According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, September was the worst September on record for hospital overcrowding. Facts matter in these debates. There is a permanent state of crisis in the accident and emergency departments. Some 70,000 people left an emergency department without being seen or completing their treatment between January and July of this year. This is utterly unacceptable. More than…
TDs / Pádraig Rice
Pádraig Rice
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,771
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
97,768
words spoken in the chamber
Across 271 contributions
430
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
233
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 1,771 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 271 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 11 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 116 | 12 |
| March 2025 | 109 | 9 |
| April 2025 | 84 | 3 |
| May 2025 | 116 | 20 |
| June 2025 | 80 | 47 |
| July 2025 | 164 | 11 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 91 | 5 |
| October 2025 | 80 | 14 |
| November 2025 | 117 | 15 |
| December 2025 | 94 | 15 |
| January 2026 | 114 | 7 |
| February 2026 | 82 | 8 |
| March 2026 | 112 | 23 |
| April 2026 | 68 | 13 |
| May 2026 | 85 | 12 |
| June 2026 | 99 | 15 |
| July 2026 | 72 | 7 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 41 | 9 |
| October 2026 | 36 | 25 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 123 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 South-Central 29 November 2024 to now
- party Social Democrats 29 November 2024 to now
This is one of the largest hospitals in the country.
It needs investment-----
I welcome the families who are in the Gallery today. None of you should have to be here. None of you should have had to campaign and advocate on these issues for so many years. I know how much heart, soul and effort you have put in to try to get the truth here. It should not have happened. You have campaigned for this crucially important inquiry and the Government now has to get it right. That is the key message. The…
I apologise. I know Deputy Cummins is also coming in on this. It is crucially important that we get this right. As I have said, the timeline is crucially important. We must look further back. We must get the scope of the inquiry right and hold as much of it as possible in public. A large number of families really want it to have that independence. The Minister should appoint that mediator and engage with the groups a…
This is an important debate. I thank Deputy Coppinger for bringing the Bill forward and allowing us to have this debate. It is probably the first time there has been a substantial debate in the Oireachtas around intersex, in particular, and non-binary issues in this way. That is historic and important and I want to congratulate the Deputy for all of the work she has done on this.
I was sorry to miss the Minister's o…
I again raise the issue of healthcare workers with long Covid whose payments are about to be cut off and who have been repeatedly failed by the State. As the Taoiseach knows, I raised this previously and I wrote to him about this. This is a small group of workers who got Covid at the peak of the pandemic and have debilitating symptoms which mean they cannot return to work. The special scheme ended on 31 January. It w…
I usually keep my contributions in this House to health issues and focus my work on health policy, but I asked for time on this debate because I felt strongly that this was the wrong decision. I think it is a decision that the Government and the Irish people are going to regret. I urge the Government to reconsider it, to take this slower and to not rush it through the House because it has profound changes for our nat…
But they are going along with Fine Gael on this. Eroding our neutrality erodes our soft power and influence in the world. We have a place in the world where we can focus on peacebuilding and peacekeeping. That is crucial. That is the role the Irish people want us to have on the world stage. We have a huge influence in the world because of our neutrality and our track record around peacekeeping and peacebuilding.
Whe…
This is the wrong decision.
87. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health her views on recent changes to the DOMINO scheme in Cork University Maternity Hospital; if she has engaged with the south-west region and local management regarding the changes to this midwife-led service; and the way in which the decision to materially alter the scheme's model is consistent with the aims of the national maternity strategy. [73318/26]
I too express my sympathies to the people of Waterford arising from the events of recent days.
I ask about the DOMINO scheme. It is considered the gold standard in maternity care. It is a community-led midwife service that offers continuity of care to women at no cost to the patient. As Sarah Thatt-Foley wrote in the Irish Examiner earlier this month, the DOMINO scheme is a good news story. It is one of the most sou…
There is nothing short of serious anger among women in Cork about these changes. People really value the DOMINO scheme. They see a midwife in their community clinic, the same midwife supports them at delivery and then, when they get early transfer home, the same midwife supports them at home. The changes we are seeing fundamentally alter the DOMINO scheme. We have been told the antenatal clinic will now operate with …
I have no doubt good care will be provided. What we are talking about is ending continuity of care provided to women through the DOMINO scheme in Cork. That is why there is such anger among my constituents. We need to restore the continuity of care and invest in the services. When there are vacancies they should be filled. When somebody is out on maternity leave those posts should be filled so these services can cont…
I thank Labour Party for this very timely motion and the opportunity to speak on public sector pay. I commend public sector workers in Cork and across the country for their industrial action and standing up for themselves and their colleagues for better pay and conditions. What we saw yesterday was the largest strike in almost 20 years. Does the Government comprehend the enormousness of the scale of the industrial ac…
I welcome these statements. It is an important issue. Like others, I acknowledge those who struggle with their mental health, along with those who have lost their lives, the families of those people, and everybody who has been impacted. I also thank everybody who works in the area, including the mental health staff, volunteers, advocates, champions and caregivers throughout the country. I count the Minister of State …
That will be welcomed by the Traveller organisations. I am also keen to know when the Traveller mental health action plan will be finalised and published, because we have the increased investment and it must align with our plans, policies and strategies. That is an important area that needs to see greater investment overall.
Another issue I would like to pick up on is the mother and baby units. This is really import…
I also welcome everyone who has come to the Gallery for this debate on national breastfeeding week. Deputy Clarke put it quite well about how everyone’s journey is quite different with breastfeeding and we need to support women in the choices they make, remove barriers for those who want to breastfeed and put the supports in place.
I want to talk about those supports. I have particular concerns around the staffing l…
I would like to begin by giving my overall reaction to the budget. I truly believe the budget lacks the infrastructure we need to deliver the transformative change we need in this country, in particular given that there are 17,000 people who are homeless and will remain so throughout next year because the budget does not deliver enough for them. Some 400,000 children are being taught in overcrowded classrooms. There …
No, he said we never mentioned economic growth.
It is now four days since the CHI scoping inquiry was published and the serious concerns of the families have not been addressed. Worse, they have been ignored. I want to reiterate why the families have these concerns. Their children, who have scoliosis and spina bifida, were repeatedly failed by the health service and the Government. Critical surgeries were delayed, sometimes for years. In some cases the delays were…
I read Mr. Farrell's report from start to finish-----
-----and I spent the past couple of days talking to parents and families who are furious. They say this is worse than they feared. They feel unheard. They said this has the potential to be a farce. The Tánaiste has to listen to them. I also listened to the Taoiseach yesterday, who said there would be more consultation. Meanwhile, the Minister for Health said she accepts the recommendations in full. Which is it? Will …
The majority.
I, too, would like to congratulate my colleague Deputy Hearne on tabling this proposal. It is an important one and an important debate.
I am disappointed that the Minister did not stay to respond to the debate. We have had a good discussion. Time and again, Ministers do not engage with the substance of the debate in the House and do not stay to respond to the points made by the Opposition. Far too often, it feels li…