Progress has been made in this regard. The Department is working towards the publication of a wind energy national planning statement as a matter of priority. The programme for Government commits to prioritising publication and review of the guidelines, which will form a national planning statement. The Department is working towards meeting this commitment to finalise a national planning statement having regard to ev…
TDs / Kieran O'Donnell
Kieran O'Donnell
Minister of State at the Department of Health and at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
113,996
words spoken in the chamber
113,996 as a minister, 0 as a TD
426
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
The record holds no parliamentary questions from them in this Dáil.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 256 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 10 |
| March 2025 | 15 |
| April 2025 | 12 |
| May 2025 | 17 |
| June 2025 | 15 |
| July 2025 | 15 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 11 |
| October 2025 | 12 |
| November 2025 | 23 |
| December 2025 | 6 |
| January 2026 | 30 |
| February 2026 | 18 |
| March 2026 | 10 |
| April 2026 | 2 |
| May 2026 | 20 |
| June 2026 | 9 |
| July 2026 | 10 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 4 |
| October 2026 | 17 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 191 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Limerick City 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Health and at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage 29 January 2025 to now
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing.Local Government and Heritage.
The operation of the public wastewater treatment systems together with operational issues locally are matters for Uisce Éireann which has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local level. Contracts …
As I said earlier about specific points the Deputy raised, the operation of the public wastewater treatment systems, together with operational issues locally, are matters for Uisce Éireann, which has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels.
Contracts and payments are matters for Uisce Éireann and the Minister has no function i…
I welcome the opportunity to speak on the very important topic of dementia, an issue that touches so many people's lives, be it family, friends and neighbours. It reflects how we care for one another as a society, and how we support people to live with dignity, independence and security as they age. I look forward to a very engaging and constructive debate with Dáil colleagues. I know many are contributing. It shows …
Your grandmother was a woman of taste.
I want to do justice to the debate. I want to deal with the issues that people raised. I want to give an idea of what my vision is on dementia. I have a vision and an actual view on what we need to do. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, did great work in the role but there are certain things I want to do structurally. I want people to have an idea of what I have in mind. The FTD brothers, Jordan and Cian, Helen, t…
I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 99 together.
I thank the Deputy for bringing up this important issue. I do not know if Deputy Boland is here.
The Government's new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, aims to deliver 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable housing supports by the end of 2030. To achieve this, the largest ever housing budget i…
I thank the Deputy for his considered response. It is a matter he has raised and is committed to. The measure is in the programme for Government. It is a specific action under delivering housing for older people. I committed to doing work on that even prior to the action plan being finalised. A review is currently under way by the Housing Agency on behalf of the Department of the financial contribution schemes operat…
Once again, I thank the Deputy for his contribution. A body of work is under way, as I stated, following on from defined actions under housing for older people section of Delivering Homes, Building Communities. We have committed to a review of the operation of the existing local authority financial contribution schemes and to have it as a real, evidence-based, substantive body of work. We commissioned the Housing Age…
I thank Deputy Cummins for raising this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy James Lawless. I welcome the opportunity to update colleagues on how the arts, humanities, and social sciences will be supported through the Research Ireland strategy and the progress on implementation to date.
Research Ireland was established as the na…
I thank Deputy Cummins for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Lawless. He will ensure her contribution will form part of the ongoing consultation. New opportunities are being created for AHSS through the Research Ireland strategy, supported by additional Government investment to deliver the strategy, including the development of the development of larger-scale initiativ…
I take this opportunity to thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this important matter and providing me with an opportunity to update the House. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of Deputy James Browne, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Under the Planning and Development Act 2024 local authorities are obliged to prepare and adopt development plans that may make provision for the delivery of…
I thank Deputy O'Rourke again for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. In addition to the need to make provision for recreational facilities within statutory development plans, such facilities may also be funded by development contribution schemes, determined by elected members of each planning authority under secti…
I thank Deputies Crowe, Lahart and Ahern for raising this important matter on behalf of their constituents. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, to outline to the Dáil the current position in relation to the school project for Sancta Maria College, Ballyroan, Rathfarnham, County Dublin.
The completion project for the school referred to by the Deputy is current…
Once again, the completion of the building project for Sancta Maria College in Ballyroan is a very important matter. It is currently at stage 2B, architectural planning and detailed design. The brief is a completion contract for refurbishment works and a sports hall, following termination of the original contract. The design team completed a stage 2B submission, which is currently with the Department for review.
As …
I thank Deputies for their contributions to this important debate. The Government is well aware of the additional costs faced by disabled people. The Government has opposed this motion and tabled an amendment, but that does not mean that we do not recognise the difficulties and additional costs that disabled people face. We are very aware of those costs. Our determination to assist people with those costs is reflecte…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy McEntee.
A passport is an internationally recognised travel document which attests to the identity and nationality of the bearer. The passport service follows recommendations from the ICAO, which the Deputy referenced, in relation to data that is held on a passport. The ICAO is an in…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien.
EU Directive 2022/2561, on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers, is transposed into Irish law by the European Communities (Vehicle Drivers Certificate of Professional Competence) (No. 2) Regulati…
I again thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien. The legal basis for the certificate of professional competence for professional drivers is contained in EU Directive 2022/2561 on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers. Under this directive it is a legal requi…
I thank Deputy Farrelly for raising this matter on behalf of his constituents, which I am taking on behalf of Minister of State, Deputy Charlie McConalogue. Under the 2024 round of the large-scale sports infrastructure Fund, LSSIF, Kildare County Council applied for funding for the development of Sallins Park Community Sports Centre, which the Deputy referenced. The project was allocated €3 million for phase 1 of the…
I again thank Deputy Farrelly for the opportunity to discuss the development of Sallins Park community sports centre. I am taking this Topical Issue debate on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy McConalogue.
County Kildare received significant capital funding for sports infrastructure over the past number of years. Specifically on Sallins Park community sports centre, this project i…
I thank Deputy O'Hara for raising this important matter which I am taking on behalf of Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Calleary. In responding to the question, I will first provide an overview of the occupational injuries benefit scheme and the supports available from the Department of Social Protection to people with long Covid.
The occupational injuries benefit scheme is a group of benefits for insured work…
Once again, I thank Deputy O'Hara for raising this important matter. As I said, I am taking this matter on behalf of Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Calleary. The Government and I recognise the great work of healthcare workers during Covid and, in fact, the continual great work of healthcare workers.
As referenced in my opening statement on behalf of Deputy Calleary, the Minister for Social Protection, in Nov…
I thank Deputy Nash for taking this amendment, which was tabled by Deputy Sherlock. The proposed amendment from Deputy Sherlock seeks to provide HIQA and the Health and Safety Authority inspectorates under the Workplace Relations Act 2015 with the powers to request information relevant to the performance of their functions, as set out under the Health Act 2007, and allows each organisation to share such information w…
I will go back over my contribution for the sake of clarity. I thank the visitors for their patience and welcome them.
Neither the Health and Safety Authority nor the Workplace Relations Commission have many functions assigned to them under the Act, rendering the proposed provision inoperable for either body.
Additionally, the established legislation for the Workplace Relations Commission, under section 27 of the W…