I believe the goal in this sector in the medium term, alongside mainstreaming courses for students with intellectual disabilities in our colleges and third level institutions, must consider a national centre to co-ordinate those courses and ensure standards across them. We should be looking at introducing a separate stream of funding to pilot a programme for neurodivergent learners, learners with complex needs and le…
TDs / Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh
Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
937
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
30,322
words spoken in the chamber
Across 122 contributions
390
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
202
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 937 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 122 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 7 | 4 |
| March 2025 | 2 | 5 |
| April 2025 | 38 | 6 |
| May 2025 | 30 | 8 |
| June 2025 | 61 | 5 |
| July 2025 | 51 | 7 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 27 | 13 |
| October 2025 | 43 | 5 |
| November 2025 | 58 | 13 |
| December 2025 | 39 | 2 |
| January 2026 | 39 | 6 |
| February 2026 | 72 | 5 |
| March 2026 | 63 | 8 |
| April 2026 | 56 | 3 |
| May 2026 | 58 | 5 |
| June 2026 | 182 | 4 |
| July 2026 | 19 | 8 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 56 | 5 |
| October 2026 | 36 | 10 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 51 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 Kildare South 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
Last summer I attended a demonstration protesting a pilot cycle lane between Timolin and Moone in south Kildare, a project known locally as the road to nowhere. Delivered by TII and the council under the national cycle network plan, over €2 million has been spent installing concrete islands and hard kerbs. Instead of improving safety and access, locals describe the road as an obstacle course and a death trap. Crucial…
Gabhaim buíochas leis na Daonlathaithe Sóisialta as an rún ríthábhachtach seo a chur os ár gcomhair ar maidin. It is only a couple of months since Sinn Féin brought a similar motion before the Dáil and it speaks volumes that we are back again so soon. It speaks to the tireless work of disability advocates and the dire conditions and desperation people with disabilities are living with.
There is no two ways about it;…
Curragh Community College in my constituency of Kildare South is in a state of utter disrepair. The school community was promised a new school building nearly a decade ago and they are still waiting. There are several problems with mould and leaks. The ceilings are falling in and the conditions are absolutely hazardous. A number of classrooms have already closed; therefore, students are on a rotation between attendin…
Tugann scannal na spuaicphacaí léargas soiléir ar mheon an Rialtais reatha. Is Rialtas é nach bhfuil clú aige céard atá ag tarlú i saol an ghnáthdhuine agus atá sásta an costas a bhaineann le seirbhísí bunúsacha sláinte a bhrú ar dhaoine nach bhfuil in acmhainn íoc astu. Nuair a fhaigheann an Rialtas an deis, déanann sé iarracht an t-ualach a chur ar an ngnáthdhuine go ciúin, i ngan fhios d’éinne, agus gan aon mheas …
Yet again, we hear that the Government is not opposing the motion. We have heard it before. No matter how many times Sinn Féin and the combined Opposition bring forward motions, no matter how many days of school are missed by Cara Darmody, who is literally weathering a storm outside the gates of this House tonight, the Government still does not get the message and is still breaking the law.
We are in a crisis in the…
Hear, hear.
I want to raise the crisis facing families seeking special class places in Kildare South. Cian attends St. Conleth's Infant School in Newbridge and ready to start primary school in a special class. His family applied everywhere - Newbridge, Kildare, Kilcullen and Naas - but were refused in all. Harry is 12 years old and despite his family applying to every available ASD class in the Newbridge-Kildare area, he has no …
I am glad to finally, a year in, have the opportunity to speak on the unbelievable atrocities happening in Sudan. The degree, scale and intensity of the violence taking place in the territory is unfathomable. Since the civil war broke out in 2023, over 12 million people have been displaced and, it is estimated, another 150,000 killed. Last month, satellite images showed blood-stained streets and bodies piled high aft…
Táim sásta labhairt ar son an Bhille thábhachtaigh atá os ár gcomhair anocht. Céim chun cinn atá inti a chuirfidh le cumhachtú agus cosaint na n-íospartach foréigean gnéasach. The psychological and physical safety of victim survivors must be the first aim of our justice system. That is the fundamental principle the Bill addresses. While we have made progress in managing sex offenders, there are still clear and glarin…
Hear, hear.
Ba mhaith liom ceist maidir le stáisiún dóiteáin i Mainistir Eimhín i gCill Dara Theas a chur ar an Taoiseach inniu. I want to raise the urgent need for a modern, fit-for-purpose fire station in Monasterevin. The current building is outdated and inadequate, and it no longer meets the needs of a growing town. The previously proposed site on the Dublin road has fallen through again, leaving the project stalled while th…
A couple of sites have been identified.
Tá liosta agam. Tiocfaidh mé ar ais chuig an Taoiseach.
Gabhaim buíochas le mo chomhghleacaí, an Teachta Darren O'Rourke, as an reachtaíocht thábhachtach seo a chur chun cinn.
Families right across south Kildare are at the pin of their collar. Week after week, my office receives emails from people who have to choose between heating and food. Scores of working families across the county are at risk of homelessness from rising housing costs because of new Government legisl…
3. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth her position in relation to the exemptions system for the Irish language as it stands; her views on whether it is fit for purpose; her plans to combat the increasing number of students seeking exemptions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59852/25]
Is mian liom labhairt faoi cheist na ndíolúintí Gaeilge inniu. There has been an unprecedented spike in the number of exemptions from Irish granted in recent years, with one in seven young people in the State exempted from learning our national language. What is the Minister's position on the exemptions system for the Irish language as it stands? Does she believe it is fit for purpose and what are her plans to combat…
It is great to hear the Minister talk of revision but currently the system for these exemptions is not working. We must not forget they are meant to be exemptions for students with severe or complex learning difficulties who simply cannot learn a language. The figures tell us Gaeilge is essentially optional. The numbers have risen sharply, with more than 73,000 exemptions, and it is hard to see any urgency from the D…
It is nearly 60,000 in secondary school. What the Minister mentioned about primary school is great but the reality in schools does not match the picture she is painting.
We need real leadership from the Minister. We need it from the top down. We cannot leave the decision up to principals on their own any more. The rate of exemptions depends entirely on where a child goes to school. In some places, they are granted a…
They will say that, will they?
Disabled constituents of mine feel absolutely forgotten about in this budget. They are not angered any more; they are absolutely heartbroken. Arís agus arís eile, tá an Taoiseach agus an Tánaiste tar éis seasamh sa Teach seo agus an dallamullóg a chur ar dhaoine a bhfuil míchumas orthu. D'inis siad don phobal go raibh cúrsaí míchumais mar thosaíocht dóibh i mbuiséad 2026, ach ag deireadh an lae rinneadh dearmad orthu…
This budget does little to resolve the crisis facing education today. The measures announced will not make a dent in the cost-of-living pressures on schools, in recruitment and retention in teaching or in the problem of oversized classes. We have 600 vacant teaching posts, 51,000 pupils in oversized classes and schools struggling to keep the lights on, yet this budget fails to meaningfully address any of it. It is sc…
Time is measured in blood in Gaza. Those are the words of Bisan, a young Palestinian journalist whose people have endured nearly two years of bombardment, siege, starvation, and displacement, and still, the world watches and still, we do nothing.
Now we hear talk of so-called peace plans - plans pushed by Trump, who shows no regard for international law, and by Tony Blair, an unconvicted war criminal with blood on h…
The Government has not passed the occupied territories Bill. It has placed no sanctions - not one. It is always words, never action. Meanwhile, the Associated Press exposed harrowing stories of Palestinian women being exploited and offered food, water, work, or shelter in exchange for being raped. The perpetrators were reportedly linked to the aid organisations operating in the chaos created by Israel's total blockad…
They were listening to the debate, so the Government might-----