A number of initiatives under the Department of the Taoiseach deal with the issue of child poverty and tackling disadvantage. Enda Kenny established this in the north-east inner city and the Taoiseach rolled that out to other communities, including my own in Ballymun. The former Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, established the child poverty unit. As we head into the second part of the programme, there is the possibility to t…
TDs / Paul McAuliffe
Paul McAuliffe
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
727
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
55,836
words spoken in the chamber
Across 283 contributions
441
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
175
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 727 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 283 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| January 2025 | 37 | 20 |
| February 2025 | 50 | 17 |
| March 2025 | 27 | 6 |
| April 2025 | 30 | 14 |
| May 2025 | 42 | 12 |
| June 2025 | 39 | 24 |
| July 2025 | 93 | 19 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 15 | 4 |
| October 2025 | 15 | 12 |
| November 2025 | 39 | 12 |
| December 2025 | 21 | 15 |
| January 2026 | 27 | 12 |
| February 2026 | 33 | 8 |
| March 2026 | 30 | 1 |
| April 2026 | 50 | 14 |
| May 2026 | 40 | 20 |
| June 2026 | 63 | 25 |
| July 2026 | 25 | 8 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 31 | 13 |
| October 2026 | 20 | 23 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 190 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 North-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
I raise a significant issue, which is the funding of DEIS band 1 schools. Over the past number of years, we have seen significant funding go into education. Obviously, the free schoolbooks scheme and the free school meals scheme have been important for parents and education. In some cases, they have been a significant anti-poverty measure. I remember the first year the free school books scheme was brought in, the Soc…
I agree with the Minister of State that the FSSU is an important source of advice. It is the reason two of the schools took part in an analysis of cash flow last summer and again in October. Some recommendations and changes were made. The schools are anxious not to cause concern among parents and the community and wish to engage with the system. The Minister of State will note that I have not named the schools for th…
I want to raise the issue of school funding. Yesterday, the Taoiseach informed the Dáil about the work of the financial support services unit in the Department of Education. Three school principals have been in touch with me who do not want to make a public matter of the issue but who want to get to the bottom of funding issues they are having. I have looked at the books in some of these schools. There are big questi…
This is the Order of Business.
Hear, hear.
They are not in our parliamentary party.
At some point, the truth about the past number of weeks in this House will be written and it will show that from January onwards it became increasingly likely that a number of Independent TDs might support a coalition government. What many of us did not realise was that our own Standing Orders made no provision for such a grouping. In fact, they were entirely silent on the rights of TDs or parties that support the Ex…
What we cannot allow is the tearing down of this House by the Opposition. Twice now, it has tried to prevent the House from taking a vote. That is not the act of any democrat. Our Constitution protects our right to cast a vote here in this Chamber. Our Standing Orders exist to protect the function of the Chamber and the Ceann Comhairle carries the heavy burden of enforcing them. Let the record show that Deputy after …
That is not what we are saying.
Leader's Questions.
It is interesting dealing with a case that was before the courts and, as a result, has had to come before the Executive and now the Legislature. Some of the difficulty with this week's debates in regard to speaking time is that there is often huge confusion as to the difference between the Executive and the Legislature. They are different things.
When you take those two arms of Irish democracy, the courts are that t…
Some of us might like to raise matters in the Chamber.
I raise the issue of special class places and the process for applying for them. For the past six or seven years I have been dealing with parents. Between October and the following June or July many of those parents go through a wasted process of applying to multiple schools. The programme for Government was quite strong in identifying a common application process for special classes. It would make a lot of sense. I …
We have.
The Opposition has not lost one slot.
We have a mandate too.
This debate is welcome. As a former member of the housing committee, we have debated the issues in the Housing Commission report and have had lengthy debates on proposals to amend the Constitution. It was clear to me at the committee that, while an amendment to the Constitution would strengthen the State’s ability to regulate and provide more public housing, the idea that it would be simple to pass a housing amendmen…
We have the same mandate as Deputy Bacik.
I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to require the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to develop and publish a strategy to ensure that surplus renewable energy is utilised effectively, specifically for the benefit of people experiencing energy poverty, and to set targets for the utilisation of surplus renewable energy.
I am introducing this Bill as a proposal that…
I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."
Will the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health join me in my constituency to visit Beaumont Hospital? It is a fantastic hospital that does amazing work but it is in need of further capital support. I and many other local TDs saw the unveiling of a new theatre in the hospital. It has amazing potential and uses AI and many other new technologies. Some key areas, such as critical care, the emergency department and the n…
The Taoiseach and Minister are welcome.
In some ways, this debate is incredibly refreshing. While we are dealing with an incredibly new technology, there is nothing new about the debate we are having. We could replace the word "AI" with the word "steam", "electricity", "computers" or "Internet". All of them are just technological developments and it is up to us as a society to decide how we react to them.
Having listened to the debate, I believe we have t…
That is not acceptable.