I wish to share time with colleagues.
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 thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. Sinn Féin has a long-standing policy on choice and diversification within our education system. We reaffirmed that position in our 2024 general election manifesto and I do so again now. Children have a right to an education in a school that matches their and their family’s values.
Sinn Féin firmly believes in the provision of high-quality inclusive educa…
I wish to share time with colleagues.
I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. I advise visitors and people watching the debate that it is not usual for a Minister to come here and say she does not disagree with anything in the motion and then oppose it. What is the difference between the Government motion and the Labour Party motion, which is similar to the Sinn Féin motion that was tabled in recent weeks?
The first call on the Govern…
I welcome the establishment of a joint committee on artificial intelligence and wish the chair, Deputy Malcolm Byrne, well in his role. I am happy to be appointed to the committee by Deputy McDonald.
I am also my party's education and youth spokesperson and attended the teachers' conferences held by the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, ASTI, and the Teachers Union of Ireland, TUI, last week. I heard first-…
Last night in the Dáil, the Minister for Education doubled down on her intention to continue with the accelerated roll-out of senior cycle reform and a start date of September 2025. This is despite the significant concerns raised by school leaders across the State, including the tens of thousands of teachers who protested on this issue last November.
On the current trajectory, they say we are building advantage on a…
There are real concerns.
102. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education her views on the number of schools reporting funding crises, related to increased energy, insurance and other costs, and which have not been matched with increased central funding; if she is concerned with the number of schools referred to the financial services support unit, for example; how she intends to respond to this funding crisis; and if she will ma…
I wish to ask the Minister her views on the number of schools reporting funding crises related to increased energy, insurance and other costs and that have not been matched with increased central funding; if she is concerned with the number of schools referred to the financial services support unit, for example; how she intends to respond to this funding crisis; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
It is evident that the Minister is not doing enough and her plan is to continue to not do enough. In the past month, a cursory look at the Dáil Chamber showed that at least 15 TDs from every party raised funding concerns on behalf of dozens of local schools. In every case, it was about insufficient funding and money that was intended for programme A, whether that be educational disadvantage, summer works or hot schoo…
The people who deserve a huge amount of credit here, given the financial pressure they are under, are school principals, school leaders and school communities. In many of these cases they are keeping schools operational that, without their effort, would be under the water.
I recognise there have been increased levels of funding, but there has also been a far greater level of increase in demands, for example, insuran…
We cannot be running from one crisis to the next.
That is exactly what is happening. You are robbing Peter to pay Paul.
104. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education the measures she is taking to ensure children are protected and safe in the online world while at school; if she will acknowledge that €9 million phone pouches are an expensive distraction and that a more comprehensive response is required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16979/25]
What measures is the Minister taking to ensure children are protected and safe in the online world while at school, will she acknowledge that the €9 million phone pouches are an expensive distraction and that a more comprehensive response is required, and will she make a statement on the matter?
I thank the Minister. Children are being exposed to extreme violence, including sexual violence and pornography, and some social media platforms trade on hate and division. That has real implications where people are suggesting, and I do not disagree with them, that there is a very significant experiment with our children and policymakers are very often behind the curve. There is a challenge for all of us. I have qui…
We need specific timelines and measures because we can all agree in the round here, and I do not disagree with a word that the Minister has said, but what we need from the Government is action and implementation on this. For example, while this is not the Minister's responsibility, we have light-touch regulation and it needs to be improved, with age verification and recommender settings. Children, not much older than…
Some of that is already outdated.
I have a later question that should have been grouped with this question. Will the Minister address the issue of artificial intelligence as a concern among those in the education sector?
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important issue for discussion tonight and the Minister of State for being here. This is a familiar issue which is frustrating for residents and business owners in the area of Duleek, Donore and surrounding areas. The issue is creaking water infrastructure leading to water bursts all too frequently. They are unscheduled and in many cases are for many hours. It happened a…
The solution is the immediate prioritisation or fast-tracking of the Staleen water treatment plant to Windmill Hill reservoir project. I want to put a couple of points on the record. A public meeting is scheduled on this issue for tomorrow week, Thursday, at 8.30 p.m. in the Duleek-Bellewstown community centre. I would encourage representatives of Uisce Éireann and the Minister or Minister of State with responsibilit…
Anyone interested in the issue will have heard the Taoiseach's previous answer in regard to SOSAD Ireland, which the Minister of State handed to him, ten times over. That reply does not answer the question he was asked. I will ask it again. The question relates to interim funding to keep the doors open on these vital services between now and when SOSAD Ireland can continue to engage in the long-term, sustainable sect…
34. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on children and education and disability will meet next. [8320/25]
I raise the research published today or yesterday by the ESRI, which shows the crucial role of the school completion programme in supporting student attendance and engagement and highlights staffing and funding challenges. Among the major issues highlighted is the lack of referral pathways into therapies. Will that be looked at with a view to potentially delivering school-based therapies? Second, there is the issue o…
Can I call for a quorum? We do not have a quorum. We need five in the Chamber. Is that the case? I think it is. It is an important debate.