Ballinrobe has paid a very high price for poor Government policy in recent weeks and months. The practice of placing very vulnerable and high-risk individuals in emergency accommodation has been a recipe for disaster. What is happening at the Railway Inn in Ballinrobe has caused major difficulties for the town. Crime is rising in the area. Garda numbers in Mayo are falling. Gardaí are really struggling to deal with t…
TDs / Paul Lawless
Paul Lawless
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
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
----- in the town to cease and end the practice of emergency accommodation in Ballinrobe-----
----- particularly at the Railway Inn.
There is no point in discussing disabilities unless we can address the core issues relating to the disability sector. The core and fundamental issue is recruitment and retention. The CEO of the Disability Federation of Ireland stated that this issue is having a catastrophic impact. The reason that it is having such an impact and that there are so many difficulties is because two thirds of disability services are deli…
I raise the really important issue of forestry, particularly following the recent storm, Storm Éowyn. It caused massive damage right across the west, the north west, the midlands, and it destroyed thousands of hectares of forestry. These farmers planted under Government advice, encouragement and incentives. Indeed, these farmers followed Teagasc advice around what to plant and where to plant. This was no Ponzi scheme…
I welcome this motion on housing, particularly in light of what we learned yesterday about County Mayo being the biggest county for derelict properties. Some 14% of the country's derelict properties are in Mayo. It is also the second highest in terms of vacancy, at almost 11%. Yet so little is being done - it is important the Minister hears this - to assist local authority housing staff in turning over those properti…
On the development of Dublin, we learned today that the builders of the national children's hospital require an additional €800 million of taxpayers' money. We also learned that there will be a further delay until this time next year. The Department of Health has stated that the delay is due to the fact that it is difficult to bring children from hospital to hospital in the winter. I find it hard to believe that we a…
As recently elected TDs, we have all seen the pressing and urgent situation faced by many families. I have no doubt the Minister knocked on hundreds of doors, just as we did. We were met with challenging situations of parents and families trying to meet the needs of their children while managing work and family life and advocating for basic rights and the needs of their children. What struck me over the past number o…
The cyberattack cost this State €100 million. That is expected to grow by a further €600 million. It has been reported in the Irish Independent today that 500 people are suing the State in respect of breaches relating to the attack. An incredible 32,000 people had their data stolen. Following the attack, an international criminal gang set up 57 bank accounts in the names of HSE and Tusla staff and fraudulently claime…
During that time, the national cybersecurity agency had a budget of €5 million. In contrast, the Department of the Taoiseach had a public relations budget of €15 million. What is the total estimated cost of the cyberattack to this State?
Road safety is a really important issue. We must punish reckless and dangerous drivers but the speed limit review is not the solution. It ignores the biggest issues of road safety around enforcement and the fact that the Garda traffic corps has fallen by over 40% since 2009. It ignores dangerous junctions and the lack of right-turning lanes that I have been campaigning on for some years such as the lack of traffic-ca…
I welcome the motion. We in Aontú support the motion on housing. It is important that we seek to hold this Government to account on housing, particularly in light of the former Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the electioneering and misinformation that went on in respect of housing by the previous Government. In October last year, one month before the election, the Minister said in this House:
I have consistent…
The Government has announced a huge St. Patrick's Day delegation to the United States in recent days. The Tánaiste has been outlining the importance of these trips to his Cabinet. They are very important and the Cabinet should undergo an intense level of diplomatic training.
In previous years, there were a significant number of mistakes. The former Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, snubbed a high-level executive meeting with…
I mean politicians.
What about the "gowl" comment?
It is still difficult to believe we are now almost three weeks into the aftermath of the storm and there are still people across the west who do not have power. While I do accept that the Government cannot control the weather, it can of course control, for example, forestry, protecting the ESB network and the distance between trees and the ESB and NBI network as well. It is of course the responsibility of the Governm…
They were never contacted. They are just some of my ideas. I do not have time to discuss all of them.
We hope the Minister will take them on board.
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the programme for Government. I am a new, young TD and I am eager to get to work and deliver for my constituency and this great country, but I am very disappointed with the length of time it has taken to produce this programme for Government and form a Government. The Dáil has sat only five of the past 70 days since my election on 29 November. The culture of breaks and ho…
The level of frustration in Mayo and right across the west is really palpable. Many thousands of people in Mayo are still without power. That is 13 days without being able to heat their homes or cook for themselves. What has happened in recent days has been really shocking. Elderly people are shivering in their beds. Sick and isolated people in rural areas are unable to contact their GP. Today, elderly people and peo…
It is nearly two months since the people of this country went to the polls. I stand here today humbled by the trust and faith the people of Mayo have put in me. Thousands of people elected me to speak for them and yet today is my first opportunity to do so. It took two months to form a Government when it is effectively the same Government. There has been no real change of Government. It was voted today that there wou…