I am sure parents are watching this to see the Taoiseach's arrogance-----
TDs / Mary Lou McDonald
Mary Lou McDonald
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193
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
141,893
words spoken in the chamber
Across 1,424 contributions
172
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
56
topics asked about
Across 12 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 193 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 1,424 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 10 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 17 |
| February 2025 | 15 | 76 |
| March 2025 | 22 | 80 |
| April 2025 | 22 | 73 |
| May 2025 | 19 | 157 |
| June 2025 | 14 | 113 |
| July 2025 | 4 | 111 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 12 | 47 |
| October 2025 | 9 | 85 |
| November 2025 | 4 | 71 |
| December 2025 | 1 | 25 |
| January 2026 | 13 | 59 |
| February 2026 | 22 | 92 |
| March 2026 | 3 | 53 |
| April 2026 | 10 | 84 |
| May 2026 | 3 | 88 |
| June 2026 | 4 | 68 |
| July 2026 | 1 | 38 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| September 2026 | 5 | 31 |
| October 2026 | 10 | 44 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 1,197 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 Central 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
30. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach to report on his attendance at a meeting of the British-Irish Council. [14300/26]
The report of the investigation into mental healthcare given to children and young people in Kerry has now been published. The young people affected, their distraught parents and their families have waited years for answers. The investigation of these case files of 300 children in north Kerry was, as the Taoiseach knows, originally ordered in the aftermath of the 2022 Maskey report. The distressing findings of that r…
The difficulty is that the priority and focus has not been on the well-being of children and young people. In fact, many families and parents wonder what on earth is going on with this litany of appalling treatment of children and young people. We have children whose SNAs are being taken from them, children waiting for an assessment of need, children with no school places, parents forced to campaign and fight for bas…
Of course it is not.
No, I am not.
That is a cynical-----
Given your record on children and young people in the State-----
The Taoiseach is not happy to answer questions.
I want to return to the Government's cuts to special needs assistants, SNAs, for schools and its pause, as the Taoiseach calls it. I want to establish exactly what that means.
I raised the situation generally but also specifically with the Taoiseach yesterday. Fossa National School in Killarney has been written to in order to inform it that it will be losing four SNAs. Johnstown Boys National School in Dublin will l…
Will those SNAs be maintained or lost?
No, you did not. What does it mean?
That does not mean anything.
Some of the words being used by parents, special needs assistants, SNAs and teachers alike in the past few days are "panic", "fear" and "anger". They are beside themselves with worry after schools received letters informing them of the decision of the Government to cut their SNA allocations. We have heard of schools losing as many as five or six SNAs. These cuts will be devastating for children with additional needs …
Níl an Rialtas ar a dtaobh. Níl sé ar thaobh na SNAs, na páistí nó na múinteoirí.
The Taoiseach seems to not accept or understand that schools in any event have been struggling and are under pressure. If there is an excess of SNAs across the school communities of this land, I certainly have not seen it. I think all of our colleagues would confirm that if you go from school to school and principal to principal, you will see that they are tearing out their hair out as they try to do the best for the…
The Government needs to acknowledge and respect the vital, essential role of SNAs for children in the school system.
The Government also needs to commit to not to cut any of them. That is what is needed. That is what the Taoiseach needs to say.
I hope the Taoiseach will get to his feet, alleviate the anxiety of parents and SNAs and make it clear these cuts will not proceed.
I have given the Taoiseach the numbers there.
So is Fossa not losing four?
Johnstown is losing five.
How many should they lose?
Oh my God, you are so out of touch with what is happening.
The Taoiseach is out of touch with what is happening.