I know the Deputy's interest in this on behalf of his constituents. The south Tipperary memory clinic has been paused, but I want to see it reopened as quickly as possible. I have met HSE personnel in the region. I have been in touch with them, and I had a formal meeting on 29 September. I had a further meeting scheduled for last week. I am rescheduling it for this week because it had to be deferred. I understand the…
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
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| 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 the opportunity to update the House on these important health-related matters for his constituents in Longford-Westmeath. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I acknowledge the concerns Deputy Carrigy has raised about health services in Longford-Westmeath, particularly where people experience long waits or need to travel for care. These a…
I again thank Deputy Carrigy for his contributions, which I will bring back to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. Ensuring people receive the right care in the right place at the right time remains a central commitment of Government under the Sláintecare reform programme. The Government has made substantial investment in both Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore and Regional Hospital Mullingar, the two acute ho…
I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to discuss the actions taken since the HIQA review on urgent and emergency healthcare services in the mid-west region. I am taking this issue on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. I acknowledge the issues that Deputy Quinlivan is raising on behalf of his constituents, who are also constituents of mine. I am very aware of the issues he is raising…
I thank Deputy Quinlivan again for his contribution. As stated earlier, I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. The Minister for Health fully recognises the significant and sustained pressure on urgent and emergency care across the mid-west, particularly at University Hospital Limerick, and acknowledges, as I do, the fantastic work of the staff. It is obviously all about…
These are short-stay therapeutic beds. They are step-down beds, and 125 such beds will be available in the mid-west region. The Minister for Health, with her team of senior Department officials, will engage with the senior leadership team in the HSE on the winter plans more generally, with an emphasis, as would be expected, on the issues in University Hospital Limerick and the mid-west. We remain very much committed …
I thank Deputy Ó Súilleabháin for raising this Topical Issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. The Housing Act 1966 provides for the charging of rent by local authorities on social housing tenancies. Rents are based on household income levels, with those on lower incomes paying lower rents.
This system is know as the differential rents syste…
I again thank the Deputy for raising the issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. My Department has continued to work on reviewing the current differential rents system with a view to developing a standardised national framework. It is carrying out further research to identify the optimal model for such a framework that will be equitable, prog…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and providing me with an opportunity to update the House. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne.
The making, amendment, review or revocation of a special amenity area order is a matter governed by sections 202 and 203 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. Prior to the enactment …
I again thank Deputy Gogarty for raising this important issue in the House, which I am taking behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne.
In conclusion, sections 202 and 203 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 set out a statutory process for the making, amendment, review or revocation of a special amenity area order. The provisions referenced, which are contained in t…
I thank Deputy Buckley who is taking this question on behalf of Deputy Gould. Deputy Gould has raised this matter with me on a previous occasion. Unit 1 in St. Stephen's Hospital in Glanmire, County Cork is a designated centre for older people and is registered by HIQA. There are currently eight residents in the dementia specific unit. It is the only older persons unit on the grounds of St. Stephen's campus. All othe…
That will not be the case under my watch. I have spoken to the HSE about this in depth. This is about the older people and residents and no one else, from my perspective. I am very much looking forward to going to Midleton tomorrow. We are opening a new 50-bed community nursing unit. There are 37 residents and we want to build on that. There is engagement between the HSE South West, unions and staff, and I want that …
I can provide further reassurance that engagement with residents is ongoing. The residents and their families will be accommodated as many times as they wish in meeting the HSE. They will be properly assessed and will go to places of their preference. I want to ensure that the engagement continues. I want to allow the engagement between the HSE and residents to continue. It is something on which I will keep a very cl…
Investment in older persons' services has been a substantial priority for Government and as Minister of State at the Department of Health with special responsibility for older people, I am pleased to announce I have secured over €3.4 billion in budget 2027 for older persons' services in the Department of Health and, with my colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputies Browne and Cu…
My Department provides funding under the suite of housing adaptation grant for older people and disabled people to assist those in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The suite of grants, which include the housing adaptation grant for disabled people, the mobility aids grant and the housing aid for older people grant, is funded by my Department with a contribution from the local …
It must be acknowledged that Sligo County Council did apply for additional funding of €500,000, which it received. Obviously, the Deputy will be making contact with Sligo County Council, and I encourage the council to make an application for additional funding, if it is required. I will also ask my officials in the Department to reach out to Sligo County Council to find out what the position is. Where local authoriti…
I know the Deputy has raised this issue and advocated for it before. On practical measures, as he mentioned, initial funding to Sligo County Council increased by 30% this year to €2.3 million. It received a further €500,000 in additional funding that it requested earlier in the year, bringing total funding to €2.8 million. I ask the Deputy to inform Sligo County Council that if it has an additional request, it should…
I thank Deputy Gould for raising this important matter. As he is aware, unit 1 in St. Stephen's Hospital in Glanmire, County Cork, is a designated centre for older people registered by HIQA. Eight residents are residing in the dementia-specific unit. Unit 1 is the only older persons' residential facility on the grounds of St. Stephen's campus because all other operational units on the site are being utilised to deliv…
Once again, I thank Deputy Gould for raising this important matter. I appreciate it is a difficult time for the residents and their families. As already stated, HSE South West has advised me it has taken the decision to deregister the dementia-specific unit for older persons in St. Stephen's campus hospital, with a view to re-registering the unit with the Mental Health Commission. I reiterate that the HSE is engaged …
I thank Deputies McGrath and Murphy for the opportunity to address the House today on an issue that I know has had an ongoing impact on many patients in south Tipperary. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, who I know is committed to reducing waiting lists for both adults and children across all our services be they provided in acute hospitals or in the communi…
Once again, I thank Deputies Michael Murphy and Mattie McGrath for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on the need for strengthened ophthalmology services in south Tipperary. I will make sure to let her and the officials in the Department know the specific views that were made here today in the House on behalf of their constituents in south Ti…
I thank Deputy Maxwell. This is an important point for his constituents in Cavan-Monaghan. By way of update, 302 people were on waiting lists for home support at the end of May in Cavan-Monaghan, including 33 new applicants and 269 people already receiving support who require additional hours.
Specifically on the point the Deputy raised, I met the HSE as recently as yesterday. One of the key areas I focused on was C…
I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to update the House on the position of the James Weir nurses home on Cork Street in Dublin 8. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill.
The Health Service Executive is responsible for the management of the public healthcare property estate. The HSE has a significant property portfolio extending to circa 4,300 buildings across …
As I said earlier, following extensive review the property known as Weir Home on Cork Street in Dublin 8 was identified by the HSE a number of years ago as surplus to its requirements and it was decided to dispose of the property.
Disposal of Weir Home is being carried out in line with the statutory obligations, including the Land Development Agency Act 2021 and the relevant circulars from the Department of public e…
I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne.
As the Deputy will be aware, the programme for Government reaffirms Ireland's commitment to 80% of electricity demand being met in the near term and there are plans to move to net zero by 2050. The deployment of renewable electricity, including win…