I begin by acknowledging the anxiety that many young patients and their families will be feeling this week as they read the report's findings on surgery for children with developmental dysplasia of the hip across CHI and the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh. I can only imagine the distress and upset the families are experiencing. There is clearly an urgent need to establish why so many children received surgery …
TDs / Jennifer Murnane O'Connor
Jennifer Murnane O'Connor
Minister of State at the Department of Health
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
71
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
73,689
words spoken in the chamber
73,206 as a minister, 483 as a TD
397
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
28
topics asked about
Across 17 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 71 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 156 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 12 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 33 | 6 |
| March 2025 | 0 | 3 |
| April 2025 | 0 | 5 |
| May 2025 | 0 | 17 |
| June 2025 | 2 | 5 |
| July 2025 | 4 | 1 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 4 | 2 |
| October 2025 | 5 | 3 |
| November 2025 | 6 | 14 |
| December 2025 | 2 | 11 |
| January 2026 | 1 | 10 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 3 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 15 |
| April 2026 | 1 | 20 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 10 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 9 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 17 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 1 | 1 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 4 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 79 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 Carlow-Kilkenny 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Health 29 January 2025 to now
I thank everyone for the opportunity to address the House on the issue raised by the Deputies who tabled this motion. I begin by echoing the opening remarks of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and thank the Deputies for their constructive and positive contributions to this important motion on the issue of fair and sustainable funding for carers, home support and nursing home support schemes. I m…
We can all see how passionate the Minister of State is about National Biodiversity Week. I am pleased to follow my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, and to join this important discussion as we mark National Biodiversity Week. It is a key moment in our national calendar when we reflect on, celebrate and, most important, act to protect and restore Ireland's precious natural heritage.
Thr…
I thank the Deputy. What he raised this evening highlights an issue of concern. I want to give him an update on the patient transport service in County Tipperary.
The patient transport service, which provides non-emergency patient transport for some patients in the south-east region, was set up in 2013. It was set up on a discretionary basis by the HSE for the region. Hospitals there were given a budget to provide l…
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and giving me the opportunity to update him on transport in County Tipperary. The Deputy mentioned the Red Cross, Order of Malta and Civil Defence, and it is important we pay tribute to the great work they do. They are excellent. It is important the Deputy recognised them and that we all recognise them. I assure the Deputy the HSE and Tipperary University Hospital are committe…
I thank the Deputy for raising this very serious issue. I have spoken to families and I see the concern and hurt. It is important this is raised in the House.
A clinical audit has been conducted by an external international expert on surgery for children with developmental dysplasia of the hip across CHI and the National Orthopaedic Hospital Cappagh, NOHC. The clinical audit involved a random anonymised sample of pa…
I assure the Deputy that the Minister and the Department are taking this very seriously. This is very serious, and we know that. Nobody wants anyone, particularly those children or their families, to be in this position today. I can guarantee that the Minister is very conscious of the concern that will be felt by all the patients and families affected. The audit process is nearly complete and she has been advised tha…
On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address this issue in the House today.
As the Deputy said, improving public transport services and infrastructure is central to improving citizens' quality of life and achieving our decarbonisation goals. Achieving these goals has been set out in the programme for Government. Progress is being made on a number of proposed light rail p…
Again, on behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank the Deputy for his commitment, comments and interest in this important issue.
Regarding current developments, as mentioned, I understand that the route selection and concept development phase of the project is now taking place, with a number of end-to-end options going through a detailed multicriteria analysis. As stated in the National Development Plan 2021-20…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and for offering me the opportunity to respond.
The Minister knows that there are many reasons why people seek residential supports. For some, it is by way of services to allow them remain in their own homes with family. For others, it is a residential service. The aim has been to facilitate living and inclusion in the community.
Increasing the provision of disabi…
I understand the challenges. I know there is significant demand for residential placements at a level which consistently exceeds supply.
We are living longer and we need to do more. I can assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to funding and to working on this. Challenges in providing these services include workforce challenges that apply to all specialist disability services, the acquisition of suitable…
I thank the Deputy. I welcome the opportunity to address the House on the services provided at Monaghan Hospital. I absolutely see the Deputy's concerns. The Government is committed to the ongoing development of our regional hospitals, including Cavan and Monaghan Hospital. Cavan General Hospital and Monaghan Hospital operate as a single hospital, with an integrated managerial and clinical governance system, care pat…
I thank the Deputy again for her contributions on Monaghan hospital. It is right that we acknowledge the excellent care provided by the staff, as the Deputy said herself. I will go back to the Minister for Health and request that she pay a visit, as the Deputy asked. The Government is committed to ongoing development and investment in regional hospitals. Significant investment in capital developments at Cavan and Mon…
I thank the Deputy.
I thank the Deputy for his question and congratulate him on his new appointment as Chair of the health committee. I look forward to working with him and the team.
Sexual health is a priority for the Department of Health. The drafting process for the national sexual health strategy commenced in 2023 following a review of the previous strategy. The drafting committee included policy, service delivery and clinical lead…
I thank the Deputy. I agree with him, and it is important the stigma is not there. Additional funding of €550,000 was allocated through the budget for 2025 to improve access to HIV PrEP, bringing a total allocation for PrEP to €6.45 million this year. An additional €600,000 has been allocated to support wider access to home STI testing, given increasing demand for the services. This brings funding for STI testing to …
We are putting a lot of funding into health and well-being and sexual health, which is very important. The strategy in two weeks' time will be really positive. We all know that we need to do more. Supports for the prevention of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and treatment of victims in collaboration with Cuan and the justice sector are part of it too. It also includes further expansion of the free contrac…
I only need five minutes. The Minister should work away.
I thank the Minister for highlighting the importance of driving reform and improvements in healthcare services for children and young people.
We all agree reform is necessary but reform for its own sake is not the goal. What matters is how these changes are experienced by the people who rely on our services every day. I am speaking about children, young people and their families. We owe it to these families, and to …
I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising this issue. Before I start, it is important to acknowledge the incredible work performed by all nurses and the key role they play in delivering essential health services to those most in need across the country, not only during Covid but every day of the week.
This Government is committed to supporting and continuing to grow the nursing workforce. We have seen unprecedented growt…
I can see the Deputy’s passion, and I do understand. It is important to reiterate our appreciation for the work carried out by all our healthcare workers throughout the pandemic, including those individuals who returned from retirement to help their colleagues and the public when they needed it most. I understand that.
The temporary waiver of pension abatement was introduced at a time of great need. The normal rules…
The tariffs announced by the US Administration have caused concern and anxiety over the impact on Irish businesses and job creation across the country. The uncertainty in respect of sectors such as pharmaceuticals adds to this. While I know the Government has been preparing for this, it is regrettable that the US Administration made the announcements. Nobody wins from tariffs. However, it is important that the Govern…
Sexual health is a priority for this Government. Following expert advice, the second national sexual health strategy underwent an additional round of stakeholder consultation and feedback, which is now complete. The good news is that the strategy was approved to progress to design stage at the end of last week. Once design is completed, the strategy will be submitted for ministerial and Government approval, then laun…
The rates of gonorrhoea and chlamydia had reduced slightly by the end of 2024 in comparison with the last two years. Better access to testing may be reducing onward infections. The national sexual health strategy supports positive sexual health information. It will have education, research, prevention and information, particularly on stigma. All this will be in the strategy.
The funding includes €200,000 for additional PrEP drugs and €350,000 for additional staffing in public STI clinics providing PrEP from July 2025. I understand the Deputy's concerns. As I said, this strategy is urgent for us. I assure him that hopefully in the next few weeks or maybe two or three months, I will definitely come back to him with this strategy. As he said, education and information are really important. …