I thank the Minister of State. As the fifth Topical Issue will not be taken because Deputy Charles Ward is not in attendance, the Dáil stands adjourned until 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.
TDs / John Paul O'Shea
John Paul O'Shea
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1,111
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
16,549
words spoken in the chamber
Across 90 contributions. Plus 101 contributions from the chair, not counted
437
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
234
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 1,111 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 90 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 31 | 0 |
| March 2025 | 29 | 6 |
| April 2025 | 61 | 1 |
| May 2025 | 48 | 4 |
| June 2025 | 47 | 1 |
| July 2025 | 63 | 5 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 50 | 5 |
| October 2025 | 56 | 1 |
| November 2025 | 84 | 7 |
| December 2025 | 83 | 5 |
| January 2026 | 48 | 8 |
| February 2026 | 113 | 17 |
| March 2026 | 52 | 11 |
| April 2026 | 81 | 3 |
| May 2026 | 87 | 4 |
| June 2026 | 63 | 2 |
| July 2026 | 20 | 0 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 53 | 7 |
| October 2026 | 42 | 3 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 87 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 Cork North-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
8. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of individuals currently in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and jobseeker's benefit in Cork and Limerick, with particular focus on Intreo areas such as Mallow, Newmarket, Macroom and Kilmallock; the most recent trends in these figures over the past 12 months; the supports and activation measures in place locally, such as training, employm…
I ask the Minister about the number of individuals currently receiving jobseeker's allowance and jobseeker's benefit in Cork and Limerick, with a particular focus on my area of Cork North-West, in Mallow, Macroom, Newmarket and Kilmallock, and, most importantly, the recent trends of these figures over the last 12 months. What are the supports and activation measures in place locally such as training, employment servi…
I thank the Minister for those figures. They are partly along the lines that I thought there were, consistently around the 2,700 mark between all the areas. The challenge for us as a Government is to try to get those people back into the workforce and working with the activation officers. It will be important to see if we can work on those. The challenge that I see and the trend is that many young people end up in un…
I thank the Minister for his continued engagement on this matter. We all need to tackle youth unemployment quickly. It is good to see that, after four months of being on jobseeker's payments, there are significant activation measures from Intreo offices to assist those young people to try to get back to work. I am sure all the Deputies in the House are contacted through their offices or social media about advertising…
I am talking this question on behalf on Deputy McCarthy. I remind the Minister that Deputy McGrath was always first in in the budget process in Cork County Council when he sat on it with me over the past number of years. It is good to see things have not changed since then. I want to ask the Minister, and it is a very timely question on behalf of Deputy McCarthy, about his plans to introduce a cost-of-disability paym…
It is great that, as of today, more than 80 submissions have already been made. I join the Minister in encouraging people with disabilities, their families, carers, representative organisations and all interested stakeholders to take part in the newly launched public consultation process relating to the cost of disability.
The programme for Government includes a commitment to introduce a permanent-cost-of-disability…
I very much welcome that this consultation will inform the agenda of the strategic focus network summit on the cost of disability, which will take place in May and which the Minister will chair. I look forward to attending as Chair of the joint committee on social protection.
The Minister said that every support will be given in the interim to people with disabilities in terms of any immediate payments that are requ…
I am taking this parliamentary question on behalf of Deputy Noel McCarthy.
I thank the Minister of State. The current stretch of the N25 national route between Carrigtwohill and Midleton remains a safety issue. The configuration of the road is dangerous. There are frequent accidents, some of which have been fatal. TII's collision analysis has confirmed the collision rate for the route is above average. Low standard junctions, medium crossings and direct access points to the road for propert…
I note that the N25 Carrigtohill to Midleton project was included in the latest national development plan review, which was published in November, as one of the roads projects to be advanced for future construction. It is, however, currently lagging behind the proposed upgrade to the Midleton to Youghal section of the N25 as no tendering or construction date has commenced or is yet outlined for the Carrigtohill to Mi…
I want to raise with the Tánaiste today the lack of wastewater treatment capacity in the town of Kanturk in north Cork. We are very lucky to have five or six sites in development at the moment, with a number of houses being developed right across the town. We have a number of other applications for planning permission which do not have a wastewater connection at the moment. I believe there is a plan to install a modu…
I thank the Deputy.
I am here tonight to highlight an issue that is causing real pain, distress and uncertainty for families right across Cork city and county. I refer to the unacceptably long waiting times for patients seeking to be seen as outpatients by a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, SIVUH, in Cork. The SIVUH plays a vital role in delivering specialist orthopaedic care to people …
I thank the Minister of State for her encouragement and engagement in the response. There is a glimmer of hope for orthopaedic patients in Cork. I know we had the fantastic publication of the service plan this week, where the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, announced €34 million for the surgical hub, which will allow capacity for up to 18,500 outpatient appointments. I hope that will reduce some of the orthopaedic…
I want to ask the Tánaiste about the communication this week from Tailte Éireann on early years service providers and childminders receiving bills for commercial rates. As he knows, they quietly provide a very important public service through the early childhood care and education scheme and other childminding services right across the country. To date, they have not been liable for commercial rates. It is big change…
I thank the Minister.
I thank the Deputy and call on the Minister to respond.
Deputy Cummins has a supplementary question, as does Deputy Gould.
The Minister to respond. Can the Deputy sit down, please?
I welcome the opportunity to speak this evening on the importance of the N20-M20 motorway project for the Munster region and the urgent need to accelerate progress on its business case, the final design and planning during 2026. For far too long, the N20 corridor between Cork and Limerick has been recognised as one of the most congested, dangerous and inadequate national routes in the country. It is a road that no lo…
I thank the Minister of State for his kind words relating to this project. It is a very detailed project and there is a lot of money involved, but I welcome the fact that in his response, he said the scheme preliminary business case is expected to be submitted to the Department of Transport in the second half of this year. This is very welcome news. We need to keep this momentum going, and subject to Government appro…
I want to raise the importance of proceeding with the N/M20 Cork to Limerick motorway project. It is not just a road project; it is a vital piece of national infrastructure that will shape the economic and social future of our region for generations to come. For far too long, communities and landowners along this corridor have endured congestion, delays and safety concerns. Families, commuters, businesses and emergen…
The Minister of State, without interruption.
The Minister of State, without interruption.