I raise the issue of the national average waiting time for a driver test of 14 weeks. In Dungarvan the average waiting time is 30 weeks. It is very popular with people in the east Cork area. The Tánaiste knows this is absolutely unacceptable. It has dragged on for years now. The RSA has failed to meet its targets. Is this something the Government could finally look at working towards bringing to an end?
The people o…
TDs / James O'Connor
James O'Connor
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
499
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
16,905
words spoken in the chamber
Across 80 contributions. Plus 30 contributions from the chair, not counted
371
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
143
topics asked about
Across 20 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 499 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 80 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 44 | 5 |
| March 2025 | 17 | 5 |
| April 2025 | 17 | 8 |
| May 2025 | 41 | 11 |
| June 2025 | 43 | 1 |
| July 2025 | 26 | 10 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 30 | 1 |
| October 2025 | 28 | 1 |
| November 2025 | 38 | 7 |
| December 2025 | 14 | 2 |
| January 2026 | 37 | 1 |
| February 2026 | 21 | 2 |
| March 2026 | 14 | 3 |
| April 2026 | 31 | 0 |
| May 2026 | 26 | 15 |
| June 2026 | 26 | 4 |
| July 2026 | 18 | 3 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 3 | 1 |
| October 2026 | 24 | 0 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 70 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 Cork East 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
20. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [33856/25]
I wish to raise with the Government the rapid development of major solar installations across the east Cork area, part of my constituency. There are large numbers of developments in planning, under discussion or in negotiation that represent very significant land volumes, amounting to thousands of acres. Not to identify any one development but across the region north of Midleton, north of Youghal and Killeagh, develo…
83. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is engaging with the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment regarding the use of good agricultural land for solar farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36654/25]
I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Deputy John McGuinness, for allowing me some of his time. I wish to speak on this issue because Cork East is receiving the largest single investment in an active rail project anywhere in the country now, with a €1.6 billion investment into the Cork area metropolitan transport strategy. I note Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan from Cork North-Central is in the Chair. Both our constituencies …
9. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he will outline his strategy to address the rising cost of doing business, particularly for small and medium enterprises; if he will detail any planned interventions aimed at improving cost competitiveness in areas such as energy, insurance, labour and regulatory compliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33207/25]
20. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Finance if his Department will revise the help to buy scheme to include those who purchased houses that were built in the past two years but were previously occupied and the original occupants have paid the moneys back to Revenue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28175/25]
13. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the economy, trade and competitiveness will next meet. [22203/25]
I want to raise with the Taoiseach the issue of energy prices in Ireland. We now have the most expensive non-residential electricity in Europe and we are third in terms of household prices. This is not sustainable from the point of view of competitiveness. I have raised here previously that Irish energy policy is deeply unsustainable. I have seen a growth in solar. with hundreds and hundreds of acres, in excess of th…
Tá ceist amháin eile agam don Taoiseach.
272. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Transport the plans to address the long driving test wait times in County Cork and nationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23107/25]
137. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if he will outline the plans for the next round of sports capital funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22898/25]
I want to raise the issue of Youghal District Court being removed from the town. Youghal has lost much of its public services over a protracted period. I want to raise the matter of retaining a District Court. There was a previous attempt to remove it. Unfortunately, moving those services to Dungarvan also brings Garda resources from Youghal, outside County Cork, half an hour's drive away, to another location. I want…
87. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will remove inconsistencies and anomalies in the current jobseeker's allowance scheme which discourage people from taking up employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21699/25]
Will the Department of Social Protection remove the inconsistencies and anomalies in the current jobseeker's allowance scheme that discourage people from taking up employment. Will he give some further information on that? It is an important issue. It is something we have previously discussed. I would appreciate it if the Minister could advise the House on whether his Department plans any moves on this.
I appreciate the response. This is an important issue that has been raised by the Citizens Information Board. It was highlighted that the working-age payments scheme should be based on the working family payment model, whereby a person receives a payment based on a percentage of the difference between his or her income and the specified threshold for his or her family type. However, the board also pointed out how cru…
The programme for Government states that we must ensure the social protection system is work friendly and that welfare traps which inhibit people from taking up work are removed. At present, a person on jobseeker's allowance who receives an offer of part-time work may actually end up worse off financially if their hours are spread across the whole working week rather than being concentrated over three days or less. T…
I appreciate the opportunity to raise this important matter regarding my constituency. It is about Kilcredan National School, which is located in the peripheral regions of Youghal and Midleton towns. It is a rural school but it is also a very large school. It came about because of the merger of three existing primary schools in that parish into one. Although it was a very good idea and the school is excellent, run by…
I welcome the Minister of State's statement. He understands rural Ireland and the issues I am raising because our constituencies are not that dissimilar. We share a county after all. I welcome the inclusion of Kilcredan in the pilot project by the Department of Education. I would appreciate if the Department would share that information with me so I can bring it back to the parents and the school and if the informati…
With your kind permission, a Cheann Comhairle, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan will be sharing some of my time.
I appreciate the opportunity to raise issues pertaining to my constituency and nationally relating to Irish Water. In particular, I want to raise the case of what is going on in Ballyhooly, a small village outside of the town of Fermoy. Ballyhooly has had ongoing significant problems with water outages and burst…
I express my gratitude that this topic has been selected for discussion. It is incredibly important. It relates to the rapid development of solar across my constituency and in Cork North-Central and Cork South-Central. This is about what I see as the wholesale changing of the function of agricultural lands in my constituency and their use as solar farms. We are starting to see what these solar farms look like, with t…
I thank the Minister of State. In my opening statement, I referred to what is happening with the solar development in the Killeagh-Inch area and Mountuniacke, but there are others, north of Midleton, in Leamlara, and Lisgoold, and towards Watergrasshill, more are being proposed in Kilquane around Knockraha. What is also disturbing, as the Minister of State highlighted, is the lack of regulation, which, by the way, re…
In the context of the tariffs, I raise what we are doing here in Ireland and what we can control. So much of what is going on in the United States, no matter what Ireland says and no matter what Minister we dispatch to Washington, is not going to be able to reverse what the Trump White House intends to do. I was there a few weeks ago, and it was interesting. The Acting Chair was there and we got to see him in the fle…
22. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will meet next. [8515/25]
I raise with the Taoiseach the issue of energy security ahead of the infrastructure meeting. I want to bring forward the idea that Ireland follow suit and join other countries in the EU which use nuclear technology as part of their energy production. Ireland has the highest non-residential electricity prices in the European Union as of 2024, according to Eurostat. Finland has the cheapest because between 35% and 40% …