I ask the Minister about community employment, CE, schemes and the fact that it is now almost impossible to retain participants on them. I am chair of a scheme. I know it is not totally the Minister's remit, but it has a huge impact on rural organisations, rural communities and their viability and sustainability. Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?
TDs / Mattie McGrath
Mattie McGrath
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
573
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
80,673
words spoken in the chamber
Across 244 contributions. Plus 188 contributions from the chair, not counted
170
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
160
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 573 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 244 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 10 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 24 | 18 |
| March 2025 | 51 | 21 |
| April 2025 | 30 | 15 |
| May 2025 | 32 | 32 |
| June 2025 | 39 | 21 |
| July 2025 | 24 | 24 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 24 | 0 |
| October 2025 | 46 | 0 |
| November 2025 | 50 | 30 |
| December 2025 | 45 | 9 |
| January 2026 | 22 | 0 |
| February 2026 | 39 | 3 |
| March 2026 | 25 | 0 |
| April 2026 | 15 | 0 |
| May 2026 | 27 | 16 |
| June 2026 | 25 | 11 |
| July 2026 | 17 | 5 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 18 | 28 |
| October 2026 | 10 | 11 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 141 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 Tipperary South 29 November 2024 to now
- party Independent 29 November 2024 to now
I thank the Minister. I know he is hands on. He understands it because he is from a rural community. There is just an impossible strain on the voluntary boards that are trying to fill these positions, trying to get the work done and keeping the whole plethora of areas going. Schemes such as rural transport services, meals on wheels, day care, community centres and Tidy Towns groups are under enormous strain. While ma…
I acknowledge the work they do. A man on the volunteer boards went to places in Tipperary like Knockanrawley FRC, Millennium FRC in Glengoole and of course Spafield FRC in Cashel. Recent data have shown there are 106 vacancies now across the schemes in Tipperary. It is difficult at this time of year to cover everything, including Tidy Towns, the GAA, community groups and all the other issues, such as meals on wheels …
The shocking treatment of the community and people of Dundrum in County Tipperary is ongoing by the Government, as it was by the previous Government. The Tánaiste met Mrs. O'Dwyer and Andrea Crowe in Clonmel during the election and he listened to them. He also assured me here after the election, when he was appointed as Tánaiste, that a pause was being put on the use of hotels. Now we find a contract has been signed,…
Everybody has been talking about it. The people of Dundrum have a peaceful protest there. They are good decent people who looked after the Ukrainian refugees very well. This continuing blackguarding of a community is shameful.
I support the motion. In my constituency of Tipperary and across the nation, family carers are the unsung heroes who provide unwavering support to their loved ones, which often requires great personal and financial sacrifice. These carers, numbering more than 500,000, save the State an estimated €20 billion annually - imagine that figure - through their unpaid labour yet many are subjected to a means test that is bot…
In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is deferred until the voting block later tonight.
The crisis surrounding the assessment of needs process for children with disabilities sees it not just under severe strain. It is a system in breach of its legal obligations, leaving thousands of children without access to vital supports which they are entitled to by law. This should be a national emergency. What we are doing to young children and families is criminal. The HSE has been allowed to breach the law for y…
I agree with most of what people have said tonight. It is a shocking situation. I welcome Cara and her dad. I think of her mam at home as well as her two brothers. It is such an indictment. I know Cara lives in a lovely house in Ardfinnan. Looking out her back window, she can see the Liam Lynch monument, a man who gave his life for our freedom and democracy in this country. What has it come to now? We have the HSE, a…
Ar an gcéad dul síos, gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue, albeit to be taken after midnight.
There is a concerning issue affecting the lives and health of many vulnerable people across County Tipperary, namely, the unacceptable and short-sighted cuts to hospital patient transport services. For many in rural areas of Tipperary, especially the elderly, the sick and those on low …
I do not know. I remember six months ago, when the Minister of State was not in government and, like me, she was crying out about this. It is not a massive increase from €88,000 in 2019 to €127,000 in 2024; it is nothing in the scheme of things. The Minister of State mentioned all the extra staff. How many of them are penpushers and executives in made-up jobs - that is what they are - and not nurses or front-line sta…
111. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has costed the re-establishment of borough councils; if he will lead a reform programme to ensure the return of town and borough councils; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15142/25]
Tá nóiméad go leith ag an Teachta.
In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is deferred until the weekly division time next week.
I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case:
Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss the disparity faced by school secretaries in terms of leave entitlements and pension rights.
Deputies Rose Conway-Walsh, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, Pearse Doherty, Donna McGettigan - To discuss the increase in the cap for the de…
Before we start, I would like to express on my own behalf and that of the House good wishes to our new Pope elected this evening while we were doing the session. I wish him well. Our hearts and prayers are with him. I thank everyone who supported the cardinals for their diligent work. It was a speedy process. Go n-éirí go geal leis an bPápa nua.
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this very serious issue. A number of ASD units were approved for three secondary schools in south Tipperary. Three principals and their staff, boards of management and parents of children with special needs were waiting for places and expected them to come on stream. In fact, the SENOs asked them to generate space and accommodation and all of the resources need…
I appreciate it is not the Minister of State's reply - he is reading it out - but it is not about quotas, deadlines and systems like that. It is about ordinary children with needs. It is not fair on the schools that expected to open these schools to now have to wait to see if the decision will be reversed. By the Minister of State's account, I do not think it will be. We are approaching the end of the school term and…
I, too, compliment Sinn Féin on bringing forward this very timely and important motion. Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí. It is a bad state of affairs if we do not look after our young people and nurture them properly.
Ar an gcéad dul síos, I salute na máithreacha go léir, the mothers who care for children in their homes, as well as the extended family - grandparents and neighbours and friends in the sense of the meith…
I thank the Minister of State for engaging with all of us in Tipperary. I thank him also for meeting a parent recently, Tina Barrett. Her son recently got a place in St. Michael's and I thank the Minister of State for his involvement there, albeit in Tipperary town. There are two excellent special schools in Tipperary, Scoil Aonghusa and Scoil Chormaic, but they are at capacity. They had to turn away 17 children. The…
The driving test situation is appalling. There are 81,000 people on a waiting list. Many of them are in my county of Tipperary. There is only one tester in the town of Clonmel, which is a large town with a huge hinterland. This is causing enormous strain for families who now have to accompany drivers with L plates. Those drivers cannot get apprenticeships. I know many young people who have got jobs but must have a li…
I wish the Minister of State well in his new position. I welcome some of the proposed changes in the NPF review. Ultimately, the document must restore power to councils to form their own plans and address the overriding powers of Uisce Éireann, the Office of the Planning Regulator and Transport Infrastructure Ireland in dictating the development of rural constituencies. When I was a comhairleoir on my council, we had…
Go raibh maith agat.
Please, Deputy.
Anois ar ais go dtí an Ríaltas, glaoim ar an Teachta Brian Brennan.