I will raise the matter with the Minister, Deputy McEntee. As I have stated, my understanding is those applications from Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola for additional accommodation are being considered. The school will be contacted directly once a decision is made. I assure the Deputy that the Department of Education and Youth will advance this matter as quickly as possible and it is very conscious that where additi…
TDs / Hildegarde Naughton
Hildegarde Naughton
Minister for Education and Youth
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
67,004
words spoken in the chamber
67,004 as a minister, 0 as a TD
322
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
Members of the Government answer parliamentary questions rather than ask them, so this page lists none of theirs.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 251 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 10 |
| February 2025 | 23 |
| March 2025 | 7 |
| April 2025 | 7 |
| May 2025 | 10 |
| June 2025 | 19 |
| July 2025 | 1 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 10 |
| October 2025 | 8 |
| November 2025 | 14 |
| December 2025 | 0 |
| January 2026 | 4 |
| February 2026 | 41 |
| March 2026 | 1 |
| April 2026 | 31 |
| May 2026 | 22 |
| June 2026 | 2 |
| July 2026 | 34 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 4 |
| October 2026 | 2 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 213 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Galway West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth with responsibility for Disability 23 January 2025 to 1 May 2025
- office Minister of State at the Department of Children, Disability and Equality 2 May 2025 to 18 November 2025
- office Minister for Education and Youth 18 November 2025 to now
I thank Deputy Gannon. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan.
The Department of Education and Youth and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, are aware of the recent issues raised by the school to which the Deputy refers. Both Department and NCSE officials are engaging with the school directly to address the concerns raised. A meeting was held on 7 November be…
As previously stated, both the Department and NCSE officials are engaging directly with the school in relation to the recent concerns raised by the school. There has been an online meeting and a school visit is planned to involve the NCSE, NEPS, and the inspectorate. I cannot stress enough that any school that has a concern regarding the provision of supports available for students with special educational needs shou…
I welcome the Deputy's question and the opportunity to set out the significant funding that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has delivered and continues to deliver in terms of payment schemes for the beef and sheep sectors. Payment schemes for the beef and sheep sector can be divided into two types. First, there are national schemes. In 2025 there are two such schemes supporting the beef and sheep s…
I will raise the specific issue the Deputy raised with the Minister. The information I have here in relation to the two schemes - the sheep and beef sectors - is that the Minister secured a further €50 million for those two national schemes in budget 2026. The Department has met with the farming organisations regarding those schemes. I will go back to the Minister and get him to come back to the Deputy directly to cl…
I rise today to express my full confidence in the Fine Gael leader, the Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Harris, and in his work as a Minister in this Government. At the outset, I pass on my sincere condolences to the family of Harvey Morrison Sherratt and especially to his mum and dad, Gillian and Stephen.
We as a Government need to do better for vulnerable children, whether they have a disability or they are waiting for vit…
We should be progressing-----
-----important legislation and improvements in the areas that matter most to individuals and families. A confidence motion does not achieve any of that. I am not sure the public sees Aontú as a serious political party. We hear a lot of discourse about people participating in democratic processes but yesterday outside this House, Deputy Tóibín said he was considering spoiling his vote on Friday week.
A serious political leader-----
-----would never make that statement.
A serious leader would encourage voters to exercise their hard-fought democratic right.
I have confidence that colleagues cross the House will support this motion.
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak this evening. When this Government took office last January, we promised a step change in the delivery of supports and services for people with disabilities and their families. Budget 2026 is the first step in delivering on this ambition. Some €3.83 billion will be provided to specialist disability services in 2026. That is an unprecedented increase of €618 million, or almos…
I thank the Deputy for his question. The Government and I recognise the need for all children to receive the right services at the right time. We are committed to improving services for all children with disabilities. We have and will continue to do so. As the Deputy will know, there are currently 93 children's disability network teams, CDNTs, across the country and these teams provide services and supports for child…
As I was saying, we will be increasing our focus on children's neurorehabilitation. The HSE is progressing plans to examine the demand for those rehabilitation services for children in Ireland with acquired disability and to examine the current capacity of rehabilitation services, as well as designing a service delivery model for children with acquired disability in line with national strategies for children with dis…
I thank the Deputy for his contribution. It is important. He is correct that we should address those gaps. As I travelled the country I have met those who look after people who acquire a brain injury - mostly adults - but issues around that gap between the ages of 16 and 18 are issues that have been raised with me. I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue here and it is something we will have to look at to make sure…
The Government and I recognise the importance of early intervention for children with disabilities and of ensuring they receive the right service at the right time. Under the programme for Government we are committed to ensuring that children and their families who need early intervention and therapy input can access that support in a timely way.
The key vehicle for change and improvement is the roadmap for service …
That is the breakdown I received but I will go back and see if there is a further breakdown. The Deputy's question was specific but those were the figures I got back. I will come back to the Deputy if there is a further breakdown.
My Department and I know that more needs to be done in this area. My Department is working with the HSE to introduce specific recruitment and retention measures and incentives for therapis…
I will come back and follow up in writing on that. The Deputy makes a good point as well. I always stress when travelling around the country and visiting services that there is a lot of fantastic work happening within the disability sector. Sometimes those working within the sector talk to me about the narrative out there. We all understand the challenges that have to be dealt with and there are families out there wh…
The Government and I recognise the importance of early intervention, and the programme for Government, as the Deputy knows, commits to ensuring children and their families get that early intervention and therapy input, and that they can access that support in a timely way.
A key response to this issue is the recruitment and retention of health and social care professionals, and I alluded to that in my last response.…
I do not have the figures for that but I can tell the Deputy that the focus of Government, and my focus and that of the Minister, Deputy Foley, is to make sure we are increasing the number of speech and language therapists and occupational therapists so that they are actually going out there providing the therapies. As the Deputy knows with regard to the backlog of assessment of need, a lot of them are carrying out t…
I thank the Deputy, and I will come back to him if I have those figures available to me. He raised an important point around early intervention. I refer to the earliest milestones, and a child not reaching them.
What is happening now is a lot of these pressures are coming into the education system. Where a need is identified we need to be flagging it much earlier and providing the services much earlier. That is wher…
I thank all Members for their contributions to this discussion. As Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, I have witnessed at first hand the passion and commitment that disabled people bring to advocating for a more inclusive Ireland, and for continually highlighting the need to provide more and better services. The Government and I are very conscious of the struggles endured by disabled people and t…
I thank everyone who contributed to this important discussion. It seems astonishing that it was not until 1993 and the passing of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 that homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland. Prior to that, people across the country risked prison for simply being themselves. Attitudes towards individuals and couples who did not fit conventional stereotypes were hostile and indeed the f…
I thank Deputy Ó Murchú for his question. This Government is committed to enhancing the delivery of supports and services for all children in Ireland with additional needs, including autistic children. It is important to emphasise that an autism assessment or an assessment of need is not required for a child to access primary care, CDNTs or CAMHS. The Government accepts that waiting lists for assessments of need are …