I appreciate time being allocated to statements on National Biodiversity Week. I sincerely thank its organisers, the Irish Environmental Network, for putting on so many incredible events the length and breadth of the country. It really puts biodiversity at the forefront and gives it a platform, which is something we do not do often enough. Considering the crisis we are in, we need to do more of it. I commend the Iris…
TDs / Christopher O'Sullivan
Christopher O'Sullivan
Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
40
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
101,536
words spoken in the chamber
99,157 as a minister, 2,379 as a TD
406
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
35
topics asked about
Across 12 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 40 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 222 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 4 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 1 | 13 |
| March 2025 | 3 | 28 |
| April 2025 | 0 | 16 |
| May 2025 | 2 | 11 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 12 |
| July 2025 | 3 | 24 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 | 3 |
| October 2025 | 2 | 16 |
| November 2025 | 6 | 15 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 17 |
| January 2026 | 4 | 1 |
| February 2026 | 2 | 14 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 7 |
| April 2026 | 3 | 3 |
| May 2026 | 2 | 17 |
| June 2026 | 2 | 7 |
| July 2026 | 3 | 8 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 3 | 5 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 5 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 110 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Not enough questions on record to compare.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Cork South-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage 29 January 2025 to now
The Deputy is comparing today to the Famine.
Unbelievable.
Mass starvation is being pioneered by who?. What is the Deputy saying?
I thank Deputy O'Hara and am aware of the representations that have been made by him and other Oireachtas Members from that area about these three particular bogs. The EU directive on the conservation of habitats, flora and fauna, commonly known as the habitats directive, requires all member states to select sites for the protection of habitats and species considered threatened in EU territory. Annex I of the habitat…
I reiterate that, as Minister of State, I am legally prohibited from granting consent for these activities for the reasons I outlined. These are special areas of conservation. They were designated so for a reason. Any cutting and removal of turf or any drainage or removal of top soil from this site would completely compromise its integrity and affect the species there and the habitat. I cannot comment on any court in…
By law, I am not permitted to allow cutting on the bog in question. It has been designated. A process was undergone. The Deputy can question how that process was conducted, but this is now a designated SAC, By law, I have to make sure that the integrity of the site and the habitat remains intact. As a result, I am not allowed to permit cutting there. A total of €8.9 million was paid out in respect of the three bogs r…
I am taking all four.
I thank the Deputy. The letter from the constituent clearly describes a man who is absolutely dedicated to his profession, well respected in his community and has for decades provided healthcare for the people of that community. The Deputy has explained well how restrictions, especially in terms of indemnity being provided from private insurers but also the HSE policy he referenced, can impact his wanting to provide …
I picked out the same sentence the Deputy highlighted there, that the HSE can grant an extension on a case-by-case basis where considered necessary and appropriate. I guess the first part is where it is considered necessary. Does that come back to demand and vacancy in an area or lack of or challenges with GP cover? Certainly if it comes down to cognitive ability, of course surely that can be done on a case-by-case b…
I thank Deputy Murphy from the bottom of my heart for raising this issue. It is such an important one to raise in Dáil Éireann. The behaviour and the actions of some of the people driving these sulkies is deplorable. It is disgusting. We have all seen the videos. We have seen the sad footage of horses losing their lives in the cruellest of ways. We can imagine the pain those animals go through. That is the worst we h…
Deputy Murphy has highlighted some very important aspects of this. The law is old and it probably has not been reviewed in a while. The legislative programme is jam packed and very busy but his suggestion of an interdepartmental group, certainly with the Departments of agriculture, Transport and justice in particular, to review the legislation would be very important. Clearly, and I can say this not being in any of t…
I thank both Deputies for raising this issue, and I share their concerns with regards to antimicrobial medicinal products being used and the impact that would have. Deputy Newsome Drennan highlighted well the potential health impacts in that regard. As Minister of State with responsibility for nature, I know the level of deforestation in Brazil. The production of beef is the biggest cause of deforestation in Brazil. …
I come from a farming background and I know all about it. The Deputies mentioned the paperwork, the bureaucracy and the headaches those give. Farmers just want to farm. They want to get on with doing what they are good at instead of filling out forms, but it means they reach incredibly high standards and that is why our produce is famous worldwide. I commend the investigative work of the IFA and the Irish Farmers Jou…
I do not expect that will happen. That is just my own feeling on it. I agree with the Deputies we need to keep our standards high. If there is any hint of a possibility that people's health will be impacted, as outlined by Deputy Newsome Drennan, then that is something we cannot stand for. Getting back to my original point about the deforestation rates, it just does not sit well with me and that is something I am pro…
I thank Deputy Ward for raising this. I will try to answer to best of my ability on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley. It was a pre-election commitment by both our parties but massive inroads have been made into reducing the cost of childcare. I remember hearing debates in here where it was frequently described as a second mortgage. We have significantly reduced the cost of childcare in most instances. Clearly the…
I was going to repeat the point about engagement with the city and county childcare committees to show facilities the merits of being in the scheme, but obviously the people the Deputy is talking about are, first of all, educators. This is 100% why they are in this area. They have a passion for it and they want to educate young kids. Second, they are also businesspeople. Obviously, they have gone through this, have g…
I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
"affirms that, the Government:
— is fully committed to delivering on Ireland's climate ambition across all sectors, and to progress climate action in a planned and coherent way in pursuit of the National Climate Objective of a climate neutral economy by 2050, in a way that ensures that sustainability, affordability, comp…
I thank Deputy Gallagher for raising this issue in the House. He represents a constituency and county that was very badly impacted by defective blocks. He has championed and represented the people in his constituency for many years, fought for the remediation scheme and continuously fought for the side-by-side construction amendment.
The good news is that the regulations on side-by-side construction are in the final…
I thank Deputy Gallagher again. I absolutely take his point and I appreciate the urgency of this. The families and constituents the Deputy represents right across the board have been severely impacted by defective blocks. They have had their lives turned upside down and have experienced significant upheaval.
Regarding the amendment we are talking about and the regulations we are introducing on side-by-side construct…
I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of endometriosis. It is something that for too long we have not spoken about. There still is not enough awareness of what it is and the challenges and difficulties that women across Ireland face when they have this condition. There are women across Ireland living in severe pain because of endometriosis. There are woman across Ireland who experience heavy bleeding. Th…
As I said, the HSE cannot comment on the outcome of this application. That is fair enough. There is a process to go through. I can probably comment more freely. I agree with Deputy Burke. There are obviously different levels of endometriosis but the surgery is costly and painful and there is a long recovery time. I am not a doctor, but the surgery does greatly increase the success rate for reproduction. Nevertheless,…
I thank Deputy Cooney for representing the people of his constituency in Clare who have been affected by this issue. I appreciate the issue of defective concrete blocks is particularly emotive for households and sympathise with all who are caught up in this distressing situation.
The establishment of the appeals board was an important step in offering those affected by decisions made by the Housing Agency and local …
It is my understanding that the appeals panel is aware of the understandable desire of applicants to have their cases dealt with in as expeditious a manner as possible. The time taken to assess appeals has in many cases been longer than originally envisaged. We have to accept that. However, I understand some of the time taken to consider applications and issue decisions has been taken up by requests for further infor…
I thank the Deputies for their comments and contributions on the Labour Party motion today. I particularly note many of the complimentary comments in relation to the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, who obviously has a vast knowledge and deep understanding of this area and, indeed, the workings of An Garda Síochána. Like others, I want to express my thanks to An Garda Síochána for the excellent work it does on a daily b…