The leaks on the budget are not coming from the Opposition. They are coming from the Government. Where does the Taoiseach think they are coming from? Where does he think those headlines came from? They have pensioners worried sick. Is this just some sort of cynical ploy to manage expectations so that if it the increase is more than €7.50, people are meant to be grateful, even though the Government is breaking its pro…
TDs / Cian O'Callaghan
Cian O'Callaghan
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
896
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
123,606
words spoken in the chamber
Across 642 contributions
422
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
255
topics asked about
Across 19 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 896 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 642 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 2 |
| January 2025 | 51 | 4 |
| February 2025 | 41 | 47 |
| March 2025 | 44 | 42 |
| April 2025 | 64 | 38 |
| May 2025 | 39 | 40 |
| June 2025 | 55 | 33 |
| July 2025 | 47 | 51 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 38 | 6 |
| October 2025 | 16 | 52 |
| November 2025 | 41 | 57 |
| December 2025 | 29 | 19 |
| January 2026 | 42 | 24 |
| February 2026 | 46 | 35 |
| March 2026 | 41 | 23 |
| April 2026 | 58 | 24 |
| May 2026 | 80 | 47 |
| June 2026 | 31 | 40 |
| July 2026 | 44 | 12 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| September 2026 | 41 | 21 |
| October 2026 | 48 | 23 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 510 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 Dublin Bay North 29 November 2024 to now
- party Social Democrats 29 November 2024 to now
Are you going to stick to your word and give a €12 increase?
Will you stick to your word?
I pay tribute to Miriam Lord and acknowledge the huge contribution she has made to Irish journalism. On behalf of the Social Democrats, I wish her all the best for the future.
Tá ceart rochtana ag gach páiste ar an oideachas. Ní féidir leis an Rialtas dearmad a dhéanamh ar an gceart oideachais atá ag páistí le riachtanais bhreise. Last night, Virgin Media broadcast a devastating documentary about special education i…
It is welcome that the Taoiseach does not accept children getting taught in a storeroom, but that is happening. The reason it is happening is because his Department has told the schools to use every available space and the Department of education has failed to sanction additional classrooms that the schools are crying out for. This is not just one isolated school; it is happening in other places around the country. I…
116. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the action his Department is taking to address the continued tracker mortgage and consumer protection issues arising from the transfer of mortgages (details supplied). [68857/26]
What actions is the Minister's Department taking to address the continued tracker mortgage and consumer protection issues arising from the transfer of mortgages from KBC to the Bank of Ireland? I have spoken recently to a family who have recently lost their home because of overcharging both by KBC and Bank of Ireland. What action is the Department taking to address this?
In the case in question, this is not an uncontactable customer. The family took out a tracker mortgage with KBC. For years, the bank charged them the wrong rate, which KBC eventually admitted to. When KBC left the Irish market in 2023, the family's mortgage was transferred to Bank of Ireland. The overcharging did not stop. It carried on under Bank of Ireland. The customer wrote to Bank of Ireland's CEO and asked to m…
I welcome the Minister's response that he will contact the Central Bank about this wider issue and ask it to examine it. I am not just raising a specific case. This is an example and if this has affected the family in question, there could well be a very significant number of others in the loan book that was transferred who are similarly affected. That warrants investigation by the Central Bank. I welcome the Ministe…
Minister-----
This morning, I spoke with a mother about her 13-year-old son. He is autistic and non-verbal. In July he was told he had a place in Belmayne special school. I am sure the Minister can imagine the sheer relief and excitement of hearing that news. Starting a new school is a huge moment. One can imagine the logistics, planning and emotional preparation. Now, I want the Minister to imagine what it must feel like to be to…
Every child has a right to an education, and this Government is failing to deliver on their rights. As we speak there are children sitting at home without a school place. I have raised with the Minister that this is not isolated. There are children who were given school places and who were meant to start in September. They and their families were told at the beginning of July that they had a school place in September…
That is some nerve of Fianna Fáil to give lectures about sound economic management.
Seventy-seven percent is how much wholesale electricity prices have surged in the past year. That will not come as a surprise to the over 300,000 households currently in arrears, and it is not news to the people lying awake at night worrying about how they will keep the lights on.
We have to get off this endless merry-go-round of price shocks and soaring bills. The Minister knows, I know, we all know that we are par…
Is the Minister's Government not ashamed that the one offshore wind farm we have is currently being dismantled? That is the Government's level of delivery of offshore renewables. In other countries that have invested, it has brought down people's energy bills. What is the Minister doing about it? We have over half a million households in electricity and gas arrears. I asked the Minister about a targeted energy credit…
It is not bringing down bills. It is going into data centres.
Is mian liom cúpla ceist a chur ar an Taoiseach faoi ghéarchéim an chostais mhaireachtála. Mar is eol dó, tá neart daoine ar fud na hÉireann ag streachailt le costais laethúla na tíre seo. Is deacair an rud é dóibh iad féin a bheathú nó na soilse a choinneáil ar siúl.
Eight energy companies have put up their prices in recent weeks. These increases will add hundreds of euro to people's energy bills, which are already…
The vast majority of what this Government has done has not been targeted. The Taoiseach is kidding himself if he thinks that.
I asked the Taoiseach two very straightforward questions. I asked him to give his view as to whether it is immoral for energy companies to be booking record windfall profits off the backs of people who are struggling with the energy crisis. Does he think that is immoral? Does he have any view…
So, will the Taoiseach act?
The cost-of-living crisis is putting huge pressure on households around the country. This Government is showing contempt and disdain for those households by giving the bare minimum of 60 minutes for this proposal to be discussed and scrutinised here. Why is it afraid of proper scrutiny and discussion of the proposal and why is it afraid of people putting forward alternatives?
The Social Democrats are supporting the extension of the excise reduction. With petrol and diesel prices pushing back towards €2 a litre, loading on another hike next week would be too much for people to absorb. People are already put to the pin of their collar. They simply cannot keep up with constant price increases but, make no mistake, this extension is not a plan. What we are seeing is a Government that is lurch…
Now we know, the Government's report into Aughinish Alumina will be a classic fudge. On the one hand it will say, it cannot rule out the possibility that Irish alumina is ending up in the Russian military supply chain. On the other hand, it will fall short of making any concrete conclusions. This is despite that exports of alumina to Russia have more than doubled since the war broke out. The Tánaiste does not need a …
The Tánaiste must surely know that these exports are feeding Putin's war machine. Does he not think it is unusual that Ireland is one of the very few European countries where our exports to Russia have increased since Russia invaded Ukraine? That has been driven by the exports of alumina that have more than doubled. Where does the Tánaiste honestly think that alumina is going? It is going into the smelter that is fee…
I welcome this important discussion on the topic of Irish unity and its fiscal implications. It deserves analysis and fundamentally respect for the people, who will ultimately decide the future of this island. There are real challenges in any transition to unity but there are also very significant opportunities. The future of this island should not be reduced to a balance sheet. Fiscal implications are important and …
It is customary for a copy of the Minister's speech to be provided during Private Members' business and it is regrettable that was not done on this occasion. It is also regrettable that in a ten-minute speech, it was after eight minutes that the Minister decided to turn to the substance of the motion. Not all of it, but a lot of the contribution did not specifically address the items in the motion. That is regrettabl…