I thank the Minister of State and I am sorry that we are dealing with this so late in the evening. What action is the Department of higher education taking to increase the number of dental training places in our universities? This is in view of the fact that no increase has occurred in the past 25 years while the population of the country has increased by 1.6 million people.
Moreover, will the Minister of State expl…
TDs / Colm Burke
Colm Burke
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,291
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
49,488
words spoken in the chamber
3,972 as a minister, 45,516 as a TD
430
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
239
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 1,291 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 266 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 7 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 23 | 7 |
| March 2025 | 73 | 4 |
| April 2025 | 62 | 18 |
| May 2025 | 64 | 38 |
| June 2025 | 72 | 11 |
| July 2025 | 89 | 16 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 96 | 12 |
| October 2025 | 53 | 18 |
| November 2025 | 105 | 33 |
| December 2025 | 74 | 9 |
| January 2026 | 57 | 4 |
| February 2026 | 62 | 7 |
| March 2026 | 91 | 17 |
| April 2026 | 67 | 17 |
| May 2026 | 61 | 3 |
| June 2026 | 72 | 16 |
| July 2026 | 72 | 18 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 64 | 0 |
| October 2026 | 27 | 18 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 247 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 Cork North-Central 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I would like clarity on the RCSI. Will those students be fee-paying students or is will they come under the education system and be the same as any other students? I always thought that RCSI was full of fee-paying students.
Second, an extra 20 places is not sufficient and the figures show that. The number of dentists now offering public services has decreased from slightl…
On the issue of increase in numbers, that is because there are dentists coming in from abroad.
70. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the funding available for community groups seeking to construct capital facilities, such as community centres, pavilions, and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26263/25]
As the Minister knows, Ballincollig, which is in my constituency, won the Tidy Towns competition in 2024. It involved a huge contribution from the community over many years. A really strong community spirit has been created. The problem I now have in my constituency in places like Blarney and Glanmire which have had huge population increases is that we have not set aside facilities to be developed for the community. …
I acknowledge that Department officials work really hard and are getting good value for the money that is allocated. When money is allocated to a community group, it will raise a whole lot more money itself to develop and grow the facilities. My big concerns centres around the areas where there is a huge increase in housing. The Minister talked about the allocation in Blarney, which is very welcome. The money has bee…
Another place the Minister should visit the next time he is in Cork is the Glen Resource Centre. I was involved a long time ago in getting funding from Europe to start the centre. There are now more than 80 organisations using it. This is because of the contribution of the local community in developing and growing it. It is an important facility in an area where there was a lot of local authority housing and we would…
As I understand it, a total of nine diseases are included in the heel prick test for newborns in Ireland, with approximately 120 babies identified each year as having rare diseases. However, Ireland is falling significantly behind the rest of Europe. For instance, Italy tests for a total of 48 diseases. Countries such as Austria test for 31 diseases, while Poland and Portugal test for 29. In 2023, the national screen…
In 2009, I was in Gaza after Israel went in, following the changeover of the US President. It went in on 27 December 2008 and kept bombing until 18 January 2009. On 20 January, the new US President was sworn in. I was there in February 2009 and saw the devastation of less than 28 days of bombing, where 1,400 people were killed, of whom 400 were children. I was reporting to a subcommittee of the European Parliament on…
It is extremely frightening to see a 36% increase in the number of herds restricted over a two-year period and the whole increase over the past five years. It is important that we do everything possible in the shortest time to reduce the numbers as well as the reasons they have increased so dramatically in such a short period. I know officials in the Department, the veterinary profession and farmers are working hard …
125. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide an update on his Department's recent discussions with the TB forum to address the increase in the incidence of tuberculosis on Irish farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25612/25]
Will the Minister give an update on the Department's recent discussions with the TB forum to address the increase in the incidence of tuberculosis on farms, and will he make a statement on the matter?
I thank the Minister. As I outlined and as the Minister said, between 2022 and 2024, there was a 36% increase in herds restricted. That is a huge increase. More than 6,000 farmers have lost 40,000 productive animals within a short period. The breakout of TB has a huge effect, especially in my area, a lot of which is urban but is also rural, where there are large dairy farms. When TB hits a dairy farm, the level of re…
The Minister outlined the challenges for families. The big problem is when a large number of stock animals has to be disposed of. Farmers then have the problem of trying to build back up that herd, especially in dairy farming. The time and cost of that are huge. The important issue is how to bring down the numbers affected and how to deal with this in real terms. We have had the TB testing scheme for a long number of…
I am raising again the Blackpool flood relief scheme. We had three major floods there in 2010, 2012 and 2013. A decision was taken that a flood relief scheme would be put in place to make sure that the buildings in the area would not be adversely affected by a future increase in rainfall. Some 293 properties were previously adversely affected - 206 of them residential and 87 commercial. The announcement was made in 2…
I very much appreciate the work being done by officials in both the OPW and the Department of public expenditure, but there is frustration. As someone who comes from a legal background, I fully understand the dangers of rushing any decision and taking short cuts. Therefore, it is important in this case that the t's are crossed and the i's are dotted. I urge that the public consultation process proceeds at the earlies…
The Government is getting €14 billion from Apple computers in my constituency. I would like it if some of that were spent in my constituency and not all of it outside of the constituency. The Blackpool flood relief scheme is one of the priorities that I want dealt with.
One of the problems with derelict sites relates to title difficulties. Local authorities have a power to resolve this by using CPOs to assist developers. We do not seem to have been successful in getting local authorities to engage with people. If they did engage, I am of the view that many of the issues that obtain could be resolved.
The other issue that needs to be resolved in the constituency and Deputy Gould and…
123. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice for the up to date position on the roll-out nationally of distinct family law courts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24868/25]
What action is the Department taking to reduce the application and appeals timeframe for international protection? Will the Minister make a statement on the matter, particularly in view of the fact that there has been a substantial increase in the number of applications in 2024, when there were 18,651 in total? What action is the Department taking to expedite the appeals process and to deal with applications overall?
As the Minister outlined, there are 12,600 appeals on hand, but there was a substantial increase in the number of applicants in 2023, when the figure was 13,277. In 2024, the figure was 18,651. In the first three months of this year, there were 3,021. This means an average of 1,000 per month, which is 12,000 per year.
We must consider how we can expedite the whole appeals process, deal with it more efficiently and g…
I accept what the Minister is saying. Both of us, coming from a legal background, will know we also have to be careful not only about the issue of constitutional rights but also about the fear regarding judicial review. Once an applicant enters a judicial review process, we have a difficulty. It is extremely important that we get the appeals process correct but it is also important that we have an efficient and effec…
Could I get a breakdown of the timeframe regarding the 12,600?
52. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Transport the steps his Department is taking to reduce the waiting time for driving test appointments at test centres in Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22681/25]
I had two people on to me this week. One person got their appointment for 22 December in Wilton, in Cork. The other person's appointment is for 5 January 2026. That is an outrageous period of time that people have to wait for a test. I have parents on to me. One parent's son has to be dropped to work at 4 o'clock in the day and his other parent has to collect him after midnight every night because he is not able to d…