I want to return to the issue of Garda numbers, as I often do, in regard to County Meath. County Meath is the county with the lowest number of gardaí per head of population, something which has been the case for a long time. By way of comparison, in 2009 there were 315 gardaí in County Meath, with a population at that time of 172,000 people. At the end of 2024, there were 316 gardaí, one more garda for a population o…
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
Mo bhuíochas leis an Teachta Ó Snodaigh as an rún seo a chur faoi bhráid na Dála. Tá mé ag labhairt mar urlabhraí oideachais mo pháirtí, ach níos tábhachtaí arís, tá mé ag labhairt mar thuismitheoir páistí ar mhaith liom go mbeadh oideachas trí mheán na Gaeilge acu. Teastaíonn an deis sin uaim do mo phaistí féin ach freisin do gach páiste.
I nDomhnach Seachnaill, áit a bhfuil cónaí orainn, tá an deis sin againn le N…
1. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education if she is aware of the concerns raised by school leaders in relation to the accelerated roll-out of senior cycle reform; if she accepts that the accelerated timeline does not allow enough time for essential preparations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8924/25]
As this is the first ministerial questions session, I wish the Minister and Minister of State the best of luck in their roles. This is a very important time and I hope we can make progress.
Is the Minister aware of the concerns raised by school leaders with regard to the accelerated roll-out of senior cycle reform, if she accepts that the accelerated timeline does not allow enough time for essential preparations and…
I welcome the fact that the Minister has met stakeholders. It is important that she meets all of the stakeholders in the sector at the earliest opportunity. If she has met them, she must surely have heard their concerns. I have not heard that reflected in her response thus far but they will have detailed them to her. They relate to a range of areas, principally capacity and preparedness, whether in terms of the devel…
We have spent more time identifying those issues than on spelling out exactly what the timeline will be between now and September for teachers, in the main, and, related to that, for school communities, parents and, most important, students embarking on this new programme from September, if that is the timeline. That detail has to be spelled out to school communities and school leaders at the earliest possible opport…
3. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education what additional demand for special class and special school places for September 2025 is now anticipated at primary and secondary school level; what measures she is taking to ensure the necessary school buildings, staff and resources are in place to meet that demand; if emergency measures are expected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8925/25]
I ask the Minister about school places in south County Meath. We will need additional places in Dunshaughlin for this September. What additional demand for special class and special school places for September 2025 is now anticipated at primary and secondary school level? What measures is the Minister taking to ensure the necessary school buildings, staff and resources are in place to meet that demand, if emergency m…
That is the point, and I have not heard from the Minister of State that they will be. The question was about what additional demand for special class and special school places for September 2025 is now anticipated on the back of that new process. The Minister of State did not answer that question. In fact, he spelled out what we knew already, which is what the Department is planning. How does what the Department is p…
There is a protest at the Department of Education scheduled for tomorrow. It is a 24-hour sleep-out by parents who are demanding appropriate places for their children. They should not have to do that. It is disgraceful and shameful that they have to. I send them solidarity and tell them that I will certainly do everything I can to keep this on the agenda and to push for an appropriate place for every child. That incl…
5. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education to outline her assessment of the teacher recruitment and retention emergency at primary and secondary school level; the measures she intends to address it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8926/25]
Will the Minister outline her assessment of the teacher recruitment and retention emergency at primary and secondary levels and the measures she intends to take to address it?
Will the Minister give us a timeline for those proposals and outline the nature of them? I appreciate that some may require funding. The picture is one of a crisis and emergency. At primary level, there has a shortage of more than 2,500 teachers for the 2024-25 academic year. There are many unfilled posts, and a large number of schools have had to use unqualified staff to cover absences.
At secondary level, it was r…
The recognition of experience abroad is important. I encourage the Minister to engage with her colleague the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Browne, on the housing crisis, which is a major issue for teachers and a major driver when it comes to people leaving the country and not taking up teaching here.
In responding to the situation relating to recruitment, we must continue to increase th…
7. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education the current number of full-time equivalent educational welfare officer positions across Ireland, by county, in tabular form; the number of these positions currently vacant; the timeline for filling these vacancies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8491/25]
What is the current number of full-time equivalent educational welfare officer positions across Ireland, by county? How many of these are currently vacant? What is the timeline for filling the vacancies? Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?
I thank the Minister. She mentioned the rate of chronic absence from schools has more than doubled after Covid. More than a quarter of primary schoolchildren and more than a fifth of secondary school students missed at least a month of school days during the 2022–23 school year. As the Minister said, the figure is even higher in disadvantaged areas, with 42% of children attending DEIS primary schools having missed 20…
I thank the Minister. I believe she will be providing me with the figures. I realise providing figures in tabular form does not always work well when taking oral questions.
I am also hearing from school leaders that there has been a shift in protocol in terms of the expectations and demands of schools before Tusla educational welfare officers are engaged. From some of my engagement with school leaders, I have learne…
8. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education how she intends to deliver on the programme for Government commitment to expand opportunities for students to attend Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí; if it is her commitment, as it was her predecessor’s, to “work towards doubling the number of young people currently in Irish-medium schools” (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. …
How does the Minister intend to deliver on the programme for Government commitment to expand opportunities for students to attend Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí? Is it her commitment, as it was her predecessor's, to work towards increasing the number of young people currently in Irish-medium schools, as was committed to in the previous programme for Government but is not committed to in the current programme? Will …
What is needed is action. I appreciate the action plan and the survey have roles in that regard. I emphasised in my question a number of pieces that were included in the previous programme for Government but are not included in the current one, including increasing the emphasis on spoken Irish in the classroom, working towards the doubling of the number of young people currently in Irish-medium schools, providing a c…
I thank the Minister. It is all about action on this issue. In the area the Minister and I represent, there is appetite for this. In south Meath are Gaelscoil na Rithe, Gaelscoil Thulach na nÓg, Gaelscoil na Mí and Gaelscoil na Cille. There is a thriving Irish-language community at primary level and yet while we repeatedly built secondary schools in that area, none of them have been Gaelcholáistí. There is a real job…
The failures in disability services in providing supports and services and dignity for people with disabilities is Ireland's great shame. It is a shameful disgrace, and it is a disgrace that lies on the shoulders of successive Governments. I listened to a very powerful testimony from a couple from Dublin on the "Oliver Callan" show on Friday. They talked about how they were advised to get out of Ireland. I have perso…
82. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications for an update on the national hydrogen strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6406/25]
I ask the Minister for an update on the national hydrogen strategy and if he will make a statement on the matter.