly since my being elected in 2020 because our town was one of very few in the entire State to take in Syrian refugees back in 2017. It welcomed and gave céad míle fáilte to the refugees, who arrived i…
I welcome the opportunity to speak on this strategy and I hope we will see quick and thorough implementation. I was struck by the word "choice" on page 12. It is one of the values that underpins this strategy, but the Government must create the spaces where people have a choice. It is up to the Minister and the Government to ensure there are choices. For example, today people with disabilities do not have choices in …
Why is it a secret as to how many children with additional needs are without an appropriate class place? Whether it is one, ten or 100, it is one child too many, as we are talking about a child who is unable to go to school in Ireland in 2025.
There are two calls in particular in this motion tonight that I want to highlight. They are reasonable and sensible. They are to establish the school building delivery task fo…
5. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide an update on a permanent solution for flooding in Lough Funshinagh in County Roscommon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38435/25]
This question relates to the permanent solution to the flooding that has affected Lough Funshinagh in County Roscommon for years. As the Minister of State is aware - he was there to make sure it happened - there is a temporary solution in place.
I acknowledge the Minister of State's role and that of his predecessor in getting us to the point where the pumps started in March and the very positive impact that has had. As the Minister of State will know, residents living in and around Lough Funshinagh suffered incredibly as a result of the flooding in 2015, 2016 and more recently. They have been surrounded by water for years now. Some families have had to aband…
I, too, acknowledge the work. It is good to hear that we are on target for planning towards the end of the year. This will be absolutely essential. I am conscious of that as we come into the autumn and winter months. We all know about the winters the families and community around Lough Funshinagh have faced, particularly last winter. It was devastating. There will be a lot of work to be done after the permanent solut…
I am glad to have the opportunity to contribute to these statements on Pride. I am proud to be an ally of the LGBTQI+ community. I am glad that in voting for marriage equality ten years ago, we did not just stop at that point and say "Job done". It is important that we continue the conversation and face head on the challenges that remain for those in the LGBTQI+ community. The inequalities that community faces endure…
I want to be associated with the case made on amendment No. 1 and I wish to speak in support of amendment No. 2, which is grouped with amendment No. 1. Amendment No. 2 proposes a report that includes the examination of estimated savings by excluding those who lost a partner before that date in January 2024. For a number of years in the House I have raised the need to extend the widows pension to unmarried couples whe…
I just want to clarify what I said. If my constituent's partner had died in December 2024, she would have got that payment from then on. Because he died in December 2021, she will of course be able to apply for the payment and I welcome that but she will not get it because it was in 2021 and, therefore, it is not backdated. My point is that the date should not matter, but it is going to matter. I do welcome the diffe…
The programme for Government commits, for the very first time, to providing capital investment to build or purchase State-owned childcare facilities to create additional capacity in areas where unmet need exists. I attended the launch of a childcare needs analysis in Boyle, County Roscommon, last Friday. Their analysis concludes that, in the Boyle catchment area, there are 20 childcare places per 1,043 children. A fi…
71. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps she is taking to retain early years educators in the sector, and therefore retain capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32746/25]
I wish to ask the Minister about our early years educators. Staff turnover rates are high, particularly for private providers. We also have issues with capacity and retaining our early years educators. Of course, pay is a key issue. What areas is the Minister looking at to ensure we retain our early years educators in order to build on the capacity that is very much needed?
I thank the Minister. We have known for quite some time that pay is the single biggest issue. It has become and continues to be the main issue. While the work of the joint labour committee continues, we are now well into June and it unfortunately appears there is a wide gap between one side of the table and the other on the joint labour committee. SIPTU is seeking that providers must pay a minimum of €15 per hour to …
I would like to see the figures from previous JLCs on the amount of money brought forward by the Government in previous budgets and the amount of money that was actually spent on whatever the increase was. We will find quite a gap there, particularly when we look at the last increase and the length of time it took to achieve that. It was little or nothing in real terms.
Regarding the JLC itself, we all recognise tha…
73. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the actions she has taken to date to reduce the assessment of need waiting list; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32747/25]
My question follows on from the previous one. What actions is the Minister of State taking to reduce the ever growing waiting lists for assessment of need? We know from the HSE that it expects the waiting list will exceed 24,000 and will be closer to 25,000 by the end of this year.
I thank the Minister of State for her reply. She may not have them with her but is it possible to get figures? She gave percentage increases of 30% and 65% in the first few months of this year. If she has the figures for what that means in the numbers of assessments of need, that would be really helpful.
While the Government continues to build public capacity which is very important, the Minister of State previously…
I thank the Minister of State. I presume and expect that, as we come to budget 2026, she will consider further capacity to reduce waiting lists further, in particular as the HSE is expected to exceed a waiting list of 24,000 by the end of the year, an incredible figure. We need to consider how much we can get from private capacity.
In her final response, the Minister of State might speak about regional assessment hu…
Earlier in the week, I was in Gortaganny in west Roscommon to see the impact of a recent wildfire, the worst we had ever seen in our county. Having seen the damage first hand, I felt obliged to raise it with the Taoiseach. Over a thousand acres of bogland and forestry have been destroyed. I have written to the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, and the Minister, Deputy Heydon, to seek engagement with and support fo…
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing this debate to proceed this evening.
In 1996, the Department of Education amalgamated two schools in my constituency in Ballinasloe, County Galway, to become Scoil Chroí Naofa. This was done with the understanding of the Department of Education that a new school building would be provided. That was 29 years ago.
There have been design teams appointed at several stages, plann…
I thank the Minister of State for his response. It is welcome that the stage 2(b) submission made by the school is getting attention from the Department but what is important here is that we move things along as quickly as possible. After 29 years, the school and the entire school community have waited long enough. At this point, they have been through five principals while waiting for this school. It is a difficult …
I thank the Minister for her statement and the documentation we have been provided with that details the elements of both Votes. I will focus my contribution on Vote 40 and raise some issues with what has been outlined and what the Minister outlined, much of which is welcome, particularly the increased budget for disability which we must acknowledge. It has been rising and that is welcome.
That said, one of the key …