I am sure the Taoiseach is aware there are extremely long waiting lists for driving tests across the country. I have been contacted by many of my constituents who are taking tests in Letterkenny, Donegal town and Buncrana. As the Taoiseach can imagine, when people do manage to secure a test, it is important that it go ahead. Unfortunately, this was not the case for one of my constituents, whose test was immediately t…
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
77. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of applications for the local improvement scheme in Donegal since 2020; the number of outstanding local improvement scheme roads in Donegal; if he will allocate a major increase in local improvement scheme funding for the Glenties and Inishowen municipal districts given the demand; whether he will review the local improvement sc…
I would be grateful if the Minister could outline the number of applications for the local improvement scheme, LIS, in Donegal since 2020, and the number of outstanding LIS roads in Donegal.
I would also like to know whether he will allocate a major increase in LIS funding to the Glenties and Inishowen municipal districts because an increase in funding for the roads in these areas is desperately needed. Will he also…
If the Minister of State has been to Donegal, he will know many of our rural roads are in an awful state and in urgent need of upgrading, particularly around the Glenties and Inishowen areas. These are the most deprived areas. They are rural areas.
The LIS as it currently stands is wholly inadequate for us as there is a need to address the infrastructural differences between rural and urban Donegal. There are hundre…
I understand this but the LIS funding allocated to Donegal must increase and be prioritised because of what is going on in the west of Donegal, Gaeltacht areas and north Inishowen, in particular. Councillors out there are constantly looking for funding. There are roads that have not been touched for years. If a plan was put in place for the LIS roads in north Inishowen and west Donegal, it would effectively help rura…
Yes.
I wish the Minister nothing but the best in the years to come because what is ahead is the biggest crisis this country has ever seen when it comes to housing. When reading the Housing Commission report, I was shocked to find no mention of the defective concrete block crisis. The thousands of houses that have been impacted by this crisis are not mentioned once in the 250-page report. It is an absolute disgrace. Whethe…
It is shocking to see the examples of overspending and waste in the public sector, as outlined in the motion. Public trust in Government decisions and Government spending is at an all-time low. It is sickening for people to watch the Government spend public money so wastefully. It is a slap in the face to families impacted by the defective concrete crisis that hundreds of thousands is being dished out on bike sheds, …
I have been speaking to parents and teachers from Little Angels Special School in Letterkenny. From the day the first block was ever laid in the new building, we knew the school would be too small to fulfil future demands. Some of the temporary solutions to this issue could be to use two rooms in the old school and transport the newest modular buildings to the new building. Why did this project start when the Departm…
I asked the Taoiseach a question last Tuesday on the defective concrete scheme and his answer was completely disingenuous. He is trying to mislead the public into thinking the scheme is working and many people have benefited from it. That could not be further from the truth. He claims 450 homes are under construction while failing to acknowledge only 69 homes have been completed. There is a big difference between a c…
Will the Taoiseach give a specific date for when the people currently on the scheme can avail of the 10%? We are talking about people who are on the scheme. This scheme works. People are phoning me - the majority of whom are on the scheme - crying because the 10% is enough to keep their debt at approximately €100,000. Can I get a date for when this 10% will be implemented?
I wish the Minister and the Minister of State success in their time going forward. We may be making progress in terms of healthcare outcomes in Ireland overall, but there is no doubt that there is an enormous disparity between the north west and the rest of the country when it comes to access to healthcare and healthcare outcomes. In Donegal we are years behind the rest of the country in terms of healthcare that we a…
The Government's defective blocks scheme has left many homeowners, particularly in Donegal, facing significant challenges. The scheme is fraught with delays, technical barriers and inadequate funding. Despite availing of the scheme, families are still drowning in debt and are expected to carry the financial burden relating to delays caused by a lack of contractors and insufficient processing by Donegal County Council…
Will the Bill include retrospective payments - these were promised previously - for homeowners who are currently in the scheme?
Only 69 have been completed.
I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion, which I support. I am disappointed that like the Labour Party motion last week, there is no mention of the defective concrete crisis in this motion. This is a crisis that impacts tens of thousands of people in County Donegal and 16 other counties. It is a crisis that every single party needs to address. Every day we discover more problems with the Governm…
There is a severe mental health crisis in Donegal which only continues to get worse as the defective concrete crisis continues to impact families across our county. New scientific mental health research conducted by the University of Ulster surveyed 393 families living in defective concrete homes across Ireland. The findings were devastating but not surprising. The research found that more than a third of individuals…
65. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the way the OPW ensures that buildings they are responsible for are using blocks that are free from deleterious materials in construction projects in County Donegal; if they have checked existing buildings for the presence of same. [6116/25]
Will the OPW ensure that buildings it is responsible for in construction projects in County Donegal are using blocks that are free from the deleterious materials, and has it checked existing buildings for the presence of these same materials?
There are buildings with this in Donegal. I am asking exactly what testing procedures are being carried out. There are buildings affected throughout Donegal. There are leisure centres, creches and public buildings affected with this defective concrete. I ask the Minister of State to look into this and come to the realisation that 40% of creches in Donegal are affected. There are public buildings throughout the county…
Does the OPW have a plan in place if a building is identified? What will it do to protect people using these buildings? In Letterkenny, for example, there is a leisure centre that serves thousands of people. If that building is identified, what action will it take to address this?
I will come back to the Minister of State.
67. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if the he will engage with the Department of Housing, the OPW and Donegal County Council to explore a viable alternative solution for affected homeowners in Elm Park, Buncrana, including the option of providing grant funding for the purchase of alternative homes rather than rebuilding on an unsuitable site…
107. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if urgent consideration will be given by the OPW to addressing the flooding situation in Elm Park, Buncrana, where nine properties were built on a floodplain and have been severely impacted by both defective concrete and previous flooding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5218/25]
Will the Minister engage with the Department of housing, the OPW and Donegal County Council to explore viable alternative solutions for the affected homeowners of Elm Park in Buncrana including the option of providing grant funding for the purchase of alternative homes rather than rebuilding on a floodplain? Will he make a statement on the matter?