I welcome the Minister's actions and look forward to the review. I urge him to consider establishing the night-time economy commission or advisory group in each of the major cities. Our cultural life does not end at 5 p.m. as he knows, and neither should our planning. By grounding these commissions in local research and consumer feedback we ensure that we reflect on the unique needs and opportunities for each communi…
TDs / Robert O'Donoghue
Robert O'Donoghue
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
988
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
61,781
words spoken in the chamber
Across 173 contributions
419
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
221
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 988 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 173 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 35 | 4 |
| March 2025 | 46 | 6 |
| April 2025 | 45 | 8 |
| May 2025 | 35 | 15 |
| June 2025 | 27 | 8 |
| July 2025 | 46 | 5 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 34 | 2 |
| October 2025 | 58 | 26 |
| November 2025 | 93 | 2 |
| December 2025 | 29 | 0 |
| January 2026 | 68 | 16 |
| February 2026 | 89 | 10 |
| March 2026 | 108 | 11 |
| April 2026 | 65 | 6 |
| May 2026 | 60 | 15 |
| June 2026 | 49 | 14 |
| July 2026 | 62 | 16 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 16 | 4 |
| October 2026 | 23 | 5 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 114 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 Fingal West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Labour Party 29 November 2024 to now
105. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if he will consider more funding so that all local communities can have access to modern, fit-for-purpose sporting facilities. [22771/25]
I am sharing time with Deputy Duncan Smith.
Europe Day is one of the forgotten holidays. Many people do not know what or why it is, or even that it is being celebrated on 9 May. There is some idea that there is a vague connection with the Ode to Joy all right, but that is where the interest stops. I was lucky that at my old school the German teacher, Anita Irwin, makes a point of celebrating and highlighting Europe …
I hear every day from women in my constituency in particular that they cannot find childcare. I hear mostly from women about being forced to give up their careers, to defer returning to education and to delay starting and expanding their families. We have moved from the marriage bar of the past to what can only be described as a modern-day family bar where the costs and unavailability of childcare are dictating deepl…
It was 30 years ago that the Labour Party, while in government and supported by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions and Irish Congress of Trade Unions, made May Day a bank holiday, but its roots go much deeper than that. The Labour Party has always stood by the trade union movement. The connection is not symbolic - it is practical, principled and rooted in the shared belief deserve power, voice and respect. The allian…
Good morning, Minister of State. It has always been the Labour Party's vision to invest in public transport, to continue to progressively reduce the cost of public transport and to focus on increasing the reliability of our train services. In general, it is great to see the fare reductions and the expansion of the commuter zones that have come in this week. This is a positive step forward in making transport accessib…
I thank the Minister of State for his response. This is a good scheme but there are idiosyncrasies in it that need to be ironed out so the constituents of Dublin Fingal West will be encouraged to use public transport. I understand that distance travelled is one of the criteria in establishing zones, but it seems incredibly unfair that the fares of students travelling two stops from Rush-Lusk over the zone border to B…
I welcome the parents and activists in the Gallery and thank my colleague, Deputy Eoghan Kenny, for bringing this important motion forward. In my constituency, Fingal West, I regularly hear, like all Members do, from families deeply concerned about the severe shortage of appropriate education placements and supports for children with special needs. Accessing school settings remains a major challenge in my area, compo…
Yesterday was World Autism Awareness Day. It cannot just have been another day of empty promises while families continue to struggle. Last night, families slept out for a second time, pleading for support. We must acknowledge their challenges every day. With this in mind, I acknowledge in my constituency of Dublin Fingal West there are 539 children who have waited for more than 12 months for their first contact with …
2. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Government acknowledges the significant increase in production costs for farmers in recent years, which many can no longer sustain; and how he plans to address the challenges posed by increasing energy, labour and environmental-compliance costs to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Irish farming sector. [14131/25]
The increase in food production costs in recent years means many farmers no longer find it sustainable. As their costs directly affect consumers, we must tackle this. Dairy farmers report a near 20% rise in production costs in the past year alone. We need to address challenges posed by increasing labour, energy and environmental-compliance costs to ensure the viability of the farming sector, especially in my area of …
The geopolitical circumstances that have occurred to date make food security all the more important. In my constituency of Dublin Fingal West, horticulture is a crucial part of the farming sector. We produce 15% of potatoes nationally, 47% of field vegetables and 37% of fruits, vegetables and nursery plants, making it one of the most important counties in the country for food production. Many farms in Dublin Fingal W…
I attended the Social Justice Ireland presentation in the audiovisual room earlier. The statistics presented are increasingly concerning for the agriculture sector. The average farm income was just under €20,000 in 2023. Some 68% of farms earned less than €30,000 per annum. This data highlights clear challenges. It is clear that farming by itself is not enough to provide an adequate income. I am committed to these fa…
Deleting obscure, outdated and often bizarre laws is something we are pretty good at in this country. We are world beaters, in fact. Between 2003 and 2016, we got around 60,000 of them off the books and this legislation will remove over 3,000 more laws and proclamations that remain on the Statute Book as a legacy of empire and a reminder of some of the country's darkest days.
The orders and proclamations that are be…
Independent Ireland will support this Bill and the idea of simplifying the law to make it more accessible to the general public. The aim is to reduce compliance costs for businesses and bodies which interact with our legislation regularly. It is the stated policy of our party to achieve this across the public sector and beyond.
I wish to record our admiration for the sterling work of the Law Reform Commission on the…
All this just for Deputy Michael Lowry.
I would like to talk about infrastructure in north County Dublin. As the Tánaiste knows, Fingal is the fastest growing and youngest local authority area in the country. Rush has doubled in size and Lusk has quadrupled in size in 20 years. I was delighted to invite my former students from St. Joseph's Secondary School here. They are a genuinely lovely bunch. However, they and the teachers are using buildings that are …
I congratulate my colleague, Deputy Mark Wall, on bringing forward this important motion. I stand here on behalf of thousands of young carers throughout Ireland, children, teenagers and young adults who take on immense responsibilities at home, often at great personal cost. They provide essential care for family members with disabilities, illness, mental health conditions and addiction. Their contributions too often …
Is mór an onóir dom a bheith ábalta labhairt faoi Sheachtain na Gaeilge. Gabh mo leithscéal nach bhfuil Gaeilge líofa agam. Is cúis náire dom é nach bhfuilim lán-ábalta mé féin a chur in iúl tríd ár dteanga dhúchais. Is fearr Gaeilge briste ná Béarla cliste mar a deirtear. Is ceiliúradh ár dteanga náisiúnta í Seachtain na Gaeilge. Anuas ar sin, tugtar deis dúinn an Ghaeilge a chur chun agus tacaíocht shuntasach don G…
Members should make no mistake; we are now living in a different world. The vote in the UN this week and the sidelining of both Ukraine and our EU allies in the talks in Saudi Arabia have put a definitive end to the idea that history ended with the downfall of the Soviet Union. The world has changed and we should not ignore that. America's pivot to Asia flagged that guaranteeing common European security was no longer…
I congratulate the Leas-Cheann Comhairle on his new role. It might seem odd that the Labour Party spokesperson for agriculture is a Dublin-based TD. However, I assure members that I am from Rush in the north county. It used to be known as the market garden capital of Ireland because of the importance horticulture played in its economy.
I have picked every fruit and vegetable under the sun during the course of my lif…
Go raibh maith agat. As this is my first time speaking in the Dáil, I would like to take a moment just to thank my family, my ma and my da and my three brothers, the Fingal Labour Party branches and my friends who helped me to campaign during the recent election to get here. Most importantly, I thank the good people of Dublin Fingal West who have put their trust in me for the duration of this term to advocate on thei…
I refer to the tenant in situ scheme, which provides critical funding for the likes of Fingal County Council to purchase homes to protect people at risk of homelessness. To meet that end we need sustained Government funding and it is essential that this must remain a priority. I am surprised that the allocation of that funding and unit acquisition numbers have not, as far as I am aware to date, gone to our local auth…