I outlined Stradbally because it is now earmarked for being delivered in 2025, which very much opens the way now for Rathdowney.
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
In December 2024, Laois County Council submitted an updated preliminary appraisal for a proposed new fire station at Rathdowney, noting several issues with the existing station, including, as the Deputy highlighted, the accessibility of the site for responding firefighters due to its central location on a narrow street within Rathdowney, the station's limited size and poor layout and the limited welfare facilities, p…
I thank Deputy Cahill for raising this issue. I know that in his term in the Dáil and prior to that as a councillor, he has very much been an advocate for community hospitals in Kerry, in particular the West Kerry Community Hospital. We know how important the community hospitals are. They are fantastic in the level of care and service that their patients and residents get. We need to protect them but we also need to …
I thank Deputy Cahill again. There are 46 beds registered in West Kerry Community Hospital, 42 of which are currently open and occupied. West Kerry Community Hospital cannot admit more residents at present, as the opening of additional beds is dependent on staffing levels. West Kerry Community Hospital has experienced some difficulties with staff shortages, but all efforts are being made on a continuous basis to ensu…
I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
notes that:
— increasing the overall housing supply is key to addressing the housing challenge and preventing and ultimately eliminating long-term homelessness, and the clear focus of Government must therefore remain on increasing the supply of new build social and affordable homes;
— notwithstanding, a targeted second-…
It is not being scrapped.
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. If there is a situation where there are 55 vacant homes in one town in Kerry that is not good enough and it is something we absolutely need to address.
That is only on one road. It is something we need to tackle. We have the croí conaithe grant. That was an effort to bring more of those properties back into the rental market, but clearly we need to do more. My answer covers many of the situations where a house can be taken back from a tenant and covers some of the taxation, but obviously a lot of the tax matters the Deputy mentioned would be for the Minister for Fin…
I thank Deputy Healy-Rae. He made some good suggestions and they have to be taken on board, especially his point on partaking in any reviews. There has to be a question of balance, in particular of tenants' rights. We cannot overdo it and take away tenants' rights. They are entitled to have a right of tenure so they are not in precarious situations. The regulation of landlords has to be balanced. It has to be worth s…
I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising these two important matters, which we will try to address today.
First, I will outline some of the schemes that are available. I appreciate the Deputy has pointed out what the cost might be per household, but it might be helpful to outline what is available. There are a number of grants available, through the local authorities, under the Department’s rural water programme to supp…
I completely appreciate where Deputy Healy-Rae is coming from on this. I reiterate that under the recent review of the rural water programme, the amount per household was increased from €9,000 to €15,000, but I accept that there has to be some degree of flexibility, especially when a smaller number of houses are impacted. That is something that I will relay back to the Department. This is not just an issue in Kerry. …
If it is an issue where the necessity is for 25 houses and some areas are being left out, that is something I will undertake to take back to the Department and see if it can be investigated and see if there can be some level of flexibility in these areas of Kerry. I know how frustrating it can be not to have a decent, adequate water supply. Urban areas never have any issue with water supply. I will take the comments …
It was the Healy-Raes who saw after us in the end.
I will share my time with the Minister. I thank the Social Democrats for tabling the motion. It is important that we discuss this important topic. It is also fair to say, despite what was said, that we all want the same thing. There is a shared ambition in the House for increased home ownership, increased housing delivery, decreased rents and ending homelessness. Despite that, it is a mischaracterisation to say that …
Deputy Hearne had his speaking time.
He is at Cabinet.
I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
acknowledges that:
- Housing for All - A new Housing Plan for Ireland, sets out an ambitious multi-annual programme that seeks to deliver more than 300,000 new homes between 2022 and 2030;
- while the policy aim is to reach, if not exceed, the target in each successive year, the primary goal is to maintain an upward tra…
-----I can attest to the fact that in my constituency of Cork South-West, hundreds of couples have been able to avail of this much-needed scheme. They simply would not have been able to afford their own homes without it.
That said, over the next couple of minutes I will set out the Government's countermotion and our response to the motion before us. Housing is a cross-sectoral societal challenge that has a real impa…
I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising this matter. It gives me an opportunity to say for the first time that my heart goes out to the people affected right across the country, especially on the western seaboard, many of whom have, for almost two weeks, gone without either power, running water and the bare essentials. I cannot begin to imagine how difficult that is for them. Luckily, west Cork, where I am from, was not…
I take the Deputy's point. I have the response here and it is quite clear on the energy efficient retrofit programme, EERP. I will read it out because it should answer the Deputy's question. Works eligible under the Department's revised EERP include attic-cavity wall insulation or external wall insulation, where required, window and door replacement, heat pump installation as well as ancillary and associated works. I…
We will send the Deputy a note on that.
That is underlined by the point that building regulations are performance based and technology neutral. There is nothing preventing new dwellings from including fireplaces or chimneys and it is possible to comply with building regulations when these are installed. That is pretty clear. We can send the Deputy a further note on that.
New rated homes are highly insulated and will retain heat for longer than traditional…