I thank Sinn Féin and Deputy Kerrane for bringing forward this motion on childcare, which I will be supporting. Ireland is in the grip of a serious childcare crisis which has been allowed to continue for far too long. Parents are not only struggling to afford childcare but they are also struggling to access it at all. Finding a crèche in places has become an enormous challenge for families across the country, but par…
TDs / Charles Ward
Charles Ward
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
392
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
72,453
words spoken in the chamber
Across 233 contributions
308
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
103
topics asked about
Across 19 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 392 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 233 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 1 | 1 |
| February 2025 | 29 | 20 |
| March 2025 | 14 | 10 |
| April 2025 | 16 | 7 |
| May 2025 | 10 | 15 |
| June 2025 | 17 | 13 |
| July 2025 | 21 | 8 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 5 | 11 |
| October 2025 | 31 | 8 |
| November 2025 | 47 | 12 |
| December 2025 | 8 | 29 |
| January 2026 | 25 | 16 |
| February 2026 | 9 | 10 |
| March 2026 | 30 | 13 |
| April 2026 | 38 | 15 |
| May 2026 | 25 | 9 |
| June 2026 | 21 | 10 |
| July 2026 | 9 | 8 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| September 2026 | 12 | 5 |
| October 2026 | 24 | 11 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 124 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 Donegal 29 November 2024 to now
- party 100% RDR 29 November 2024 to now
I move:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes that:
— thousands of homeowners affected by defective concrete have spent years living with uncertainty regarding the safety of their homes, the adequacy of available remediation options and the long-term security of their families;
— many affected families have experienced repeated changes in engineering advice, evolving scientific understanding and revisions to the redress schem…
I thank my colleagues who stood with me today and those who took the time to go beyond the briefing material and the political framing and had the empathy to understand what families are living through on the ground. Before we vote, I want to speak plainly, not in a language of schemes, standards or reassurance, but in a language that explains what is happening to people on the ground. I have sat in homes where famil…
When IS 465:2026 was introduced, I welcomed the intent behind it but had reservations about how it might be interpreted by engineers. Reading several reports tells me I was correct. I reference one report where a house was given a group 4 classification, indicating the worst possible level of structural damage, with widespread deterioration and a clear finding of evidence of chemical damage. There is evidence of sulp…
The reason I raised this issue is that right now, as we speak, there will be people going in with foundations with levels of ISA in them. They will potentially be building on top of a foundation that may fail in the future. I am talking about being fiscally responsible. As the revised IS 465 has been published, there is now a trigger. Can the Taoiseach give me dates for this? I do not want people to be building on to…
I am asking for a timeframe for when this decision will be implemented. The trigger is off now with the revision of IS 465. When will the Minister for housing review and adapt to these changes?
Concerns have been raised by a local charity, Lifeline, about being able to access family law under the legal aid scheme in Donegal. I understand there are significant delays in processing legal aid applications at the moment. During this period, organisations supporting vulnerable individuals and families often need to identify solicitors who may be able to assist in urgent family law matters. However, it appears th…
I have raised this multiple times over the past few months. I welcome that the Minister of Health has signed off on the end-to-end review for funding of new drugs in Ireland but we have said on many occasions that for children suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, DMD, time is muscle and children with DMD face a blatant inequality under the current system.
I am sure the Taoiseach will be aware of two boys in D…
I share the disappointment of my colleagues with what has been produced before us today. This Bill falls far short of what was promised and what is required, despite delays repeatedly over the years and despite Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael promising in the last election that this would be a priority. As far as I am concerned, the Government parties' election promises were nothing more than a box-ticking exercise. For ye…
I thank Deputy Joanna Byrne for bringing forward this motion from Sinn Féin. I am proud to stand with my constituents in Donegal and countless people across the country and wholeheartedly support the Stop The Game campaign. After more than two years of watching Israel commit genocide against the Palestinian people in real time, we cannot allow Israel to use sport to normalise its crimes. This autumn's Nations League …
The State recommended an external wall remediation only in a home where an internal wall was already cracking and carrying specialist hoist equipment used every day to lift and move a paralysed woman. The family were then refused access to see the full technical report so as to understand whether it was a safe decision to only give an outer leaf remediation. My constituent's home was adapted in 2017. She was paralyse…
I want to raise the matter of how the State is communicating life-changing decisions to people in the defective concrete blocks scheme. A constituent of mine applied in 2022. Her home was assessed by an IS 465 engineer on the Housing Agency's list. The conclusion was clear: scientific and engineering principles dictated that full demolition and rebuilding was the only safe option to restore this unsafe home. The Hous…
I thank the Taoiseach for that. I have another issue regarding IS 465. We were told the revised IS 465 was due in April or May but now we are heading towards June. The scheme is meant to be the biggest in the history of the State. It has been delayed and delayed. Will the revised version of IS 465 be published in June? The Tánaiste could tell me on the last occasion that publication would be within weeks and now I am…
I thank Deputy O'Reilly and Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion on the cost of disability. I reiterate what Deputy Doherty said about the situation that Aaron Langan and Diarmuid O'Sullivan are in. The situation is that a year ago we were in the audiovisual room along with Diarmuid and his parents. Diarmuid's story is that he has DMD. His brother also has it and is on a trial which means that he has the medica…
I thank Deputy Stanley and his staff for bringing forward this motion in defence of neutrality. Maintaining our neutrality has never been more important. From Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan to the escalating tensions in Iran and the wider Middle East conflict, we are facing an era of overlapping conflict, instability, displacement and humanitarian crisis. Millions of people are being affected by war, famine, instability and…
The fact that 7,000 households across the country have been given an eviction notice in the first three months of this year is terrifying, and we do not know where they are going to go.
Behind every eviction is a person or a family who is seriously at risk of homelessness because there are simply not enough houses out there for them. There is already a severe shortage and the more pressure that is put landlords to l…
Nurses play a vital role in caring for patients in hospital and healthcare centres. Their work and their impact extend far beyond medical treatment. They are often the first people patients see. They are the ones who spend the most time providing care and comfort for the sick and injured. They are often the ones who provide emotional support to families during extremely difficult times. They do all of this while jugg…
There is currently a capital advance leasing facility application for 60 new homes in Carndonagh in County Donegal. I cannot overstress how important this development is for Carndonagh. Families across Donegal are desperate for the opportunity to secure an affordable home and build a better future for themselves. The cost of houses has risen, soaring rents have left many unable to afford suitable accommodation and th…
Will the Taoiseach address the position confirmed in writing by the Government, the Housing Agency and Donegal County Council that homeowners in the defective concrete scheme are required to agree to a remediation determination for their home without first being provided with full engineering evidence, including petrographic and material testing, on which it is based?
The Housing Agency has confirmed it has no issue…
I have constantly raised the issue of side-by-side rebuilding under the defective concrete scheme through amendments, a motion in the House and parliamentary questions. This is happening in people's homes right now. For many families, side-by-side building is the only workable way to rebuild while staying within their communities in Donegal. The Government has indicated that it will be available in certain, limited c…
Yes.
With respect, there have been 300 homes built in the past five years. There are 3,000 people currently trying to go through the scheme who are stuck in the scheme. Families are waiting for the basics. Side-by-side building is where you go onto an acre of land that could have a house on one side that is defective and a house on the other, and then pull it down and keep the family in this house until the other house is…
I agree with you that we do but we need to-----
I am one of them.
I support the inclusion of Fingal and Wexford in the defective concrete scheme. This motion exposes how the scheme is being delivered on the ground. Delivery is still happening in stages. Counties and areas are added one by one, often after long preparatory work has already been completed. This creates delay that is built into the system rather than delay caused by chance. The delay is shown in how slowly the scheme …