It is shocking that in this day and age that there is still no significant investment in regional rail in the north west. People in Inishowen who travel to Letterkenny or Donegal town must travel by bus. I know an 82-year-old man who travels on a bus to Donegal town to see a relative. He is on the bus for the guts of two hours. Many of my constituents do this and are travelling long distances. It is outrageous. The l…
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
Donegal is the only county in the whole of Ireland in which the rail network was removed. We are so far behind that it will take billions of euro to get us up to date. When the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, was Minister for housing, he turned his back to us. I ask him, as Minister for Transport, not to turn his back on Donegal again.
Will the lack of infrastructure investment in Donegal be addressed in any way in the budget next week?
I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion today. I fully support it, particularly its call for budget 2026 to commit €630 million towards measures to relieve child poverty and homelessness, as well as its call on the Government to introduce a total ban on evictions of children into homelessness, and the legislation to prioritise housing needs of homeless families. As a member of the children's committ…
I have written to the Minister, Deputy Heydon, regarding the closure of the ISPCA's animal centre in Donegal, a devastating decision that has detrimental animal welfare effects in the north-west region. Just over a week ago in Donegal, we saw 14 dogs rescued from horrific conditions but these dogs have nowhere to go. They will travel a considerable distance to reach the nearest facility, which means longer transport …
I am not going to mince my words. The defective concrete scandal is a national emergency the Minister's Government wilfully mismanaged for over a decade. The Government has worked hard to fool the public and portray that we are being looked after, but the truth is we are now in the second failed scheme. My staff see suicidal ideation every week in our office. The uncertainty and the feeling of abandonment in this cri…
We have unethical engineering going on in this scheme. That cannot be denied. A number of people were downgraded. They were granted full demolition. An engineer came out, did their job, examined it and then it was passed over to the Housing Agency. Someone in the agency looked at that fellow engineer's work and then downgraded it. This is unethical. It is unethical engineering. What is going on has been going on for …
September is a very exciting and important month for many children as they return to school. For some, however, the excitement has been unfairly and cruelly stripped away as their parents struggle to find appropriate school places for them in their localities. As a parent, I cannot imagine the heartbreak facing parents who are unable to secure such places for their children. The Minister for Education has declined to…
I thank my colleague, Deputy Stanley, for tabling this motion, which I fully support. Dental care is completely inaccessible, especially for people in rural areas. In Donegal, children are lucky if they have seen a dentist once by the time they are finished school. Many of them have not seen one at all. I know this from experience, as I have four children. Maybe one has seen a dentist but the rest have not, unless we…
I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this very important motion, which I fully support. There is no doubt skyrocketing grocery prices coupled with huge increases in other household costs, like energy and rent, are putting huge strain on families across the country.
Right now families in Donegal find themselves caught in a pincer movement between the cost-of-living crisis and the defective concrete scand…
I was horrified by the "Journal Investigates" report that stated just 12% of cancer patients in Letterkenny University Hospital receive treatment within the recommended 15-day timeframe. Cancer patients in Letterkenny have to wait 50% longer than those in any other hospital in the HSE West and North-West region. This is not just delay; this is life-altering. Research by the British Medical Journal has shown delays or…
Since becoming a TD, I have raised the defective concrete crisis every single week in this Chamber. I have stood here 23 times outlining the many issues with the Government's scheme, and have highlighted the lived experience of the impacted homeowners. My message has been consistent. The scheme is not working for the families. They are struggling. Every week I am standing here pleading with the Government to listen. …
I want to mention Elm Park, given the fact that this is a time-sensitive issue. Houses in Elm Park in Buncrana face immediate danger as they have been built on a floodplain and are affected by defective concrete. The only safe option for these residents is relocation. The home of one family home is in such a bad structural state that the family sees no alternative but to move ahead with the defective concrete scheme …
When? Can we get a date?
I thank the Labour Party for putting forward this very important motion on nursing homes. I support it and its calls to prioritise equality and safety in the care of older people. Overhauling nursing homes is what we need to look at. As someone who has worked on the ground and worked for the company involved in the documentary, I am not surprised. To say that 80% of nursing homes are now in private hands and are prof…
I welcome the review of the EPSEN Act and many of its findings. Ensuring every child's educational needs are met is imperative. Education should be inclusive and responsive to the needs of all children, but this is not the case in many areas where children with special educational needs are unable to secure school places. I understand the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, is doing what he can to address the situati…
5. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Health the process she is currently undertaking in choosing a location for a surgical hub for the north west, as outlined in the programme for Government; the factors that will be considered in choosing the location; if this decision will be based solely on geography, population, demographics, day case numbers and staffing numbers; and if she will make a statement on the …
It will be no surprise to the Minister what I am asking her today. The decision of where to locate the surgical hub in the north west is an important one. Therefore, transparency in the decision-making process is vital. Will she outline, in detail, what factors will be considered when choosing the surgical hub for the north west?
I thank the Minister for outlining that. The location of the surgical hub has generated a lot of public interest. It has the potential to impact many people's lives across the north west. It is important we get it right. As I said to the Minister, this is not a Sligo versus Donegal issue. The north-west region alone is disadvantaged in many ways. We should not be forced to fight over squeezed resources. Ideally, to a…
I thank the Minister for her engagement on this matter. She has been proactive and committed to ensure that all the data and experiences are being taken into account. We appreciate this. In Donegal, we are grateful the Minister is listening to us. We are fighting our corner and are willing to listen. The Minister is taking all the situations into account. We appreciate and understand that.
All the TDs in Donegal are…
I support this motion that calls to declare a national housing and infrastructure emergency and introduce time-bound emergency legislation that would enable local authorities and developers to accelerate the delivery of housing on already zoned, infrastructure-ready land. As I said last week, we cannot take the necessary steps to properly address this crisis until we call it what it is: a national emergency. The fail…
I am sure the Taoiseach and the Minister for education are aware that Scoil Mhuire Milford in County Donegal is not fit for purpose.
There are severe issues with the children's toilets in the current building.
There is no green play area, denying children the opportunity for any meaningful physical activity.
There is a severe lack of classroom space and, as a result, teachers are forced to teach in corridors and s…
It is ready but it has been denied time and again.
It is in the system.
It is waiting.