----- completely out of order.
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
That is why we are strongly opposing-----
That is why we are strongly opposing this motion.
The Deputies have mentioned retail outlets such as McDonald's and Carroll's. First, there is already a retail element to the GPO complex. The Deputies cannot deny that a GPO complex is already there. Sinn Féin is trying to put across this argument, in its Members' own words, that it will be turned into a "giant shopping mall". That is absolutely not the case-----
-----and it is completely unfair to describe it as such.
At the centre of anything that happens to the GPO will be the museum and the cultural and historical aspect of it. I would love if Sinn Féin were to co-operate on this project because we have an opportunity to create something wonderful. Yes, there will be a retail element to it. Yes, there will be-----
-----civic offices. At the centre will be-----
-----the role this beautiful building played in Ireland's history, in the revolutionary period and in 1916. That has to be acknowledged and it has been acknowledged.
It is about the fifth time it has been referred as being like a shopping centre.
That is furthest from the truth of what it is.
The Deputy supported it.
I thank Deputy Clendennen for raising this important issue. Unfortunately, it is still the case that some rural towns and villages across the country require investment in infrastructure, be it in my area of west Cork or the Deputy's area of Offaly. It is something the Government is committed to addressing.
Under section 10 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, it is a statutory requirement for each planning aut…
I again thank the Deputy and appreciate him raising these concerns on behalf of the people of Offaly and specifically Edenderry. My understanding is that quite a bespoke approach is being taken in Edenderry. A wastewater treatment plant that would be sufficient to serve the population of Edenderry will be designed. In the meantime, consideration will be given to an interim solution through a developer-led process whi…
On the tenet of the Deputy's original question on assessment, I really believe that is the role of a county development plan. It assesses towns and villages with regard to the various infrastructural needs within them. The national development plan will be announced shortly. Funding for Uisce Éireann will be formed, modelled and moulded around this. This is very important also.
We have seen significant increased fun…
I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 30 together.
I thank Deputy Cooney for raising this issue. Clearly the need for investment in infrastructure, particularly wastewater services in our towns and villages, is a priority and a recurring theme that we hear. It is a priority of the Minister, Deputy Browne, of the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and of mine, in terms of delivering housing in this regard.
The Gove…
The Deputy is absolutely right that there are two projects in Clare and it is very important that these projects in Broadford and Cooraclare are being considered. I was in Clare the other day and I have to commend the proactive nature of the local authority. It is important that it got these two schemes in for consideration for the €45 million funding. As I have said, there has been back and forth communication betwe…
I reassure the Deputy that there is absolutely no backtracking on the commitment to provide solutions for these rural villages. As I have said, the Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, recently brought forward the national planning framework, which gives a clear commitment on regional growth and regional development and allowing people to live in rural parts of Ireland. As I have said, …
I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
I am grateful to all Deputies and to everybody behind the scenes for facilitating the debate today on this urgent legislation in Dáil Éireann. I will be sharing Government time with Minister of State, Deputy Cummins.
The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025 will amend the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2024 to extend and expand the operation of rent pres…
I thank Deputy O'Gorman for raising this issue. He has painted a pretty bleak picture of the conditions at Coolmine school, which, as he stated, is quite a large school of 1,000 pupils. It is very concerning and disappointing in this day and age, when we have seen the level of investment in education and in capital works in particular, that a secondary school is experiencing that level of leakage. I can see Deputy O'…
Yes, I will press this. There is also an opportunity for schools to apply for the climate action summer works scheme, although perhaps it does not apply to Coolmine. The emergency works scheme is obviously the right one. I take the Deputy's point about buckets. All we have to do is look at the number of buckets that are gathering water at the moment to discover that there are leaks there. The leak detection test may …
I am responding on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, who has the privilege of taking over the issue of school transport, which he is absolutely delighted about. He is very reasonable and I know that he will give this consideration. On the Minister of State's behalf, I welcome the opportunity to respond on this matter.
The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éirea…
I spoke in jest about the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, taking on the brief of school transport. He is very experienced in this. He has been around the block, was a backbencher for a while and battled in similar situations to the one the Deputy has presented. He understands the need for that but there are parameters and guidelines he has to work within. The requirement is for ten eligible students. One could pr…
I thank the Deputy. Her description of the special school in Bray mirrors my experience of visiting special schools in Cork and elsewhere. I have seen the improvements in these children's education, ability to cope and mental health. What they are able to do is incredible, especially when they have access to additional therapies. That is another part of what we are trying to do. I take that point but my understanding…
I thank the Deputy for raising the question and for giving me the opportunity to reassure the House that the Department of Education and Youth and the NCSE are committed to ensuring all children can access an education suitable to their needs. The Department of Education and Youth continues to engage intensely with the NCSE on forward planning for new special provision to ensure every child has a place in an educatio…
The Deputy raised some specifics regarding the generator, phone outages, etc. I will endeavour to get the Department to come back to her on those points. The written response I have is quite lengthy. I hope it will set out the plan and answer the Deputy's questions. I hope she has time to get to it.
With regard to the national development plan, in early April the Government agreed to commence the review process. Fol…