I thank the Minister for the reply. That is helpful because the GP visit card is welcome. We acknowledge that it is there. The figures she gave mean that, I think, about one in 12 people who are entitled to it have applied for it and got it, or one in 11 or something like that. Obviously, there is a big piece of work there for the Government and all of us to try to get the word out there on that. It is important that…
TDs / Brian Stanley
Brian Stanley
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
532
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
141,603
words spoken in the chamber
Across 449 contributions
403
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
156
topics asked about
Across 18 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 532 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 449 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 4 | 1 |
| February 2025 | 24 | 11 |
| March 2025 | 27 | 27 |
| April 2025 | 51 | 16 |
| May 2025 | 50 | 32 |
| June 2025 | 36 | 32 |
| July 2025 | 35 | 21 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 24 | 28 |
| October 2025 | 24 | 19 |
| November 2025 | 23 | 23 |
| December 2025 | 21 | 15 |
| January 2026 | 43 | 24 |
| February 2026 | 31 | 25 |
| March 2026 | 22 | 26 |
| April 2026 | 17 | 24 |
| May 2026 | 35 | 41 |
| June 2026 | 26 | 18 |
| July 2026 | 15 | 19 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 12 | 25 |
| October 2026 | 12 | 21 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 282 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 Laois 29 November 2024 to now
- party Independent 29 November 2024 to now
I raise the issue of staffing of children's disability network teams across the country. I have replies here from the HSE that say between 22% and 29% of posts are vacant. In Laois, I can tell the Minister that there are posts where there is 100% vacancy and 67% vacancy.
In Laois, there is a chronic situation regarding staffing. The figures for network 12, which covers most of the county, are absolutely shocking. I …
I thank the Minister for his reply. While there are moves afoot, it needs to be at a scale and a pace to match the demand that is there.
The HSE states in one of its replies to me that there is an apprenticeship programme for social workers. Can there be apprenticeship programmes for other disciplines? Maybe that cannot be done but that is possibly one area that could be used.
We agree that the current situation ca…
This debate is welcome. However, the motion has a whiff of populism about it. As somebody who comes from a left, republican position, I believe in good public services, but I also believe in spending public money very well. We need to stop waste. Although those of us on the left advocate spending public money and creating good public services, it does not mean that we support wasting public money. That is the differe…
The programme for Government sets out to improve mental health services. The SOSAD, Save our Sons and Daughters, organisation provides vital services and is running out of cash. It has made representations to try to move forward. It provides counselling, support and mental health services. It only has enough money to keep going for a number of weeks. In 2024, it provided services for 1,114 clients. In County Laois, i…
It has had to cut some services.
We know our mental health services have gaps and deficiencies.
SOSAD is filling the gaps.
Will the Taoiseach prioritise it and commit to providing the money-----
-----and service level agreement that the SOSAD organisation needs?
Time and money are running out.
I wish to raise the issue of the relief road for Mountmellick, which is long-promised. It has been promised for years. Traffic volumes have increased. More than 8,500 vehicles go through the centre of the town every day. A lot of that traffic is HGVs going from the west of Ireland and the midlands to the port of Rosslare. A feasibility study has been carried out at a cost of more than €100,000 and a preferred route h…
Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Aire agus an Aire Stáit. Go n-eirí libh. I hope they do well in the posts. They have a lot of responsibility to take on.
It is important the Government take a firm position on the Mercosur deal. There is the weight of the Germans, the German car industry and other more industrialised countries on the other side. It is important the Irish representatives at European meetings take a stron…
Comhghairdeas to the Minister and Minister of State on their appointments. They have a big job ahead of them and I wish them well in it. The right of every child to access an education system is a fundamental one and the children in Laois and those attending St. Francis School in Portlaoise are no different from those anywhere else in the country. The school has 119 children with complex needs attending it and this s…
The proposed sale of Bord na Móna's recycling and waste management businesses, including the facility at Kyletalesha, Portlaoise, to a private company must be halted. If it goes ahead, it will mean the transfer of a large recycling and waste recovery business, which will go from public ownership into the hands of a private investor. That will create a whole new situation for the workforce and customers. The workforce…
In County Laois, too.
New speed limits were introduced on 7 February. We all hope this will be a significant step in the right direction, particularly in introducing improvements in road safety and, most important, reducing road fatalities and serious injuries, most of which can be life-changing. All one has to do is take a look at the number of people being sent to the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dún Laoghaire following significant…
I welcome this very important motion from the Labour Party. What we have had is the Government hoodwinking and misleading the people during the election campaign on a number of issues but spectacularly on housing. People were told that 40,000 homes would be delivered in 2024 when in fact the number was going to be 30,000. The facts were there to prove that. We have to increase supply. It must be doubled to meet deman…
The programme for Government commits to a review of the school transport scheme. The biggest obstacle within that scheme at the moment is the ban on drivers over 70. We have the ludicrous situation where such drivers cannot drive a minibus bringing ten pupils to school under the school transport scheme but later in the day they can drive a 72-seater bus full of children to the local swimming pool or on a bus tour to …
I will focus on health in the short time I have. I read the programme for Government document with interest. As the area of health is obviously extremely important, I want to focus on that. The programme for Government references a universal healthcare mission but from reading the pages attached to that, it is anything but universal healthcare. It cannot be delivered based on what is on those pages because there is n…
The effects of the storm in County Laois were severe, with hundreds of roads blocked and trees down. I acknowledge the work of the ESB staff, the outdoor staff of Laois County Council, the volunteers in Laois Civil Defence and all the others who played a role in dealing with the emergency situation. Lessons must be learned. The grid needs to be upgraded but some parties in this House are talking out of both sides of …
The occupied territories Bill must be passed as a matter of urgency. We need to stop the fooling around about it. The terrorist State of Israel has carried out a campaign of genocide against the Palestinian people. There are almost 50,000 dead in Gaza alone, an estimated 10,000 buried beneath the rubble, hundreds of thousands of people injured and lives ruined. Most of Gaza lies in ruins, including schools, hospitals…
I congratulate the Taoiseach on his appointment. We now have a new Government but we have a new Government of two old conservative parties and one regional group. The two Civil War parties are united now like never before. The problem is that nothing separates them, except one letter; they are FF and FG. The Government's first action was to create more jobs for the boys - the girls seem to have been forgotten - and t…
Déanaim comhghairdeas mór leis an gCeann Comhairle. I thank the people of County Laois for electing me to the Thirty-fourth Dáil. It was a great honour to be elected. It truly showed that the seat does not belong to any family or party. It belongs to the people of Laois. In fact, all three seats in Laois belong to the people there.
There are huge challenges ahead in the constituency I represent. We need affordable h…