I welcome the reductions. I really do not profess to know the science behind this but there is movement of children from CDNT lists to primary care and there is movement of children on CDNT lists from Balbriggan to Swords. I am not really sure why all of that happens, but I want to make sure that the children and families who need the therapies are getting them. While numbers look like they are reducing, I am not sur…
TDs / Grace Boland
Grace Boland
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,921
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
26,034
words spoken in the chamber
Across 156 contributions. Plus 20 contributions from the chair, not counted
430
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
231
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 1,921 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 156 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 18 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 53 | 6 |
| March 2025 | 53 | 2 |
| April 2025 | 47 | 18 |
| May 2025 | 113 | 6 |
| June 2025 | 70 | 5 |
| July 2025 | 306 | 2 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 167 | 9 |
| October 2025 | 133 | 5 |
| November 2025 | 59 | 10 |
| December 2025 | 127 | 2 |
| January 2026 | 271 | 1 |
| February 2026 | 70 | 5 |
| March 2026 | 43 | 5 |
| April 2026 | 41 | 16 |
| May 2026 | 132 | 6 |
| June 2026 | 30 | 20 |
| July 2026 | 34 | 7 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 96 | 14 |
| October 2026 | 58 | 17 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 135 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 Fingal West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
11. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the extent of engagement her Department has had with the autism community, including autistic individuals, advocacy organisations and representative groups, in the development of the recently announced new autism assessment and intervention pathway protocol; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43029/26]
I welcome the new autism assessment and intervention pathway protocol. It is an effort to bring greater consistency as to how autism is assessed across services. The success of this reform will depend on whether autistic people and their families feel that it reflects their lived experience. The Minister of State might please advise us as to what engagement took place with the autism community in developing the proto…
I thank the Minister of State. In regard to going forward and making sure that the lived experience of autistic people and their families included and that we learn from the experience they go through in this new process, can she confirm that there will be that ongoing structured engagement around any reforms, changes or tweaks made to the protocol, as may be required from the process?
I know the Minister of State touched on it earlier but my area has one of the longest waiting lists for assessments of need. What parents at home want to know is whether this protocol will help them get assessments and therapies? Will it make a difference to them? She might please help me give some comfort to families at home.
117. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Transport the number of electric buses currently in storage; the total cost of their storage and maintenance over the past three years; the projected cost of continued storage and maintenance until deployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46183/26]
The public accounts committee has, after protracted correspondence, finally got to the bottom of where we might be in terms of the cost of storage of 384 buses over the last four years, with 98 electric buses still in storage. These are much-needed buses that should be servicing our community. Will the Minister of State specifically tell us the cost of those electric buses, and also the projected cost, given that we …
If hundreds of electric, zero-emission buses sitting in storage represents value for money, I would like the Department to publish a full cost-benefit analysis, the opportunity cost and the opportunity lost. Will the Minister of State please confirm that the Department will do that?
The summer provision has worked well for many years now. It has supported families and in particular children with disabilities but this year has not gone to plan. Schools have no certainty about summer provision, July provision, in particular in relation to the home-based school provision. Parents are supposed to source teachers and SNAs to provide this. We are seven days out from schools closing and parents have no…
6. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the additional measures under consideration to bring Ireland back on track to meet its carbon budgets and legally binding 2030 emissions reduction targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44390/26]
While I welcome the progress that is being made, the EPA, as it stands, is telling us that, at best, we are only going to meet half of the targets that we need to meet for 2030. What urgent additional measures is the Minister and his Department considering to try to bring us further forward in reaching our 2030 goals?
At a recent meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts, the Minister's Secretary General and I discussed retrofitting and delivering energy efficient homes. She acknowledged that is a real issue and there is a workforce gap. Has the Minister's Department made an assessment of that gap? What measures is he taking to address it?
The Minister mentioned an extra 1 million EVs on the road. What we really need is better …
This Bill represents progress in a number of important areas. It reflects an effort to respond to the pressures on working people through a number of targeted tax measures, including an increase in the USC threshold; the extension of supports, such as rent tax credits and mortgage interest relief, alongside continued investment in our infrastructure and public services; measures backing innovation, research and quali…
I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. This is an issue that evokes deeply held and personal views across Irish society and it is important that we approach it with sensitivity, compassion and respect for differing opinions. There will be strongly held views expressed in this debate, and I respect that. However, I believe as legislators that we have a responsibility to carefully consider the evidence…
6. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the way in which he plans to ensure that the implementation of the national swimming strategy addresses regional and demographic disparities in access to swimming facilities, particularly in areas experiencing rapid population growth and sustained unmet demand such as Fingal, where limited access to public swimming pools persists despite …
North County Dublin is one of the youngest and fastest growing areas in the country yet access to public swimming pools is extremely limited, particularly in north Fingal. Waiting lists for the limited swimming pools that are available are at 100%. Fingal County Council is planning to develop a swimming pool in Balbriggan. Will the Minister of State update us on whether any money will be made available from central g…
I very much welcome Swim Ireland's report. The Minister of State will have seen from it that waiting lists in Fingal are at 100%. The nearest pool to Balbriggan is in Swords. Balbriggan is the youngest large town in the country. We need access to a swimming pool for Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush, Lusk and the surrounding villages of Naul and Garristown. The demand is there and we have the population. Fingal County Counc…
I welcome the Minister of State's positive comments. I think I will be back here asking him follow-up questions. I would appreciate it if he would work with me on this issue.
Fingal is one of the fastest growing areas in the country but transport needs to keep pace with housing delivery. We need buses that connect the new developments in sprawling towns like Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush and Lusk to the town centre and, crucially, also to our rail links. Rush and Lusk train station is actually in the middle of nowhere and is surrounded by fields. The car park is at capacity. When I brought t…
14. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Social Protection in the context of the programme for Government commitment to examine the extension of parents’ leave and benefit, whether he will outline the current status of this examination; the options under consideration to extend the duration of parents’ leave and benefit beyond the current entitlement; when he expects to bring proposals to Government; and if he …
I am very glad that since I had my twins nine years ago, a Fine Gael Government introduced parents' leave, which now stands at nine weeks for each parent. As we know, the take-up of this leave, particularly by dads, is exceptionally low. Research from the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, last year showed that awareness really is part of this, as …
I thank the Minister. There is a real issue with awareness and we need to have a concerted awareness campaign. Fathers simply do not know that they are entitled to take this leave.
In regard to increasing the rate of payment, we know the projected child benefit payment this year is actually going to be down €320 million on what was paid last year. We should be looking at supporting families, particularly around paym…
In terms of looking at people and children at risk of poverty, for a mother who is availing of maternity leave at €299 or of the 16 weeks' unpaid leave, and a dad who is also taking parent's leave at a rate of €299, the two combined payments are exceptionally low in terms of actually being able to avail of this leave. It means the people in lower socio-economic positions are simply not able to avail of this leave bec…
I welcome the motion to extend the defective concrete blocks scheme to homes in Fingal. It is an important and overdue step for families who have lived for years with defective materials and the stress and uncertainty that brings. For those households, this offers recognition and a clear pathway to make their homes safe. However, the motion applies only to specific homes already identified and does not address a wide…
The Minister of State has heard me say many times before that Fingal is the youngest, fastest-growing area in the country. Balbriggan is the youngest large town in the country and the fastest-growing, yet our D-Doc services are appalling. My understanding is that D-Doc was set up in 2006. Obviously, the population of Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush and Lusk, and the rural villages of Garrettstown, Naul, Ballyboughal, Role…