If they made no difference, why did the Government introduce them?
TDs / Louise O'Reilly
Louise O'Reilly
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
769
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
109,508
words spoken in the chamber
Across 611 contributions. Plus 82 contributions from the chair, not counted
400
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
161
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 769 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 611 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 4 | 18 |
| February 2025 | 31 | 58 |
| March 2025 | 36 | 41 |
| April 2025 | 39 | 15 |
| May 2025 | 96 | 43 |
| June 2025 | 40 | 34 |
| July 2025 | 34 | 52 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 23 | 45 |
| October 2025 | 24 | 52 |
| November 2025 | 62 | 20 |
| December 2025 | 19 | 21 |
| January 2026 | 52 | 34 |
| February 2026 | 28 | 34 |
| March 2026 | 39 | 13 |
| April 2026 | 34 | 36 |
| May 2026 | 20 | 22 |
| June 2026 | 133 | 23 |
| July 2026 | 16 | 19 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 29 | 19 |
| October 2026 | 10 | 12 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 370 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 Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
I could not agree more with an Teachta Quinlivan. Families are sick of waiting, and they have waited long enough.
I will say to the Minister what I always say when we have a debate like this, that being, persons with disabilities are not disabled or restricted by their own bodies or intellectual capacity. Rather, they are disabled, or restricted, if you will, by an ableist world full of hostile architecture. They ar…
The Minister will know my views on this because we have had a discussion about it. For the purpose of putting them on the record, however, I cannot emphasise how foolish I believe it will be to allow this Bill to pass in its current form, owing to the provisions specifically in section 8, which seek to expand further the functions of the public services card, PSC. This is being done at a time when that very card and …
This Topical Issue is about the fare hikes - or the unfair hikes, as we might call them. The people who live in my constituency already had their fares jacked up. Those who get the train from Balbriggan or Skerries were taken out of the Dublin commuter zone and had their fares increased by almost €100. That was only last year. We now have a situation whereby they will be asked to pay more. They are not getting any ex…
It is very brave of the Minister of State to compare us to Europe. If he wants to go down that road, it will be a shame on him and his Government - let us be honest. He said he is maintaining affordable fares. Of course he is not; he is increasing the fares. He also tells us there will be significant expansion and enhancement of services but it has been confirmed that these unfair fare hikes will just tread water. It…
I gave a commitment to my constituents that I would raise this issue at the first opportunity I got when the Dáil resumed, and that is today. Last year, constituents of mine who live in Skerries and get the train from Skerries and Balbriggan were taken out of the Dublin commuter zone. That added hundreds of euro to the average daily commute. Now, we learn that the Government is proposing to hike the fares even furthe…
No, prices went up. That is not true.
I thank my party colleague Deputy Ó Laoghaire for bringing forward this important motion this evening. Let us be honest about what the Minister is trying to do and wants to do on what some might call the down low and in secrecy when people are not looking, but we will always shine a light on her actions. We in Sinn Féin will oppose any attempts to undermine our neutrality. The Minister underestimates the support for …
The outpouring of support for these artists right across the world tells us that we want to be on the right side of history. We want a government that values that peace. Our neutrality is important. We will stand up for it at every single turn. If the Minister is so convinced of her position, put it to the people and let us have our say.
I welcome this debate this afternoon and am happy to be able to make a small contribution to it. I grew up in a Border town. I ended up in that town because my father was a trade union organiser who represented workers on both sides of the Border for a long number of years and, in fact, went on to be based in the North for a long time. At that time, we knew, and it is very apparent now, that the Border was a barrier …
I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this motion.
I was chatting to my dad as I was coming in and told him I would be debating this motion in relation to supports for parents this morning. He reminded me, of course, that it was the Labour Party in government that cut those very supports. Then again, those in that party do have all their best ideas in opposition, as we both remarked, and not for the first time I…
I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for tabling this motion and for all of the work he does in this area with respect to the arts and artists.
Right now, we are justifiably and rightly proud of our Irish artists. We have a flourishing creative scene despite all of the barriers - class barriers, the rising cost of living, and dwindling and ever-more scarce support. It is now all the more important that we protect artists and t…
That will be the end of the applause, a Cheann Comhairle.
4. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht his plans to scale up the delivery of essential services through social enterprises; if he plans to invest in not-for-profit delivery of essential services through the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, particularly for the delivery of community childcare; and if he will make a statement on the …
As is always the case with my questions, this question is very straightforward. I ask the Minister of State to concentrate his remarks on the delivery of community childcare. I am interested in knowing what plans there are to scale up the delivery of essential services through the use of social enterprises.
Well, just design a programme that will do that because there is a really serious and pressing need for it. I will give the Minister of State an example. In the area known as Fingal, where my constituency is located, there are 63,000 children. Of those, 15,000 are living in poverty or are at risk of it. There are 800 community childcare places. I know from talking to the people on the community childcare committees t…
The Minister of State asked me what the community childcare committee in Fingal is doing. I will tell him that it is battling against the privatisation of childcare day in, day out. In our community centres, the vast majority - over 70% - are occupied by for-profit childcare providers. It is an area in which SERI has done fantastic work and has a lot to offer in this space. Unfortunately, when Mr. John Logue reached …
I welcome all those people in the Public Gallery watching this debate, particularly Cian and Jordan. I echo what has been said. Their mam would be incredibly proud because they have raised awareness and sparked that conversation. It is so important. The Minister of State alluded to this himself. Awareness is extremely important. To be fair, however, this is a part of a much bigger jigsaw because awareness does not br…
My Topical Issue relates to the tenant in situ scheme and the resulting impact on homelessness in Dublin Fingal West. I submitted this Topical Issue because I gave a commitment to two families in my constituency that if the opportunity presented itself, I would advise somebody in the Government of it. As I said to them, I could not guarantee who it would be given the nature of Topical Issue debates but I would advise…
I sometimes wonder if the Minister of State must be embarrassed reading such a script. He said that tenant in situ will never be the sole or even the primary option. I have outlined to him how it was not. When this family got their notice to quit, they sent out hundreds of emails. They replied to hundreds. They registered with estate agents. They tramped the roads. They did everything they possibly could. Their very …
I am sure the Minister of State is aware but we are really only having this debate because of the housing crisis being created by his Government and its policies. Notwithstanding that, there are many consequences of its housing crisis and this is one. It does not affect an awful lot of people but for those it does, the impact on them is absolutely huge.
The Minister of State cited all the difficulties, including the…
I join my colleague in thanking the Deputies for bringing forward this motion. I also commend the work of the Before We Die campaign. I had the honour of chairing the petitions committee when its members presented to us a couple of weeks ago. It was a very powerful meeting. I also pay tribute to Nora Roban and the Remember Us group in Balbriggan. Whether the Government works with them or against them, they are going …
Hear, hear.
In the Taoiseach's script, he tells us that he is worried that this legislation would district from the urgent work being done. I put it to him that this legislation is the urgent work. This is the work that we should be about in this Chamber, representing the views of the majority of people on this island.
I grew up in a Border town. I spent from the age of five to the age of 16 living along the Border. I know what…
Ireland's largest summer festival will take place this weekend at Newbridge House and Farm in Donabate. The Flavours of Fingal is in its 14th year. It has been a hugely successful festival. It is one that I really enjoy going to every year. Many of my neighbours and people from my community also really look forward to it. It is a fantastic opportunity for local vendors such as cheese makers and craftspeople to showca…