I have to say I am disappointed to hear the Minister is not prepared to bring new legislation to this House. At this stage, should we not be setting a minimum rather than just a maximum sentence given the type of crime it is? These are the most heinous images of child abuse and surely we should be providing for a minimum sentence at this stage rather than setting the maximum. I would ask the Minister to reassess that…
TDs / Ken O'Flynn
Ken O'Flynn
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
9,005
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
86,377
words spoken in the chamber
Across 393 contributions. Plus 40 contributions from the chair, not counted
295
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
421
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 9,005 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 393 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| February 2025 | 17 | 20 |
| March 2025 | 14 | 22 |
| April 2025 | 24 | 16 |
| May 2025 | 227 | 18 |
| June 2025 | 49 | 14 |
| July 2025 | 35 | 24 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 663 | 33 |
| October 2025 | 297 | 9 |
| November 2025 | 1,060 | 18 |
| December 2025 | 621 | 2 |
| January 2026 | 190 | 45 |
| February 2026 | 911 | 14 |
| March 2026 | 387 | 38 |
| April 2026 | 691 | 31 |
| May 2026 | 2,122 | 20 |
| June 2026 | 635 | 22 |
| July 2026 | 289 | 11 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| September 2026 | 347 | 12 |
| October 2026 | 426 | 20 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 188 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 North-Central 29 November 2024 to now
- party Independent Ireland 29 November 2024 to now
I raise the situation of a child in Cork who has been on a priority one waiting list since January 2025 for an augmentative and alternative communication, AAC, assessment and device trial through the HSE. According to the response given to my office, the appointment has been postponed for more than three years, with no clear timeline offered and no interim supports put in place. Without these essential supports, this…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes that:
— child protection and welfare represent one of the most fundamental constitutional obligations of the State;
— Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, operates as a statutory agency at arm's length from direct departmental control, funded by the Exchequer, but structurally separate from the Department of Children, Disability and Equality;
— this governance model has resulted i…
I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I am rather disappointed that the senior Minister did not stay in the room for the rest of the debate but left early. I am also disappointed that we had no speakers from Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael in the House. One would think that children's safety would be the most important thing on the mind of any elected representative. I thank colleagues from Sinn Féin for their suppor…
Mr. John Barrett, an established civil servant at assistant secretary general grade and an executive director of An Garda Síochána, was purportedly abruptly dismissed on 18 September 2024. The Government has been formally notified of the legal contention that the dismissal as unlawful on five separate occasions, namely, on 5 July 2024, 18 November 2024, 20 January 2025, 28 July 2025 and, again, earlier this week. The…
-----with the complaint upon reply. Protected disclosures were made-----
------of alleged wrongdoing. I will get to that. If the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will bear with me, he will understand where I am coming from. The parallel process was initiated without transparency and there has been a prolonged non-compliance with High Court discovery obligations. I am not asking the Tánaiste to determine the truth on the floor of this House, which rectifies the matter for the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, b…
-----that the dismissal of an established civil servant is compliant with statutory constitutional fair procedure.
This is about the Constitution. This is what it is about-----
-----and it is about the statutory procedure. That is what it is about. Will the Tánaiste's Government confirm that-----
The Tánaiste has now had this before him for 19 months. Has the Government authorised the dismissal and will he confirm it? If not, who in the Government, or who else, has purported to exercise the power that is reserved for the Cabinet? This is not merely an unemployment dispute. It goes to the heart of collective responsibility and Cabinet responsibility under Article 28 of the Constitution and the statutory framew…
Did the Government authorise the dismissal of Mr. John Barrett?
The Tánaiste has had this information for 19 months.
He was notified on 5 July 2024, on 18-----
I am talking now. On 28 January 2025-----
On 18 November-----
What is out of order is the Tánaiste not answering a question-----
-----on a constitutional and statutory obligation of the Cabinet and who made the decision.
Will he answer the question? Did the Cabinet make the decision or was the decision made by a lesser official, which is in conflict with both-----
-----the Constitution and the statutory responsibility of this Cabinet? I am asking for the simple truth.
I have explained section 1 of the 1956 Act three times now.
A deeply disturbing case emerged before the courts of a vulnerable woman with an intellectual disability who was sexually assaulted in a swimming pool steam room. The man responsible has been convicted and yet the sentence imposed was reduced after the court considered difficulties for a foreign national serving a sentence in this jurisdiction. Let us be clear what this means; a woman who lives with the consequences …
It is finished. It has gone through the courts.
Let us be clear what this means; a woman who lives with consequences of rape for the rest of her life saw the punishment of her attacker reduced because he is not from this country. Justice must be blind to nationality. The only people who deserve special consideration are the victims of these attacks. Does the Government believe it is acceptable that the nationality o…
I did not know you were made Tánaiste.
Is the lady speaking for the Tánaiste?