I take the point. There is ongoing engagement. On the Educate Together-----
TDs / Michael Moynihan
Michael Moynihan
Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
5
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
133,123
words spoken in the chamber
133,123 as a minister, 0 as a TD
426
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
4
topics asked about
Across 3 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 5 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 382 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 | 27 |
| March 2025 | 0 | 3 |
| April 2025 | 1 | 25 |
| May 2025 | 1 | 5 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 15 |
| July 2025 | 0 | 19 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 2 | 4 |
| October 2025 | 0 | 18 |
| November 2025 | 0 | 10 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 42 |
| January 2026 | 1 | 12 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 34 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 8 |
| April 2026 | 0 | 26 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 23 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 30 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 18 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 6 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 57 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 349 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Not enough questions on record to compare.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Cork North-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Education 29 January 2025 to 1 May 2025
- office Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth 2 May 2025 to now
That project has been completed. As for the other two projects, one is moving through. Both of the applications were made in the autumn of last year. I will ask the Department to ensure there is a timely discussion with them.
The Deputy made a point regarding school accommodation and children being located in buildings that are not fit for purpose. Children are in primary school for eight crucial years of their live…
A script will be handed around, but I will deal with the issue without the script. I thank all Members for their engagement and the seriousness with which they are treating this issue. I take on board all of the matters that have been raised.
I will talk about the policy first. Since the 2014 document, more than 12,000 extra SNAs have been recruited and are working in the system. We have expanded considerably. There…
The basis on which we are delivering special needs assistants is under the 2014 circular, which has allowed us to grow the SNA workforce by nearly 60%. It is a whole-of-government approach. It is a very serious issue for families and school communities. We are all engaged. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, and I have had multiple conversations and meetings over the past number of days and weeks, right over the weekend. …
I thank the Deputy for the question and will speak a little on the information I received from the Department.
In relation to widows, widowers and the surviving pension, we have done some work on expanding the scheme for civil partners or cohabiting partners over the past while as well. The challenge is when somebody is widowed, a man or woman, they work and then get ill themselves, going from two incomes to one.
O…
The Deputy mentioned the carer's allowance. The half-rate carer's allowance was brought in. Former Deputy Joe Callanan from east Galway and I put a motion before the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party many years ago regarding the half-rate carer's allowance. We had been banging our heads off a stone wall for some time but Séamus Brennan, the then Minister, accepted our bona fides, particularly as regards cases where one…
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. He has outlined a specific issue on the floor of the Dáil. I do not have the exact details of the case, but I will speak to it.
If the Deputy could furnish the details afterwards, I will certainly do what I can to help. The woman the Deputy spoke about is doing extraordinary work. She has a 22-year-old, a 25-year-old and a 17-year-old. Looking at the sums the Deputy quoted, …
The case the Deputy has outlined is extremely disturbing. At the core is the care that is being provided and the concerns of the mother, who has a vocation, about the care she is getting. That is one side of it. The other side of it is the amount of money the State is spending and that figure of €74 versus €18.50. A lot of section 38 and section 39 organisations around the country have invested and provided care for …
The Government is committed to continuing the acceleration of the provision of additional special class and special school places for 2026-27 by providing at least 3,000 new spaces in locations which are best meeting the existing and future demand. The provision of timely information is a key requirement to support the forward planning of new special education provision.
Budget 2026 provides funding for over 400 new…
The NCSE is currently working through to make sure that the letters of eligibility are being issued to those who contacted it after 1 October. The Taoiseach is right in reflecting what both the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and I have seen as the huge increase in the number of children who have contacted the NCSE, both prior to and post 1 October.
To reiterate, 1 October was hugely significant in order that we have cle…
On the seriousness with which the NCSE and the Department are taking the numbers, we have worked throughout - right up to almost Christmas, to 23 December - to make sure we had sight of what figures were and how we are going to work on it. At the end of this discussion, there are children and there are families and it is hugely important we give certainty to them.
As the Deputy quite rightly acknowledged, we brought…
I thank the Deputy for providing me with the opportunity to respond. As he knows, this Government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to achieve their full potential. The primary responsibility for the education of all pupils, including those with special educational needs, is the class teacher or subject teacher.
The special education teaching allocation provides schools with ad…
We must accept that we have put a huge amount of resources into special education, particularly for SNAs and SETs. In this year's budget, it was one of the sectors that got the greatest increase. We are deeply committed. Whether in mainstream, special classes or special schools, the strength of our special educational system is based upon SNAs. They do amazing work in school communities. They enable children to flour…
I take the point. If I may be a little flippant, I might contest that Bweeng is in the Cork North-West constituency, rather than Cork North-Central. That is only a flippant point.
I appreciate that. I understand. I am fully aware of the work that is going on in Bweeng. I do not want to single out any specific school. I take the point.
If I am realistic, I am heartened each time there is a debate on special education by the commitment across the House and Deputies' fundamental understanding of the challenges that are there in respect of special educational needs and special classes. We are put…
I thank the Deputy.
The Government is fully committed to supporting special education needs to achieve their full potential and the programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. The NCSE has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special education needs. I assure the Deputy the 860 special education teachers and 1,700 special …
I thank the Deputy. Last year 1 February was the deadline. That was extended by a week due to Storm Éowyn. We looked at trying to plan in February, March and April last year and saw the challenges families and people were meeting. A decision was made by the then Minister, Deputy McEntee, and me to bring the dates back to 1 October. One of the first discussions I had with the Minister, Deputy Naughton, upon her appoin…
I accept the point they are travelling across the county. Transport and trying to ensure the provision of special education is as close as possible to families is one of the things we have discussed. A lot of children with additional needs are travelling long distances to get to their school places and it is something we need to be very mindful of. Regarding 1 October, for anyone after that date we are issuing the le…
My understanding is the issue is 1 October. That is my information on that specific case. We are aware of it and will follow up and report back to both the Deputy and his colleague.
In regard to Drogheda and County Louth, in particular, the Government is committed to continuing acceleration of provision of additional special classes and special school places across the country. The National Council for Special Educa…
I wish the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach a happy St. Gobnait's day. This is a hugely important day in his home territory, and it is important to recognise that.
I thank Deputy Hearne for raising the matter of the Gaelscoil in Finglas. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Naughton. The purpose of the Department's emergency works scheme is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies or to…
I thank the Deputy for the points he has made. Record investment is going into the Department of education's capital programme for developments right across the country. Over the past number of years, record investment has been made in the building stock across the system. We recently announced over €7.5 billion in school investment through the national development plan. Thousands of schools across the country have s…
I understand fully the need for specialised provision of education across Galway. The Deputy is quite right. I did visit St. Oliver's and Esker National School recently.
I know the points he made in relation to St. Vincent's and the work being done by Ability West. The Deputy also raised an issue here, even though I did not directly respond to it, in relation to equine therapy and the equine centre. I understand tha…
I reassure the Deputy that the NCSE, the Department and ourselves meet on a weekly basis. We have 300 extra classes - 301 to be specific - sanctioned this year for the 2026-27 school year. That is four months earlier than it was previously because, as I outlined, we want to ensure that we have certainty and give information earlier to families. That is very welcome but we also have to work through a number of tranche…
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of the Gaelscoil in Youghal. This falls under the remit of my senior Minister, Deputy Naughton, so I am taking it on her behalf. Educational disadvantage is a key priority for the Minister, the rest of the Government and me. The DEIS programme is a key policy initiative for addressing concentrated disadvantage at school level. Supplementing universal supports, the DEIS program…
I will certainly pass on the comments to the Minister. She brings a wealth of experience because she served in the role I am in now quite recently so has a good understanding and has hit the ground running on these issues.
It is not right. We are putting forward a programme and there is huge commitment by the Government. A total of €180 million is being put into this matter currently and more money will be pumped in…