89. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection the transitional supports being put in place for the 380 people whose one-parent family payment and half-rate carer’s allowance are both due to end this year; and whether he accepts that the sudden loss of these payments risks plunging vulnerable families into financial hardship and uncertainty. [21009/25]
TDs / Paul Lawless
Paul Lawless
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1,995
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
94,569
words spoken in the chamber
Across 496 contributions
391
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
300
topics asked about
Across 19 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 1,995 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 496 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 34 | 1 |
| February 2025 | 27 | 26 |
| March 2025 | 32 | 18 |
| April 2025 | 59 | 23 |
| May 2025 | 104 | 49 |
| June 2025 | 49 | 28 |
| July 2025 | 63 | 30 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 97 | 24 |
| October 2025 | 43 | 26 |
| November 2025 | 136 | 44 |
| December 2025 | 119 | 25 |
| January 2026 | 151 | 28 |
| February 2026 | 141 | 32 |
| March 2026 | 162 | 10 |
| April 2026 | 181 | 34 |
| May 2026 | 214 | 18 |
| June 2026 | 139 | 20 |
| July 2026 | 56 | 15 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| September 2026 | 115 | 21 |
| October 2026 | 73 | 23 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 278 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 Mayo 29 November 2024 to now
- party Aontú 29 November 2024 to now
I welcome the Minister's comments on the nutritional review of the school meals programme. I acknowledge and commend the great work of the companies right across the country, including in Mayo, in delivering school meals. Companies like Steak Out catering, for example, are delivering high-quality nutritional meals to hundreds of children across east and south Mayo, in particular.
My question concerns the one-parent …
I am sure the Minister will acknowledge that lone parents are vulnerable and have a difficult time. According to the ESRI, there is a huge risk of economic vulnerability. We should do everything we can. I will certainly work with him on any of those families who may be at risk and who fall in that gap in terms of the payment. I welcome what the Minister said to Deputy O'Reilly on child maintenance and the means test.…
I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion and I welcome the parents here in the Public Gallery. They are the warriors who have been fighting so hard. They have been fighting, taking legal action and pitching tents outside Leinster House. What are they fighting for? They are fighting for their basic rights and their constitutionally enshrined rights for access to education.
I was at a fair in Mayo over the Ea…
I welcome the opportunity to speak on the national planning framework. I welcome any attempts to future-proof infrastructure in this country. I am very disappointed, however, in reading the report. It is high on vision but it is almost like the report is detached from reality. I do not have long but I will give just one example. The report references the value and importance of the serviced sites scheme. I put it to …
The framework rather. There is not even a mention, or hardly a mention, of it. That is hardly progress. We need real delivery. I do not have any longer but could go on to speak about a litany of things in relation to this. I ask the Minister of State to focus on the delivery.
You promised to enact the occupied territories Bill before the election.
The new policing model is not working. One of the main aims of the model was to increase community policing. In fact, the opposite has happened. One of the main reasons for that is manpower. The regular units have been depleted. In many stations across Mayo, the regular units are half what they were a number of years ago. Internal competitions are pulling from regular units and, because there are no new recruits to A…
Go raibh maith agat.
I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. I first want to acknowledge the pain and heartbreak that this has brought to so many families and children, particularly children who went through unnecessary and needless surgery. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering that those families have gone through. We think of medical professionals as people we can trust and we entrust our children to their hands, yet we s…
The programme for Government clearly states that the Government will build 300,000 houses over a five-year period. The truth is that Uisce Éireann cannot produce 50,000 connections in a year. If we consider the funding allocation, Uisce Éireann has €10 billion for the next ten years, but €5 billion of that will go into meeting EU regulations and €3 billion will go into the Shannon pipeline. That means that only €2 bi…
Newport is a beautiful town on the west coast of Mayo, nestled in the stunning Clew Bay. However, Newport has no wastewater treatment plant and, as a result, raw sewage is being pumped into Clew Bay on a daily basis. It is affecting the ecosystem and fish stocks. It is creating foul odour and preventing housing development, economic development and, of course, recreational activities for the town. The lack of a waste…
I appreciate that Uisce Éireann has made progress nationally. There is no question about that, but my question is specific to Newport. That is why I am raising this issue. What I really want to know is whether the Minister will engage with Uisce Éireann to provide regular updates in relation to it? As I said, we cannot arrive at a situation in 2030 where no progress has been made. This is really important. As of yet,…
As I rise to speak on this motion today, I want to thank the Aontú team behind the scenes, who put so much work into this motion, our leader, Deputy Peadar Tóibín, and Senator Sarah O'Reilly. It is an historic day, in that we have moved our first Private Members' motion in the Dáil this morning.
The issue of tariffs is one of the number one concerns to the public at the moment. The actions of the US Administration a…
We are trying to protect these jobs. It is incredible that today is the first day the Minister of State has spoken about this issue.
Be honest. The Government has neglected the indigenous SME sector.
Newport is a beautiful town on the west coast of Mayo that is nestled in the stunning Clew Bay. Newport has no wastewater treatment plant and, as a result, raw sewage is being pumped into Clew Bay. This is affecting fish stocks and the ecosystem, with a foul odour in the town. Indeed, it is robbing the town of its potential in terms of economic development, housing development, tourism and recreational activities for…
This is in Newport, County Mayo.
We need regular updates on this.
Will Uisce Éireann meet the committee?
Ireland is facing its biggest existential threat since the last economic recession. Ireland is the most exposed country in the European Union in terms of these tariffs. There is doubt that these will disproportionately impact Ireland. Without question, Ireland is in real danger here, yet the Government is suffering from inertia. It is incredible to think that Simon Harris is meeting Howard Lutnick today while the tar…
I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I welcome the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025, which essentially proposes to allow flexibility to employees regarding the ability to work on until they reach the State pension age. Aontú has raised this important issue on a number of occasions. Currently, as the Minister of State rightly recognises, the system is deeply flawed. It essentially forces …
In fairness, we are discussing pensions and this is another important aspect of it. However, I take her point.
I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this very important subject. We have a major problem with youth crime and especially with child exploitation. There is a major issue with children being enticed into criminal activity by adults, especially in the drugs scene. Drug dealers are providing drugs to young people. Often, these are free in the first instance. Those young people and children then get hooked on drugs. …
Mayo has a huge issue with dereliction and vacancy. Mayo has the highest level of dereliction in the country at 14%. Its vacancy rate is 12%, the second highest in the country.
I want to raise the issue of dereliction, particularly around the protected structures and listed buildings. Consider the old Bank Corner on James Street in Claremorris, for example. The owners tried to redevelop this corner. Could I have the…