Investment in our electricity grid is essential for Ireland's future. For many years, successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments have failed to invest in adequate grid infrastructure, which has resulted in constrained housing development, major outages during storms and high electricity prices. Without a grid built for the 21st century, we will continue to see housing targets being missed. We will continue to s…
TDs / Louis O'Hara
Louis O'Hara
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,081
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
64,653
words spoken in the chamber
Across 288 contributions. Plus 4 contributions from the chair, not counted
432
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
242
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 1,081 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 288 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 9 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 44 | 5 |
| March 2025 | 43 | 11 |
| April 2025 | 41 | 9 |
| May 2025 | 51 | 23 |
| June 2025 | 51 | 6 |
| July 2025 | 49 | 12 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 55 | 10 |
| October 2025 | 26 | 13 |
| November 2025 | 80 | 21 |
| December 2025 | 44 | 17 |
| January 2026 | 59 | 13 |
| February 2026 | 73 | 27 |
| March 2026 | 70 | 19 |
| April 2026 | 87 | 12 |
| May 2026 | 74 | 14 |
| June 2026 | 91 | 26 |
| July 2026 | 41 | 17 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 46 | 19 |
| October 2026 | 47 | 14 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 210 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 Galway East 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
I raise the situation in Ardgraigue, Barroughter and Clonmoylan bogs in south-east Galway. The local turf cutting contractor was served with a High Court injunction to cease cutting turf earlier this year. As a result, local people have been left without a supply of fuel this winter. There are over 40 families affected. It is important to say that these are bogs where local people have cut turf for many years. This i…
From the response, I do not think the Minister of State appreciates the distress and tension this situation is causing in the local community. He outlined the compensation schemes available but the reality is there are 40 families in the area who are well aware of the schemes but have not entered the schemes and will not enter them. They have been allowed to cut turf on these bogs for many years. Now they are being l…
87. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will consider increasing the LEADER allocation for County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54825/25]
Will the Minister consider increasing the LEADER allocation for County Galway? As he might be aware, there are concerns about the allocation for east Galway in particular, relative to other areas. Galway Rural Development is the local development company. I ask the Minister to outline whether this is something he is considering.
I want to outline the current situation with regard to LEADER funding. East Galway is receiving €37 per person which compares very unfavourably with all of our neighbours. Roscommon receives €97 per person, Offaly gets €76 per person while in Mayo, the figure is €64. This really restricts what our local development company can do because it has such a limited amount of funding. It means that our communities miss out …
I understand it is a complicated formula but there is clearly a discrepancy between our area and other parts of the State. Will the Minister take a look at it and engage with the local development company on it? We feel very hard done by in Galway. We are not just missing out on the LEADER allocation. Our local authority is very underfunded and is not receiving the same funding per capita as other counties. The Gover…
There are serious concerns about CAP. It seems the onus is now going to fall on the Government to ensure there is a sufficient budget to maintain the work that local development companies do. Will the Minister outline the Government’s plan for the future of the programme and give assurances that the budget will be protected and increased?
Last week, the Happily Ever After childcare service in Tuam, County Galway, informed parents that it will be forced to close its doors at the end of this month. The building does not meet fire safety requirements. The landlord has reneged on previous commitments to carry out the necessary works on the building to make it safe and has said these works would be too costly. This has left the operators, their 19 staff me…
Budget 2026 was an insult to people with disabilities. Cost-of-living measures have been pulled and a miserable €10 per week increase in the disability allowance payment was all the Minister could offer. The Disability Federation of Ireland estimates this amounts to a €1,400 drop in income for people with disabilities; a group who are already at increased risk of poverty. The federation's research shows that househol…
14. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the action he will take in relation profiteering in the international protection accommodation sector, including in the context of significant concerns raised in the Comptroller and Auditor General's annual report about the spending of public money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53889/25]
Will the Minister of State outline actions he is going to take in relation to profiteering in the international protection accommodation sector, especially in the aftermath of significant concerns raised in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report about the spending of public money?
This review is a damning indictment of the Government's failure to address profiteering and cost overruns within the IPAS system. The report outlines evidence of private operators overcharging for the provision of accommodation, including companies charging for beds that were not provided and charging VAT in circumstances where accommodation is exempt from VAT, signed contracts and proof of ownership going missing an…
The Minister of State has thrown around a lot of blame instead of accepting that he and his Department are responsible for this waste of taxpayers' money. Where is the oversight on the part of the Department? I fear the report has revealed only a fraction of what has been happening. The Minister of State needs to get to grips with the issue and put an end to the squandering of public money.
The Minister of State sta…
This is a budget that completely abandons workers and families to look after those at the top. This budget could have been an opportunity to stand squarely on the side of families and support them through the ongoing cost-of-living crisis but Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have decided to throw households under the bus and have not provided any cost-of-living package whatsoever. This can be seen clearly through the cost o…
I have raised with the Minister of State previously the need for a publicly owned swimming pool in Loughrea, County Galway. As he will be aware, this is something the community in Loughrea has been seeking for a very long time, more than 30 years at this stage. There is a new committee to work on this in place in Loughrea and I am pleased to be part of it. It is making great efforts to progress this. There is work on…
It is clear the cost of insurance is a rip-off. In advance of this motion, I spoke to my constituents. They have told me of the all too common story of insurance companies screwing them on premiums and renewals. To give an idea of this, one woman told me of how she faces an increase of over €600 between her car and home insurance renewals this year. She did not get a chance to speak to her insurance company before he…
96. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Transport to provide an update on the work his Department is undertaking following the review of the national development plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52148/25]
Could the Minister provide an update on the work his Department is undertaking following the review of the national development plan? Could he specifically outline how projects are being assessed at the moment by his Department for inclusion in the plan, the criteria he is using to assess projects and how they will be prioritised in terms of timelines for delivery?
Funding announcements are very welcome but, obviously, what will matter is the delivery of projects and it is clear there are serious deficits in our transport infrastructure across the State. We have yet to see the detail of the plan and what projects are going to be funded and delivered. As Deputy Daly pointed out, the only project specifically mentioned in the NDP was MetroLink. As I have mentioned to the Minister…
The question was how the Minister was going to ensure that is regionally balanced. In terms of regional balance, one issue I have repeatedly raised is overcrowding on rail services between Athenry and Galway. We have the passing loop coming at Oranmore, which is welcome, but it will be some time before that is delivered and ultimately, we need full double-tracking of that section between Athenry and Galway City. I ur…
I will say at the outset that it is a disgrace that the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is not here. The downgrading of maternity services at Portiuncula University Hospital is a huge issue that is causing enormous stress and worry for families in my constituency and beyond. She is accountable for this and should have the decency and courage to come in here tonight to take questions. It is deeply disrespectful to …
Everybody understands that safety is paramount here and that we need to ensure the well-being of mothers and children, but forcing women in high-risk pregnancies to travel long distances is not appropriate. In the Minister of State's view, is that safe? Why would women not be given the choice as to where they can access maternity care? This will place further pressure on other maternity services and it is a downgradi…
The school transport scheme is an annual crisis for families, students and bus drivers who are left in the dark at a time when they should be focused on the return to school. One case that really highlights the chaos of this scheme is that of a man living near Loughrea whose two children attend a school in Ballinasloe. They have been left without school transport since the school year started. They attend the school …
In recent weeks, I have attended a number of different community meetings in my constituency relating to proposed energy projects. These are causing a lot of concern and are very divisive. They are all being led by private investors. To give a few examples, in Athenry, Bord Gáis Energy is proposing to build the Cashla peaker plant 2.5 km from Athenry town. This is an open-cycle gas turbine plant with a capacity of mo…