Over 11,000 people have signed a petition to retain, extend and expand the basic income for the arts scheme. A cost-benefit analysis prepared by Alma Economics for the Department has shown that for every €1 invested society receives €1.39 in return, with over €100 million in social and economic benefits. With the budget approaching next week and the pilot due to end in February, will the Minister confirm if the schem…
TDs / Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Aengus Ó Snodaigh
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922
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
117,354
words spoken in the chamber
Across 455 contributions. Plus 146 contributions from the chair, not counted
414
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
233
topics asked about
Across 20 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 922 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 455 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| February 2025 | 89 | 11 |
| March 2025 | 70 | 63 |
| April 2025 | 55 | 45 |
| May 2025 | 69 | 40 |
| June 2025 | 46 | 19 |
| July 2025 | 79 | 14 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 22 | 3 |
| October 2025 | 18 | 37 |
| November 2025 | 62 | 25 |
| December 2025 | 27 | 28 |
| January 2026 | 32 | 28 |
| February 2026 | 35 | 12 |
| March 2026 | 88 | 23 |
| April 2026 | 29 | 14 |
| May 2026 | 32 | 29 |
| June 2026 | 93 | 22 |
| July 2026 | 25 | 9 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 27 | 1 |
| October 2026 | 24 | 30 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 261 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 South-Central 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
In some ways, I do not know whether it is good or bad that no decision has been made yet, given there is a very short administrative time, between this week and the end of February, for the scheme to continue without interruption. Artists are asking questions, such as whether those who are currently on the scheme can continue on it or a whole new cohort will be involved, or whether there will be increased numbers. Th…
I welcome the confirmation that the Minister's intention is to have a basic income scheme, whatever its new title will be. However, part of the problem for artists at the moment is they are unsure of what the new scheme will look like. Obviously, that will be determined somewhat by budgetary factors but there are some things the Minister may be able to explain at the moment.
Will it be a new scheme? Will it be total…
4. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to confirm whether he granted funding to a festival on an exceptional basis outside the normal application processes for annual departmental or Arts Council schemes; the amounts and the recipients of such exceptional funding outside the normal applications processes provided by his Department in relation to community festivals and su…
My last attempt to ask this question was disallowed and a freedom of information request has yet to receive a response. I will ask it outright: did the new Minister ignore all normal arm's length criteria and competition-based funding processes so he could provide thousands of taxpayers' euro off the books at the request of somebody who was until January of this year a Government Senator?
That is okay.
I did not name the festival because I believe it deserves to be funded - I have absolutely no problem with that - but I am interested in the way in which the normal funding process was circumvented in this instance. The question is whether there are other ways for festivals to circumvent the small-scale schemes that the Minister mentioned or the Arts Council schemes. Yes, there are occasions when this happens but the…
I can answer that directly: no.
If the Minister would listen, I specifically said that Listowel Writers Week deserves to be properly funded.
Yes but the Minister did not publish that he was giving this money in this format to Listowel, to-----
-----Tralee or to any of the other ones.
The Minister should publish it. That is transparency.
If he is going to do it this way, the Minister will attract applications well beyond the three he mentioned.
That is not the process. He set up a process and that is the way in which people should apply for funding and that funding should be increased. The problem is the Minister and his Department are not being transparent in the way it is funding. Yes, there are exceptions and, yes, there is a need-----
There are exceptions and those exceptions include Listowel Writers' Week, Tralee and others, but that should be published. The Minister should be open that this funding stream is available to everybody.
I have no issue with Listowel either.
I have absolutely no issue with Listowel.
I have absolutely no problem with Listowel.
I had not mentioned Listowel. The Minister named it.
The Minister brought Listowel into this.
I did not.
I have absolutely no problem.
I would not have been allowed with the rules of the House. I did not put it down specifically, so that I was not casting aspersions on Listowel.
It was on the Minister and not on the------.
The Minister has been doing that for the past ten minutes.
I have absolutely no problem with Listowel.