Through the Central Bank, this State is complicit in Israel's genocide and apartheid. Its role in the funding of the most unspeakable crimes must end immediately. This Bill is legally sound and independently drafted. What does breach international law is Israel's brutal occupation of Palestine. It is burning children alive, starving entire communities and killing civilians with impunity. Despite multiple UN reports a…
TDs / Donna McGettigan
Donna McGettigan
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,153
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
49,311
words spoken in the chamber
Across 197 contributions
419
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
228
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 1,153 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 197 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 87 | 9 |
| March 2025 | 35 | 15 |
| April 2025 | 63 | 2 |
| May 2025 | 59 | 21 |
| June 2025 | 74 | 10 |
| July 2025 | 104 | 22 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 59 | 8 |
| October 2025 | 62 | 13 |
| November 2025 | 75 | 7 |
| December 2025 | 47 | 19 |
| January 2026 | 43 | 14 |
| February 2026 | 43 | 8 |
| March 2026 | 85 | 5 |
| April 2026 | 53 | 1 |
| May 2026 | 80 | 16 |
| June 2026 | 52 | 8 |
| July 2026 | 51 | 11 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 63 | 4 |
| October 2026 | 18 | 4 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 126 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 Clare 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
3. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will reform the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, assessment criteria for independent living given that students under 23 years are assessed as dependent on their parents even if they live independently, as are those over 23 years who cannot leave home due to the housing crisis; and if he will…
There are issues with the SUSI grant and people being able to access it. Will the Minister reform the SUSI assessment criteria for independent living? Students under 23 are assessed as dependent on their parents, even if they live independently, and those over 23 who are forced to live at home due to the housing crisis are assessed as dependent on their parents. Will the Minister reform SUSI?
My apologies, I mixed up the questions.
We all want to work together for fairness, justice and equality in education and one of things we can do to help us is the reform of the SUSI grant. For too long, SUSI has been a barrier rather than a bridge for many of our young people. This is supposed to be a scheme which enables access to education but instead for many it is yet another wall that blocks their future.
Let us speak plainly. The age of 23 - that so…
I am glad to hear the Minister will be looking at this but there are other people who for myriad reasons - some deeply disturbing - have had to leave home and are living with other family members. They are independent but do not have bills, rent or other things in their name and are finding it difficult to get evidence that they are separate from their parents. As there is a breakdown in communication, the parents wi…
1. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he is satisfied with the current level of mental health supports available to third level students; and if further investment is planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26576/25]
I want to raise the pressing issue of the mental health crisis among third level students. We are failing our young people in this regard. The mental health services available to students in our colleges and universities are underfunded, understaffed and overwhelmed. Is the Minister satisfied with the current level of mental health supports available to third level students and is further investment planned?
I am glad to hear that the Minister is going to put funds into this. It is a very hard issue for students to deal with. Some of the issues they are dealing with include the skyrocketing cost of accommodation or even the type of accommodation they live in. Some students are just leaving home and are stuck in accommodation that is not working for them. Mental health should be treated with the same urgency and importanc…
The counsellor-student ratio should be 1:1,000 but at the moment I think it we are at 1:1,500. We need to bridge this gap. I am glad to hear about Togetherall and that it is a 24-7 service but is there a waiting list for it? Students struggling with their mental health today should not have to wait weeks for help. They should not have to choose between paying rent or paying for therapy and they definitely should not …
We are facing a shortage of GPs. People in County Clare have contacted me to state that when their doctor or GP retired, they were left with no GP as they did not have a medical card and they are now reliant on walk-in clinics. People with a medical card have been assigned to already overburdened GPs when their GP retired. People cannot get appointments to see their doctors, leaving them with no choice but to head to…
I welcome this motion from Independent Ireland. As someone who was an unpaid carer for my husband before he passed, I have lived the reality of a system that does not value care work, whether it is done in the home, in our communities or in nursing homes. I know first hand the emotional and physical toll and the financial hardship carers face every single day. However, I would do it again because I felt it was the ri…
More than 15,000 children are now overdue their assessment of need. That is 15,296 children who could be left with a decline in their quality of life. It is 15,296 children whose development and learning will be potentially impacted, who could be missing out on opportunities for support, who could be missing out on therapy and other services that could help them reach their full potential, and whose parents or guardi…
We are treading a precarious line when it comes to our National Ambulance Service and its duty of care. I was recently contacted by the parent of a 21-month-old boy who had a seizure out of nowhere. This young child was unconscious for several minutes, but it took 66 minutes for an ambulance to reach him. Time and again we have instances like this where people are experiencing unimaginable distress, watching loved on…
I speak today about something that touches every community, family and sector of our economy. I refer to the power of further education in an ever-changing Ireland. We are living in a time of profound transformation, technologically, economically and socially. In such a dynamic world, education is not just a tool for personal development; it is the backbone of national resilience and progress. In Ireland, we proudly …
13. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Transport to provide an update on the review of the National Aviation Policy to maximise the use of our regional airports, as promised in the programme for Government [20950/25]
We are looking for the new aviation policy to be reviewed. I have heard the Minister say it will be reviewed. I understand that we have to get this right but this clearly needs to be done as a matter of urgency. The Minister has not given us clear timelines on this. Perhaps the Minister could really push this and give us clear timelines.
I understand all of what the Minister has said with regard to what needs to be done. However, I believe the stakeholders would probably say they are already at where they need to be with it, so maybe it could be expedited. Many tourists visiting Ireland travel to the west, and many are brought in by bus. They are brought through Dublin Airport, take a bus to the west and take a bus back up. This is not helping the ec…
I welcome all that the Minister has said. I know he cannot make airlines land in certain airports, but I am sure he can help make the other airports more viable for these airlines to land in. We would welcome working with him in that regard. We have seen the chaos in Dublin Airport. This is not an anti-Dublin Airport statement at all. We welcome the lift on the passenger cap too, but the regional balance needs to be …
In my county of Clare there is a high demand for early care and education places. Parents have to put their children on multiple waiting lists and there still may not be a place for them in the end. I know of a couple who have two young children and the best option for them is to have one child in a service in Sixmilebridge, which is approximately 9 km from where they live, the second child attend a service in Caherd…
A commitment was made last autumn to make the increase in the cap for the defective block grant scheme available to all homeowners and not just new entrants. This is a straightforward amendment to the 2022 legislation and should have been brought through the Dáil and the Seanad before now. A large number of homeowners are facing real financial hardship trying to make the final payment to builders for remedial work. T…
There is the possibility of hundreds of children having had unnecessary surgery for hip dysplasia just in the period 2021 to 2023. That is hundreds of children who were put through the pain of surgery and the difficulty of recovery. Hundreds of sets of parents, guardians and wider families who were put through the anxiety of having their child operated on. They had to watch their children suffering and they now find …
I am sure we are all relieved that so far pharmaceuticals and chemicals have been exempted from the 20% tariff imposed on exports to the USA from the EU. However, reports are now suggesting that President Trump will be introducing tariffs on these sectors.
While tariffs are usually seen as a tool to protect local industries, they can also have a negative impact for small, export-driven economies likes ours in Irelan…
1. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the progress being made with regard to the current challenges in the apprenticeship system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14864/25]
I thank the Minister for taking my question this morning. The apprenticeship system is unfit for purpose and has been for several years now. What measures does the Minister intend to introduce to address the problems faced by apprentices and the system more generally? These have resulted in the system failing to produce qualified tradespeople at a pace that meets demand. These problems have plagued the system and pre…