I, too, begin by extending my deepest sympathy to Sheila and her sons, Austin, Kieran and Oliver, who are in the Public Gallery. We are neighbours, as Deputy Fleming has said, in Graiguecullen in Laois. I commend the Stack family for their tireless campaign to uncover the truth of Brian's murder. Their determination, courage and resilience deserve our utmost respect. It should never have fallen to a family already de…
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 welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate this afternoon as we mark World Mental Health Day this coming Saturday. As Minister with responsibility for public health, well-being and the national drugs strategy, I see every day the close connection between mental health, physical health and overall well-being. We know that promoting good mental health is not simply about responding when people are in crisis;…
I welcome the opportunity to address the House and to mark National Breastfeeding Week. It provides a chance to recognise the mothers, families, healthcare professionals, peer supporters and community organisations who support breastfeeding across Ireland. This year's theme is, "Every step forward: strengthening support for babies and families". The theme reflects the fact that improving breastfeeding rates is not ab…
I am pleased to announce significant new investment in drug services, inclusion health and health and well-being programmes across the country. These investments will reduce health inequalities and strengthen prevention.
A key priority for me has been securing investment to begin the implementation of the new national drugs strategy, which I will be launching next week with the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll Ma…
I thank Deputy Toole for her very informative contribution. I know she has expertise in this area. I thank her for her commitment and the work she does. I thank the Members of the House for their contributions. I also thank our hospital and community pharmacists for their work in delivering the significant reforms we have seen across Irish pharmacy over recent months and years.
Every day, pharmacists provide safe an…
Today is a profoundly important and solemn day. I want to add my voice to the full and formal State apology and to acknowledge the courage, dignity and perseverance of those survivors who fought for truth and accountability for so many years.
The Report of the South East Commission of Investigation, which was published last month, lays bare not only the horrific crimes committed by the paedophile Bill Kenneally but …
I thank the Deputy for highlighting this very important issue and the 161 recommendations. First, I thank the Joint Committee on Drug Use for its work. I welcomed the report and I am in agreement with many of its recommendations. As the Deputy will be aware, earlier this year I published a draft of the national drugs strategy. I delayed it because I wanted to work with the committee. Three things happened and this wa…
No.
No.
I thank the Deputy again for her work on the drugs committee. The vast majority of the 161 recommendations will be in the new drugs strategy but one of the recommendations was on the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. It falls under section 3. That legalises drugs. It is important we tell the people of the concern. The programme for Government reaffirms the Government’s commitment to a health-led approach to drug use and…
Again, I have to disagree with the Deputy on that. We had a total of 15,422 cases in treatment, so we are doing work and that message needs to get out there. I visit the services around the country. I know we need to do more. The Minister and I are very mindful that we always need to put more funding into services but there are services there. As I said, there are challenges too but we are providing services. This is…
I am delighted to speak today. I welcome Jordan and Cian. I met them in Carlow a few weeks ago when they came to Barrow Brew and had a cup of coffee with me. It is important. When I met the two of them, I was so impressed because they were so passionate about the awareness of dementia. They spoke about their mammy. As everyone has said today, we are all here united in the fact that we need to make sure that we are wo…
I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
I am pleased to introduce the Health (Provision of Contraception Prescribing Service in Retail Pharmacy Businesses) Bill 2026 to the Dáil on behalf of the Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. The main purpose of the Bill is to make provision for the inclusion of retail pharmacy businesses as scheme providers and to provide a subset of contraception services referred…
I thank the Deputy. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister.
Ireland is one of 196 signatories to the Convention of Biological Diversity, signed in 1992 and ratified in 1996. However, the treaty requires Ireland to establish a system of protected areas to conserve biodiversity. To implement this across member states, the habitats directive was adopted by the European Council of Ministers in 1992 and this was tran…
I would like to assure the Deputy that every effort is being made to support individuals who have ceased turf cutting on protected bogs. The cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme has operated, as the Deputy said, for 15 years, and the majority of turf cutters on these sites have accepted compensation. Many others have consented to restoration works under the protected raised bog restoration incentive scheme o…
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine owns, operates and maintains six designated State-owned fishery harbour centres. The Department also has responsibility for the North Harbour at Cape Clear Island, as well as the maintenance of a small number of specific piers, lights and beacons throughout…
I was in Waterford recently. There is a lot of work being done in Waterford. I understand what is happening. Dunmore East is an important part of the infrastructure that supports the Irish and EU fishing fleets, and it facilitates an increased level of leisure and tourism activity. There are ongoing improvement projects that have increased the operating efficiency of the harbour. Work has been done in that regard. I …
I thank the Deputy for raising this serious issue. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for education. The Department of education wishes to outline the current position in relation to the new school building for Scoil Chrónáin in Rathcoole, County Dublin. Scoil Chrónáin is an all-Irish, co-educational primary school under the patronage of the Archbishop of Dublin. The brief for the permanent project is to prov…
I thank the Deputy for raising this. The Department will continue to build on the progress made over recent years with continued roll-out of projects on a priority basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities. In this regard, the Department published a list of 105 school building projects in the first tranche to proceed to construction or te…
I thank the Deputy for raising this serious issue. While a lot of work is being done in the Department, information is needed. That will be vital when I speak to the Minister, Deputy Naughton, tomorrow and bring back these issues. I am taking this matter on her behalf.
The school building project for Coachford primary school was approved to enter the Department of Education and Youth’s pipeline under the additional …
The Department is committed to ensuring that appropriate accommodation is available for all school pupils and will, in the wider context outlined, ensure that each school project on the school building programme is subject to the due diligence required under the Government’s infrastructure guidelines.
Since 2020, the Department of Education and Youth has provided €796.5 million in capital funding for Cork schools. O…
Since I have known him, the Deputy has consistently come to the Dáil and raised issues relating to rare diseases. He has worked so hard not just in respect of this particular drug but also in respect of several others. I thank him for his commitment and his hard work on this. I know he is constantly meeting the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill.
The State acknowledges the importance of access to medicines. This Gove…
Two new frameworks are agreed with Medicines for Ireland. This is the Irish pharmaceutical healthcare association on the supply and pricing of medicines. These have been successfully reached following extensive negotiation with the pharmaceutical sector. These two new framework agreements will change things. A tender for conducting this review was published on Monday, 15 June. Once commenced, the project timeline is …
I am pleased to join my colleagues today in marking Pride month. This is an important month to reflect on the role we each play in supporting equality and inclusion in Irish society. Pride is about visibility, dignity, respect and celebrating identity and belonging. As a Minister of State in the Department of Health, I am particularly conscious of the importance of inclusion services. Good public health policy must r…
I thank the Deputy for tabling the amendment, which relates to flavours and packaging law being introduced in respect of vapes as a result of a nicotine consumption order. The Bill introduces measures relating to nicotine consumption products, including pouches or any other products containing nicotine, in order to protect our children and take action while the use of these products is low. The measures in the Bill i…
Again, I understand. Pouches have been spoken about. We are all learning about pouches. Vaping was new to us a while ago. We are looking at pouches now, and that is why there will be a second Bill to deal with pouches, colours, flavours and packaging. There are directives from the EU. We moved very quickly on this. We feel that this younger people, and we need to move on pouches, colours, flavours and packaging. The …