I welcome the opportunity to speak on these statements on migration and citizenship. Sinn Féin’s position is clear. We want a strong, fair and efficient migration system that supports the ambition and interests of the people of this State, while reflecting the inherent decency of the Irish people and upholding our obligations to those fleeing war and persecution. Managing migration requires concerted action and long-…
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
9. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [66797/26]
The Taoiseach has described the decision of the Parades Commission to permit an Orange Order parade along the Garvaghy Road as "incomprehensible and wrong", and he is right in that. For 28 years there has been no parade on that route and most right-thinking people anticipated that would remain the case. Peace must be protected. As co-guarantor, will the Taoiseach use the influence of this Government with the British …
22. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs will next meet. [66798/26]
Business as usual with Israel is long beyond tenable. Ireland now holds the EU Presidency at a time when the EU's continued trade relationship with Israel is under intense scrutiny. I ask the Taoiseach to outline to the House the concrete steps he taking, as Taoiseach and holder of the EU Presidency, to build the necessary support among member states to suspend the trade elements of the EU-Israel Association Agreemen…
Haveyouseenthe103.ie is a community website set up a few weeks ago to track the failings of the 103, 103X and 105X bus services from Ratoath and Ashbourne to Dublin. I have the report from the first few weeks and it paints a damning picture. This is not just about delays; it is about a system failing the people who depend on it. Now the Minister wants to hike up fares for the privilege of this frustration. From 2 to …
I wish to raise the school transport scheme. Thousands of children across the State have been left without places on school buses. Scores of children in my county of Meath, including at least 23 in north Meath who attend to O'Carolan College in Nobber, have been affected. The Government conducted a review of the scheme. It emerged that what locks many people out are the eligibility criteria. People who qualify for co…
Before we go to the Minister of State, I want to welcome to the Public Gallery a delegation from the European Committee of the Regions. Tá fáilte mhór romhaibh. I hope your visit is an interesting and a fruitful one.
We are now many months into this crisis and Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents have still not removed a single cent of excise or carbon tax from home heating oil. That is the reality facing workers, families and pensioners right across this State. The facts speak for themselves. The cost of home heating oil has soared by as much as 75% in the past year. A household ordering a 1,000 litre fill today is paying…
I thank the senior Minister for being here at this hour to take this. This issue is both topical and important. The school meals programme is one of the most important investments the State makes in children. At €300 million per year, it touches nearly every primary school in the State. Given that the Government's own review revealed that it is falling short, we cannot simply tinker around the edges. The research pub…
I appreciate the Minister's comments on his own preference for multiple providers. It is important to expand upon that. I referenced Duhallow. The Minister is aware the education committee has spent a lot of time on this. We have previously discussed this ourselves during Oral Questions. I have talked about Duhallow and St. John's and St. Paul's in Drogheda. This is not a niche experiment. It is a proven, viable, rep…
71. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the measures she is taking to increase residential places for adults with intellectual disabilities in County Meath; and the number of new residential places planned for 2026 and 2027. [64790/26]
I will put the question and raise an issue with the Minister. I wanted to ask her about the measures she is taking to increase residential places for adults with intellectual disabilities in County Meath and the number of new residential places planned for 2026 and 2027. Along with a number of colleagues, including Deputy Guirke, I met a number of residential providers, including Clann Mór in Navan, County Meath. It …
The fifth-class-----
Roche, not O'Rourke.
The Minister is familiar with this issue, and I call on her to intervene personally and urgently. The fifth-class students in Gaelscoil na Ríthe in Dunshaughlin are currently being accommodated in a small library room in an old prefab. Support hours are being provided in the staff room. This is because a promised prefab that should be in place is not in place and they are being told that it will be the end of quarter…
I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. Road safety is incredibly important and too many of the important indicators are going in the wrong direction. In Meath, for example, people are telling me the same thing again and again, and I know it myself: you never see a roads policing unit. Motorists can go for months or more likely years without encountering a Garda checkpoint or traffic control. That absence ha…
11. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on justice, migration and social affairs will next meet. [64814/26]
1. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children with additional needs who require but have yet to receive an offer of an appropriate school place for September 2026, based on her most recent meeting with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE; the date of same; the measures she is taking to ensure that every child with additional needs has an appropriate school pl…
I wish the staff and the Minister all the best for the summer. I know it will be a busy summer but I hope that everyone gets a break. I ask the Minister to state the number of children with additional needs who require but have yet to receive an offer of an appropriate school place for September 2026, based on her most recent meeting with the NCSE; the date of that meeting; and the measures she has taken to ensure th…
The Minister finished on the bit I am interested in and that I specifically asked about,. What was the latest weekly update? The information the Minister has just given me was previously provided to the House on 23 April. It is now 16 July. Does the Minister have any additional information to provide to the House as of this week?
Again, we have those figures from a briefing we had with the Department as recently as yesterday. It is all welcome progress but the question I am asking today is what is the unmet need as things stand? How many children do not have an offer of a school place? How many children have an offer of a school place but it will not be ready for September, in terms of advancing of works? It has been reported in the media thi…
3. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the fact that Ireland has the largest primary school class sizes in the EU; the measures she is taking to address the recruitment and retention crisis in primary school teaching; if she will provide for 1,000 more primary teachers in budget 2027 to allow more individual attention, more effective teaching, and stron…
I thank the Minister. She said from November that 97% of posts were filled. In real terms at the same time, 996 teaching posts were unfilled, which is almost 1,000. Figures as recent as last week tell us that over 39,000 primary school students were in classes of 30 pupils or more in the past school year. A figure of 36,805 were in classes of 30 to 34 pupils and 2,237 were in classes of between 35 and 39 pupils. That…
It is a statement of fact that in recent years we have seen a reduced number of classroom teachers. Budget 2026 led to the removal of 498 classroom teachers, a net reduction of 381 when one looks at the gains. The year 2025-26 saw a reduction of 290 and 2024-25 a reduction of 237. That has a real impact.
I can give the example of Lismullen National School. I hope to correspond with the Minister directly in relation …