As we speak, there are 83 vacant homes in my area of South Dublin County Council, five of which have been empty for more than a year. Each one of those homes should have a family living in it. It is disgusting that adults are stuck living in their parents' back bedrooms while the house next door is boarded up.
Young people are boarding planes to Australia when they could be starting lives in these boarded-up homes. …
TDs / Mark Ward
Mark Ward
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
635
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
86,854
words spoken in the chamber
Across 347 contributions
429
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
148
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 635 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 347 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 21 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 40 | 10 |
| March 2025 | 26 | 10 |
| April 2025 | 29 | 13 |
| May 2025 | 43 | 13 |
| June 2025 | 38 | 27 |
| July 2025 | 37 | 17 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 28 | 10 |
| October 2025 | 30 | 21 |
| November 2025 | 49 | 20 |
| December 2025 | 5 | 9 |
| January 2026 | 24 | 23 |
| February 2026 | 40 | 28 |
| March 2026 | 40 | 9 |
| April 2026 | 44 | 39 |
| May 2026 | 25 | 38 |
| June 2026 | 46 | 25 |
| July 2026 | 32 | 15 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 25 | 10 |
| October 2026 | 13 | 10 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 142 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 Dublin Mid-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
There is currently a social media campaign entitled “Don’t stop talking about Palestine”. I fully support it. People, including the campaigners, are concerned that there is fatigue setting in among some, who are asking what exactly they can do. I urge people to keep talking about Palestine and to keep protesting about it, including on the streets and in the Houses of the Oireachtas. I express my solidarity with Sophi…
I take the opportunity to wish the best to both Ministers in their roles. There is not a TD on any side the House who does not wish them success because education is hugely important to our children. I want to raise a few local issues. Rathcoole Educate Together National School is currently in a temporary location in Citywest while it waits for a permanent building. It was told this would be a two-year temporary arra…
We are discussing funding for carers and I want to talk about one funding source, namely, the domiciliary care allowance. The domiciliary care allowance is payable in respect of a child under the age of 16 who has severe disability requiring continual care and attention. Over the past number of years I have noticed a pattern of people contacting me and coming to my office with the same problem with the domiciliary ca…
It is not often the Government gets things right when it comes to housing, but in the case of the tenant in situ scheme it was working. What does the Government do when something is working in housing? It moves the goalposts. South Dublin County Council has seen a significant cut on the 2024 expenditure on the tenant in situ scheme.
The Government has imposed significant new restrictions on tenant in situ applicatio…
Gaza needs aid. Gaza needs a ceasefire. Israel needs sanctions. That may be a very simplistic message but that is what is needed right now. Israel has displaced the people of Gaza. Israel has murdered the people of Gaza. Israel has starved the people of Gaza. The people of Gaza are being ethnically cleansed right before our very eyes. If you do not believe me, believe the words of Israel's finance minister, Bezalel S…
We are being denied.
At this moment more than 15,000 children are waiting for an assessment of need. An assessment of need is an assessment carried out by the HSE of children with disabilities. The assessment identifies the child's needs and what services are needed to meet them. This sounds like a simple procedure, but Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have made a right hames of it. They have scandalously left children waiting for the treatment…
On behalf of my colleague Deputy Darren O'Rourke, I wish to ask about youth diversion programmes which offer huge benefits. They are aimed at preventing young people from becoming involved in the criminal justice system and at promoting positive development. These programmes can lead to reduced recidivism and can help young people to make a positive contribution to society. What plans does the Minister have to increa…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. The question related to Meath, so I wanted to focus on youth diversion in the Ashbourne area. The area has seen a significant increase in population and I welcome the recent funds that were allocated from the community safety fund for Ashbourne. This is money that was seized by CAB and put back into communities to help them build resilience to crime. This is something my party cam…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I want to touch on the community safety fund again. This is money from organised crime that was seized by CAB and is meant to be invested in the communities most impacted by crime. These communities are in need of resources to strengthen their resilience against criminal activity. It is no coincidence that the majority of money seized by CAB originates in areas of high disadvantag…
As the Minister said, the community safety partnerships were to be restructured to replace the JPCs. They were much promised by the Minister's predecessor, Deputy McEntee, and much lauded. It is very worrying to hear the Minister still has not signed off on these community safety partnerships. There is a vacuum. The JPC is vital in holding the Garda to account. Can the Minister enact this legislation? At the moment t…
I want to talk about the scandalous waiting times at the driving test centre in Tallaght. The latest figures I have show that over 20,000 people in Tallaght are waiting for driving tests. This is a rise of 1,500 in the past six months. The only direction waiting lists go in this country is up. The statutory minimum time to sit the test is ten weeks. The waiting time in Tallaght is now a shocking 43 weeks. Being oblig…
I move:
That leave be granted to withdraw the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2023 and the Sale of Nitrous Oxide and Related Products Bill 2024, and, notwithstanding the Order of the Dáil of 1st May, 2025, that Deputy Joanna Byrne be designated the member in charge of the Broadcasting (Oversight of RTÉ Accounts) (Amendment) Bill 2024.
I do not normally talk about my personal life in the House but today I will. I am one of over 10,000 people in this country with multiple sclerosis, MS. I was diagnosed with MS 18 years ago. The past two years have probably been the most challenging of those 18 years but right now I am probably in the best physical and mental condition I have been in for a long time. I have been critical in the past of how to get int…
Yes.
I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to regulate and licence the sale of nitrous oxide to exempted purchasers, to prohibit the sale of nitrous oxide and nitrous oxide products to a person who has not attained the age of 18 years, and to provide for related matters.
I welcome yesterday's comments by the Taoiseach that legislation was needed to tackle the misuse of nitrous oxide. Today, I…
I am sharing. I am well aware of the time.
Okay. This Bill will enable members of An Garda Síochána to seize nitrous oxide products from those without the appropriate licences. I call on all Members to support this common-sense Bill.
I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."
There are 15,000 homeless.
The Taoiseach should answer the question he was asked.
Earlier, I spoke with one of my constituents from Clondalkin. Gillian Sherratt is the mother of eight-year-old Harvey. Harvey is suffering from life-threatening spina bifida and scoliosis. He was on the waiting list to have an operation on his spine for 33 months. The Minister may remember when Harvey touched the hearts of the nation as a video showed him struggling to breathe as a result of his spinal curve leading …
Absolutely. I 100% had permission. As I said, I spoke to the parent earlier.
On Tuesday, Sinn Féin introduced a Bill in the Dáil that would scrap water charges for good and prevent the Government from introducing them in the future. It would put an end to the debate for good, even if the Government wanted to introduce charges for water. Lo and behold, surprise, surprise, the Government voted against this, leaving the door ajar to introducing water charges in the future. In fact, Deputy Ó Broi…