I refer to the safety of pedestrians on our roads. Between 2019 and 2023, 164 pedestrians were tragically killed on our roads and more than 1,400 sustained serious injuries. The provision of safe pedestrian crossings in our urban areas is critical to reduce this number. Unfortunately, the local authority in my constituency really is strapped for funding to provide new pedestrian crossings or retrofit older crossings …
TDs / Séamus McGrath
Séamus McGrath
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
497
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
45,141
words spoken in the chamber
Across 181 contributions
429
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
163
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 497 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 181 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 6 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 28 | 8 |
| March 2025 | 13 | 12 |
| April 2025 | 30 | 10 |
| May 2025 | 23 | 25 |
| June 2025 | 22 | 9 |
| July 2025 | 50 | 12 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 59 | 4 |
| October 2025 | 25 | 9 |
| November 2025 | 28 | 14 |
| December 2025 | 19 | 10 |
| January 2026 | 17 | 9 |
| February 2026 | 25 | 13 |
| March 2026 | 28 | 8 |
| April 2026 | 25 | 3 |
| May 2026 | 19 | 14 |
| June 2026 | 35 | 4 |
| July 2026 | 14 | 5 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 12 | 3 |
| October 2026 | 19 | 9 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 153 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 Cork South-Central 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
4. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [7772/25]
I thank the Taoiseach. I have a sore throat, so please excuse me being brief. Regarding the first home scheme, the programme for Government sets out the intention to extend that scheme to second-hand homes. It is a critical provision. I would like it to happen as soon as possible. The first home scheme has been incredibly successful for newly constructed homes. It has helped many individuals and couples bridge the ga…
I want to raise the issue of driving tests and the unacceptable delays in securing an appointment. This issue has been raised numerous times but, unfortunately, it does not seem to be improving. If anything, it is worsening. Someone applying for a driving test in the Wilton test centre in Cork this morning will be given an estimated date for the end of November 2025. This is a wait of more than seven months. I have h…
I too welcome this debate and the opportunity to speak. The stakes are very high, as mentioned earlier. We now have some more clarity on President Trump’s announcements. He is upending decades of international trade norms and relationships in a matter of weeks. That is extremely serious. For Ireland it presents a real threat. We are a small open trading economy with a very strong foreign direct investment sector so w…
30. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [13972/25]
I welcome the establishment of the subcommittee on infrastructure. I want to raise the issue of the accessibility of our towns and villages for people with disabilities. I acknowledge a lot of funding has been spent under the active travel heading to improve accessibility but many challenges remain and we need to continually improve this funding. Recently, unfortunately, I heard the story of a wheelchair user who bec…
10. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the percentage number of households that opted to defer payment of the local property tax in the years 2023, 2024 and 2025; and if he will consider reducing further the interest rate penalty on the amount accrued-deferred. [16042/25]
I ask the Minister to outline the percentage of households that opted to defer payment of the local property tax in the years 2023, 2034 and 2025 and if he will consider a further reduction in the penalty on the amount that has been deferred.
I thank the Minister for that information. I accept 0.6% is a low figure. That suggests the cost to the State would not be significant if there were to be a further reduction in the interest penalty. I acknowledge there was a change in 2021 from 4% to 3%.
One of the flaws with the LPT is it is not based on a household's income; it is based purely on evaluation of the property. We know there will be properties in cer…
I appreciate that the Minister will keep this under review. I acknowledge the change in income thresholds, which is welcome.
I will speak on the tariffs for a moment. As a Deputy representing Cork South-Central, we have a large concentration of US companies. I live only a couple of miles from Ringaskiddy, a large industrial base. I welcome the Minister's comment earlier that our first and foremost priority is negoti…
The programme for Government sets out an ambitious target of 5,000 new gardaí, which is very welcome. As well as increasing the overall headcount of gardaí, we need to ensure there is a fair allocation across the country. Unfortunately, only a tiny fraction of previous classes that graduated from Templemore have gone to Cork city and county. This is simply not sustainable. Dublin, to be fair, has got the lion's share…
The programme for Government specifically references starter homes. There is a very strong challenge in housing generally to deliver increased supply but the provision of starter homes to give individuals and families the prospect of owning a home is something we need to deliver on as a Government. Will the Minister of State outline his targets on this?
Yesterday, we saw the figure for house price growth of 8.1% last year. The Minister of State will understand there is a lot of concern among first-time buyers, both individuals and families, that the prospect of owning their own home is getting further and further away from them. That is something the Government needs to be acutely aware of. While I welcome the provisions in the programme for Government and the commi…
The target of 15,000 a year is significant and something that the Government will do its level best to achieve. The specific measures I outlined earlier are very welcome.
I want to raise one specific point about the first home scheme. It is an important vehicle for home ownership. It is a form of affordable housing, without doubt, but many new properties are falling outside the limits of the scheme. That needs to be…
7. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans for ramping up the delivery of affordable purchase homes and his targets for the coming years. [12532/25]
This also relates to affordable housing. There will be full agreement across the House on the need to increase our delivery of affordable housing. I am pleased that in the city and county of Cork many developments have been brought forward by the city and county councils. My question relates to the ramping up of delivery of affordable housing. It is a critical vehicle for those seeking home ownership. We need to be v…
I welcome the Government’s commitment. One particular group to whom I have committed to being a strong voice in the House is those prospective purchasers who find themselves falling between the supports.
They are those individuals, couples and families who are outside the social housing income limits. Their income is over those limits so they do not qualify for social housing. Affordable housing really should be the…
The Minister of State's words of commitment are welcome. Issues relating to additional staff for local authorities are very important. There is a fundamental issue in respect of affordable housing that very often when proposals come to local authorities, the default position seems to be to fall back on social housing delivery rather than affordable housing. That mindset needs to change. We have to build the systems s…
I thank the Minister for being here for the debate. We have already spoken at length since the formation of this Dáil about the housing crisis. We all accept that the one thing we can all agree on is that it is a very acute crisis. Certainly, it is a crisis that has deepened in recent years and we must find solutions to it. We will agree that whatever about individual measures, housing supply is ultimately the only s…
I thank the Minister of State for being here. At the outset, I acknowledge the great work done by the passport service and the staff. By and large, they provide a very good service. I wish to raise an issue relating to how passports are processed, and in particular, the verification with An Garda Síochána.
All in this House are aware that the Passport Office contacts Garda stations by telephone to verify that a pass…
I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the fact that the process is under review and that it is being considered in the wider context. The Minister of State mentioned that 200,000 applications are being processed per annum, which is a huge volume. I acknowledge the great work done by the staff of the passport service. We all value our Irish passport. It is our most important document in many respects. The process o…
I very much welcome this debate on the significant issue of community policing and community safety. It was a prominent issue for many people in my constituency before the recent general election. I wish the Minister the very best in his role. It is a difficult role and one that involves many demands. Safety, and giving people a sense of safety, is something we as a Government must prioritise. I welcome many of the i…
24. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [7771/25]
I want to raise the shortage of GP places. We all appreciate the severe pressure the health service is under. A good robust system of primary care is critical to alleviate pressure on hospitals, particularly at emergency departments. In Cork South-Central, the area both I and the Taoiseach represent, there is a significant shortage of GP places. Many families and individuals are finding it difficult to secure a GP. T…