On the two points the Deputy raised in respect of Mayo, I met with the HSE to look at the waiting lists for each area. I want the numbers on those lists brought down. We have given additional funding this year for home care hours. On the waiting lists, it is about engaging directly with the HSE and looking at measures. The main focus of additional funding this year is to deal with the areas where we have waiting list…
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 Deputy Carrigy. I know the particular interest he has in this matter. Specifically, on north Longford, he raised an issue about one provider that has now restored its service. I am working with the Department officials and the HSE to look specifically at north Longford and other areas where there are large waiting lists. Some €82 million additional funding has gone into home support this year. With 1.7 millio…
I welcome the opportunity to speak on men's health, which is a priority in the programme for Government. I thank all Deputies from their contributions to this important debate. They showed a genuine interest in this hugely important topic and the Government will very much take that on board.
I will refer to the commitments set out in the programme for Government in relation to mental health, which is a priority. It …
I wish to express my deepest sympathies to the parents of Harvey Morrison Sherratt. It must be very difficult for the family to lose a young son like that. The Tánaiste, Simon Harris, and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, have met with Harvey's parents and there will be further meetings. They have agreed to work in partnership with parents and advocates on the inquiry into spina bifida and scoliosis services.
T…
I thank the Minister, Deputy Browne. The Government's commitment to housing continues to be its top priority. Budget 2026 reinforces this commitment with unprecedented levels of funding allocated to housing. The Government is committed to delivering more affordable homes to buy and to rent. The capital funding being provided under budget 2026, coupled with LDA investment and HFA lending, will finance a range of affor…
I am pleased to contribute to this debate in my role as Minister of State with responsibility for older people in the Department of Health and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I have worked with colleagues to secure substantial funding increases that will assist in meeting the needs of older people in the areas of health and housing, along with the Government firmly supporting older people to…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and giving me this opportunity to update Members on the issue of vacancy and dereliction. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne.
Tackling vacancy and dereliction is a key priority for the Government. The reuse of vacant and derelict properties can provide much-needed housing, while a…
Once again, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. Addressing vacancy and dereliction is a key priority for the Government. As I stated, I am taking this debate on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne.
As I mentioned, with to regard to dereliction and vacancy in Ireland, particularly in small towns and villages, the Government is taking a proactive, co…
I thank Deputy Ó Cearúil for raising this matter. I am taking this debate and matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. Deputy Ó Cearúil will appreciate that I cannot talk about individual cases before the Chamber. Obviously, if the Deputy has questions in relation to individuals, they can be raised directly with the Department of Health. I acknowledge the case he has highlighted, however.…
Once again, I thank Deputy Ó Cearúil for the attention he has given to this important matter. As I already said, I am taking the matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. Once again, the Deputy will appreciate that I cannot speak on individual cases, but I do want to acknowledge the matters he has raised in respect of his constituents.
The procedure needs to go ahead as scheduled. That is…
I thank all Deputies for their contributions to this important debate. On behalf of the Government, I acknowledge the great work provided by carers. I say that on a human level. We all deal with them every day, both in our daily lives and as public representatives. I want to put that on record. The Government is very aware of the valuable work being carried out by family carers. This is evidenced by the extensive mea…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of my colleague the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
Primary care psychology plays a central role in providing care and treatment to both children and adults in the community and, particularly, in offering the opportunity for early intervention for children and young people. The increased pressure and …
The Minister recognises fully the frustration of people in the local area with long waiting times for certain services and realises that much more needs to be done to fill local vacancies, address waiting lists and ensure consistent, equitable and timely access to primary care services. Since 2021, the primary care psychology waiting list initiative, which targets removals from the waiting list of those under the age…
I thank Deputy Kelly. I know of his keen and genuine interest in this particular subject. I will deal with the questions he actually raises. I have an answer there for him. I am going straight to the capital programme. As part of this capital programme, older persons' services in north Tipperary are being enhanced by the opening of a new state-of-the-art 50-bed community nursing unit in Nenagh to replace St. Conlon’s…
I appreciate the frustration of people, including the residents of St. Conlon's and the people in the area. I have gone through this intensively and there is a process. There is an application before HIQA. It takes an average of about ten working days to assess an application. The application has gone in within the past week. I cannot pre-empt the outcome of the registration by HIQA, but it is normally a ten-day work…
I am not in any way questioning the Deputy, but on the process, they have been waiting a long time. Once they are moved over along with the staff, the HSE has assured me locally, and I have made very up-to-date inquiries, that it has the resources staff-wise to be able to move and scale up to the 50-bed unit very quickly. Looking at the cycle of it, we are in the month of September and certainly it will not happen be…
I am saying it will not happen in September. I think that is reasonable. While I cannot give a firm date, we would be looking at the period from October on.
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am responding on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
As the Deputy will be aware, Okur-Chung is an ultra-rare neurodevelopmental syndrome with an estimated 160 individuals living with this syndrome globally. Okur-Chung was first identified in 2016 and, as such there is still much we do not know about this syndrome. However…
I acknowledge the story the Deputy tells about Elizabeth. Is it her son Leo?
What age is Leo?
It is called Okur-Chung neurodevelopmental syndrome, OCNDS. Is that the norm?
I appreciate how difficult it is for Elizabeth, Leo and his family. Once again, I thank the Deputy for providing the opportunity to discuss this important matter. As previously stated, it is hoped that through the implementation of the recently launched national rare disease strategy, we can increase rare disease research opportunity in Ireland. Knowing that meaningful research is being undertaken offers hope for the…
I thank Deputy Hayes for raising this important issue today. The clear focus of this Government is to increase the supply of new build social and affordable homes to buy or rent. There is a record level of investment being provided for the delivery of housing in 2025, with overall capital funding available of €6.8 billion. The capital provision is supplemented by a further €1.65 billion in current funding to address …
I join in acknowledging his recent passing. He was obviously someone very close to the Deputy.
I am utterly committed to housing for all people. For me, it about providing choice. I take this very seriously and I am actively progressing and working on it. As the Deputy said, our demographic is evolving and we will have an older population. We have to bring a range of choices across the spectrum for older people and …
I again thank Deputy Hayes for raising this important matter. I listened carefully to the points he raised. The Government is working diligently in conjunction with key stakeholders, particularly local authorities and approved housing bodies, to increase delivery of housing for older people. We also want to work with the private sector because everyone has a part to play in the delivery of housing, including for olde…