I thank the Minister of State for his presence today. I am keen to make a contribution on the national planning framework, which is essentially the creation of an environment for accelerated housing development in Ireland, and other issues it concerns itself with.
In no particular order I will just throw in a couple of ideas or issues close to my heart. I do not represent a Dublin city constituency: I represent a su…
TDs / John Lahart
John Lahart
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
567
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
34,811
words spoken in the chamber
Across 143 contributions. Plus 8 contributions from the chair, not counted
396
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
206
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 567 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 143 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 42 | 12 |
| March 2025 | 37 | 17 |
| April 2025 | 42 | 14 |
| May 2025 | 27 | 17 |
| June 2025 | 25 | 5 |
| July 2025 | 37 | 16 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 31 | 0 |
| October 2025 | 25 | 18 |
| November 2025 | 45 | 3 |
| December 2025 | 10 | 0 |
| January 2026 | 22 | 4 |
| February 2026 | 47 | 7 |
| March 2026 | 24 | 0 |
| April 2026 | 39 | 3 |
| May 2026 | 29 | 8 |
| June 2026 | 21 | 5 |
| July 2026 | 15 | 8 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 22 | 0 |
| October 2026 | 26 | 6 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 84 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 South-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
6. Deputy John Lahart asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [13977/25]
Regarding the Cabinet sub-committee on housing, I know the issue of the gazumping of young people will mean a lot to the Taoiseach. I saw a house for sale recently in my constituency for €495,000. That is really expensive but by the time it was sold, it had gone up and up. In Scotland, when a house is put up for sale, quite a bit of consideration is given by the vendor and the person selling it on the vendor's behalf…
24. Deputy John Lahart asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the work of the policing reform implementation programme office in his Department. [16777/25]
The weather outside is absolutely stunning, which can mean only one thing: leaving certificate students are knee-deep in preparation for mock exams and the leaving certificate season. I send my best wishes to them. This morning, I wish to ask about leaving certificate grade inflation, a subject on which I know the Minister has received a lot of correspondence. Apparently, 25% of those competing for CAO places in the …
That is from previous years.
I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I would like to reinforce what my colleague Deputy Brabazon said. A number of backbench TDs were actually chatting about this recently. In the old days, there were six houses connected to a sewerage pipe and in the modern context, there might be up to ten. As the Deputy said, very often it is at the last house on that connection where a blockage occurs. In the o…
8. Deputy John Lahart asked the Taoiseach to report on the work of the child poverty programme in his Department. [13734/25]
I add my voice to the well wishes to Deputy Boyd Barrett. Regarding the well-being side of the child poverty and well-being committee within the Department, our commitment as a Government to establish DEIS Plus is an important milestone. The Taoiseach will appreciate that in constituencies like my own, there are a breadth and intensity of challenges that simply do not exist in other communities. These include interge…
The Ceann Comhairle was elected by secret ballot by a majority of Members. She is the first woman to hold this office.
It is already easy to forget that one of her first duties was to chair the election of a Taoiseach. The people who took a wrecking ball to process in this House sit on the opposite benches. Getting down to the business of last week, it is difficult, as anybody here can testify to the fact, for the public to appreciate the visceral and toxic atmosphere pervading the Chamber last week and to wonder why violent protest …
It is almost 100 years since W.B. Yeats rebuked the audience in the Abbey, berating them saying, "You have disgraced yourselves once again."
Those words came to mind last week. While the tagline "You cannot be in Government and the opposition at the same time" is an easy and actually lazy chant-----
-----and this point was made in the Dáil reform committee, it does not reflect our evolving democracy. The truth of these episodes is Ireland elects a disproportional number of independents by international comparison. In other parliaments, there are cross-benchers; those who waive the designation of opposition or government and choose to be designated as other. There are Deputies who wish to be in this new grouping …
On that last point actually, nobody has worked harder in this House than my colleague, the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, in developing relationships with congresspeople at state level and leveraging the Irish connection with literally hundreds of congresspeople. That is a significant network and a significant opportunity for lobbying for our interests.
I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his statement a…
Glaoim ar an Teachta Maitiú Mac Craith.
Rachaimid anois go dtí ceisteanna chuig an Aire Stáit agus freagraí.
The EU recommitting to the simplification piece, to use the Minister of State’s language, and reducing the cost of business, including up to 35% for SMEs, would have been music to the ears of businesses. Will the Minister of State expand on that?
Will he update us on preparations for the Presidency, what it means for the country in practical terms, when it begins and ends and its rubrics?
Finally, migration is a to…
I have more questions.
I think I might have let it go out of my head when I was told that I could not ask it.
I am sure you will.
It was on preparations for the Irish Presidency.
I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for facilitating me. My question concerns the withdrawal and cessation of the Airport Hopper public transport bus service from Tallaght to Dublin Airport, which ceased without warning very recently. My key concerns are that there was a lack of public communication of the fact that the service was going to cease and that passengers were not informed that it was ceasing, which left the…
What about Sinn Féin's legacy?
I am grateful to the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, for taking this topical issue.
I want to raise the issue of the Sacred Heart school in Killinarden in my constituency. It is a DEIS school. I am grateful for the fact that the DEIS programme has been essential in addressing the disadvantage in the school. Sacred Heart and the Killinarden area are ninth out of just over 3,000 disadvantaged areas in the country. T…