Sinn Féin and I strongly support the hot school meals programme. Anyone who has any doubts about it should speak to the principals of DEIS or DEIS plus schools. Incredibly compelling evidence was presented at a recent meeting of the education committee. The scheme is not perfect. One of the areas in respect of which there are concerns is food quality. What is the Minister doing to analyse and improve that?
TDs / Darren O'Rourke
Darren O'Rourke
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,809
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
93,019
words spoken in the chamber
Across 530 contributions. Plus 27 contributions from the chair, not counted
435
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
270
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 1,809 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 530 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 25 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 112 | 30 |
| March 2025 | 96 | 8 |
| April 2025 | 54 | 17 |
| May 2025 | 91 | 38 |
| June 2025 | 121 | 28 |
| July 2025 | 198 | 41 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 76 | 13 |
| October 2025 | 97 | 21 |
| November 2025 | 109 | 24 |
| December 2025 | 71 | 29 |
| January 2026 | 77 | 32 |
| February 2026 | 181 | 52 |
| March 2026 | 100 | 22 |
| April 2026 | 90 | 45 |
| May 2026 | 60 | 31 |
| June 2026 | 129 | 39 |
| July 2026 | 42 | 22 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 27 | 16 |
| October 2026 | 53 | 22 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 407 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 Meath East 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
I agree 100% with the Minister's final point. I want to focus specifically on the issue of quality. The Minister stated that on the basis of the initial desktop analysis, 66% of meals met 60% of the standard. That is not good by any measure. If you were to give it a grade that is probably a C or below. It is of concern because there is a huge public spend on this. I have heard how the Minister will analyse this. How …
I appreciate all of that complexity. We heard at the Oireachtas committee that it is sometimes at the request of parents or the children, in that the food is of a different standard or there is a lack of variety.
Two other important points were raised with us at the education committee which are relevant to the Minister. He mentioned one of those earlier, which is in the area of school holidays. Specifically, a poin…
98. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport the date on which the public consultation on the route options and emerging preferred route for the Navan rail project will take place; if he will provide an update on the project development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14756/26]
On what date will the public consultation take place on the route options and emerging preferred route for the Navan rail project? A commitment was given at the end of last year that it would happen early in 2026.
I make no apology for being obsessed with this project. It is just such a potential game changer for the county on so many different levels. It is hugely important socially, culturally, economically and environmentally. It would be transformative and I welcome the fact it is now back on the agenda and back in the plans and there are euro beside it. I am concerned there will be slippage at every juncture, and there ha…
We can control what we can control in relation to this and we will be persistent in pursuing it and making sure, as best we can from the Opposition benches, we hit those deadlines. The big question then is around taking it beyond planning and to construction. Will the Minister outline how the Navan rail project best positions itself as a priority project in the midst of a range of other funding demands on the Departm…
I am pleased to be here today to respond to the First Interim Report of the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence. I thank the Minister of State for being here. I thank the Cathaoirleach, Deputy Malcolm Byrne, and all the members of the committee and the secretariat and the witnesses who helped to shape and inform and prepare the report.
It is a significant milestone. It represents a cross-party collaborative e…
I welcome the opportunity to contribute to these statements. I want to correct the record of the Dáil. The Minister said that, by comparison, Sinn Féin's general election manifesto committed to providing an average of 1,000 SNAs per year. I think she was talking about special education teachers, not SNAs. When it comes to SNAs, the Minister has not provided 1,000 special education teachers-----
Sinn Féin is setting the yardstick in relation to that. When it comes to special needs assistants, there were 1,700 last year. Sinn Féin provided for 1,900. How many were there this year? There were 1,700 again this year. Sinn Féin provided for 1,850. Over the last couple of years, had Sinn Féin been in Government, we would have had hundreds more special needs assistants. I would like to correct the record of the Dái…
Today's apology is historic, important and welcome. I acknowledge the survivors who have endured decades of harm, neglect and State failure. We are not dealing with an historic issue. It is very much live and present. It is the ongoing failure of the State to meet the basic needs of survivors of institutional abuse. I welcome the apology and the commitment in terms of supports. I encourage their being in place as qui…
4. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [11844/26]
A number of survivors of industrial and reformatory schools were on hunger strike last year. There were commitments on behalf of Government to provide health supports. Could the Taoiseach say when those health supports will be in place? Related to that, on the Dáil schedule tomorrow there is, "Apology related to childhood abuse (hunger strikers) (working title): Statements". Is that apology going to be for all surviv…
21. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach to report on his attendance at a meeting of the British-Irish Council. [11845/26]
I move:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes that:
— the invaluable work of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs), who provide essential care and support enabling students with additional needs to access education, is under unprecedented threat;
— the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), acting under the restrictive and outdated "care model" criteria of Circular 0030/2014, has conducted reviews under Circular 0032/2025 t…
The Minister can hear the response to that from the people in the Gallery.
The Minister should tell the Taoiseach that.
The Minister is in denial.
I thank everyone who contributed to the debate. I want to pick up on a number of comments from the Minister in my closing remarks. I am deeply disappointed with both contributions. The senior Minister who has responsibility said in her comments that, "At the forefront of our deliberations was ensuring that the child-centred approach to the provision of special education is retained and enhanced in these policy develo…
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this topic for debate and the Minister of State for being here. There should be no need to bring this issue, which is the annual crisis of school place shortages in Dunshaughlin, County Meath, before this House. I thank the parents who contacted me and my colleague Councillor Fionnan Blake. I also thank Councillor Blake for his hard work on this issue. The parents' stories ar…
The Minister of State has spoken for over four minutes and not a single word is of any benefit to community in Dunshaughlin and parents who are without school places for this September. He talked about future plans and investment. What solution is going to be put in place for these students? There could be in the region of 80 or more, hopefully slightly fewer, who do not have school places for this September. I am se…
This is an eminently sensible amendment and I hope the Minister would take it on board. Since the Minister has come into office and discussed these matters, the provision of IPAS accommodation and the system he inherited, he has pointed to a set of circumstances that previous Ministers had to live with. They experienced a very significant increase in demand for IPAS accommodation and temporary protection accommodatio…
11. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach for an update on the first progress report of the climate action plan. [9965/26]
35. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach his assessment and response to the NESC report, Connecting People to the Energy Transition. [9966/26]
147. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Defence if she will commit to a public plebiscite on the question of the removal of the triple lock; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11687/26]