I will come back to the Deputy on the Indecon report. I do not have that information to hand. He is right about the M7 and the N40 in Cork. There is a need for all stakeholders to engage properly to see how we can make that a better thoroughfare for motorists and all road users. As the Deputy said, supporting rural Ireland is a priority for Government. Over the last number of years, we have seen 30 projects in the ru…
TDs / Jerry Buttimer
Jerry Buttimer
Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and at the Department of Transport
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
21
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
121,393
words spoken in the chamber
121,360 as a minister, 33 as a TD
395
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
17
topics asked about
Across 8 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 21 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 432 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 9 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 12 | 16 |
| March 2025 | 0 | 17 |
| April 2025 | 0 | 9 |
| May 2025 | 0 | 15 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 24 |
| July 2025 | 0 | 20 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 | 23 |
| October 2025 | 0 | 17 |
| November 2025 | 0 | 23 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 21 |
| January 2026 | 0 | 17 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 31 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 24 |
| April 2026 | 0 | 38 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 46 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 37 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 16 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 22 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 16 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 363 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Not enough questions on record to compare.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Cork South-Central 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development and at the Department of Transport 29 January 2025 to 1 June 2025
- office Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and at the Department of Transport 2 June 2025 to now
I will respond to Deputy Wall first. As he know, Connecting Ireland's rural mobility plan has been a huge success, with 145 new or enhanced services since it began. A total of 240 towns and villages have been connected with, for example, 61 connections to healthcare facilities, 41 higher education facilities and 71 rail services. A total of 600,000 people have access to new and enhanced bus services. In Deputy Wall's…
I thank Deputy Ward for his question.
As members are aware, the LIS is an important support for rural communities in improving non-public rural roads and laneways not usually maintained by local authorities. Since its establishment in 2017, almost €170 million has been provided by the Government to local authorities under the scheme. In April of last year, some €40 million in funding was announced for LIS across all…
I agree with the Deputy that it is important we ensure people have accessibility and it is about giving them comfort. Donegal has been very good at spending the money allocated to it and has been very successful, with 224 roads completed. It is about ensuring there is flexibility in certain areas where there are pressure points. I will engage with the Deputy and the Minister, Deputy Calleary, in terms of Donegal Coun…
As the Deputy is aware, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I are very committed to this scheme. It is a very important one and at the heart of what we do about rural Ireland. It is about connectivity and it goes back to the question raised by Deputy Wall. It goes back to Deputy Ward's point about people who live way off the road and are trying to-----
-----end social isolation and enhance connectivity. There are different factors when it comes to roads, such as geography, the condition of roads and the amount of road area to be covered. I will communicate the Deputy's point to Donegal County Council. It is a vast and beautiful county. To be fair, the road network has been improved. There may be some areas that need to be enhanced. We have seen a year-on-year incre…
I congratulate Deputy Clendennen on his election.
The local enhancement programme is targeted towards enhancing facilities in disadvantaged communities identified in local economic and community plans. The programme seeks to provide small grants to a wide and diverse range of local community groups, to assist with the purchase of equipment and improvements or repairs to their facilities. Deputy Clendennen, as a form…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an mhéid a dúirt sé mar gheall ar an Roinn.
My Department provides guidance to the local community development committees on the eligibility criteria. The guidelines require projects to be in keeping with the ethos of the programme. The Government is very much aware of the challenges facing community and voluntary groups and we are very much committed to supporting them. Both…
Pobal has, as the Deputy knows, independently assessed the community centre investment fund. Information will be given back to the community centres in question and I will talk to the Deputy further after that.
As regards Deputy Clendennen's point, the idea of the portal is a good idea. He is right that people move on and there is a lacuna then and a burden of administration placed on the voluntary effort. I will ta…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an ábhar seo a ardú. I thank Deputy McGrath for raising the matter. Like the Deputy I want to pay tribute to the staff in the Passport Office and to acknowledge the work that they do. The passport service is currently experiencing a high level of demand for passports, as citizens prepare for upcoming summer travel. The Department of Foreign Affairs has operational and staffing plan…
I thank the Deputy again for raising this important issue. As we all know in this Chamber, passports are an important topic for us in our offices, especially as we approach the Easter and summer holidays. I assure Members of the commitment of the passport service and which I think we all agree is an excellent service. It is in an excellent position to deliver the demand forecasted for the rest of the year. Last week …
Tá an tAire sa Seanad ag plé le Commencement Matters.
Déanaim comhghairdeas le gach aon duine a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht iontach seo. Cosúil le gach duine eile, níl mórán Gaeilge agam, ach tá beagáinín agam. Táim ag foghlaim na teanga agus tá an teanga an-tábhachtach do gach duine, go mór mór sa Dáil agus sa Seanad.
Mar a dúirt an tAire, an Teachta Calleary, is teanga bheo í an Ghaeilge, beo de bharr go bhfuil pobal teanga againn sna ceantair Ghaeltachta agus in ái…
Tairgim leasú Uimh. 1:
Go scriosfar na focail go léir tar éis "Dáil Éireann" agus go gcuirfear an méid seo a leanas ina n-ionad:
"a thabhairt dá haire go bhfuil an Rialtas tiomanta do chosaint agus do chur chun cinn na Gaeilge, agus go bhfuil geallta ag an Rialtas deiseanna a leathnú do scoláirí freastal ar Ghaelscoileanna agus ar Ghaelcholáistí; go n-aithníonn sí:
— go raibh tionchar dearfach suntasach buan ag an…
Ar an gcéad dul síos, gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an Teachta McGreehan as an rún seo a chur os comhair na Dála. I thank Deputy McGreehan for raising the matter of dog control legislation. I share the Deputy's sentiments. She has very eloquently expressed the concern of many people across our country. As she said, that 88% of hill farmers have had their animals attacked is an extraordinary statistic.
When we served in …
I thank Deputy McGreehan again and I share her view. It is important for dog owners to be aware of their responsibilities, not just for the public but also for their dogs. The Deputy is right; accountability, awareness and human responsibility must work in tandem.
In 2024, a major national awareness campaign entitled, "It's not your dog's fault, it's yours", was launched by the Department to alert dog owners to thei…
Withdraw the remark.
Hear, hear.
Tá mé ag éisteacht.
Tá mé ag éisteacht.
Tá mé ag éisteacht.
Labhair mise-----
Ná bí ag magadh now.
Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an Teachta Ó Dálaigh as an rún seo a chur os ár gcomhair agus gabhaim buíochas freisin le gach Ball a thacaigh agus a labhair ar an tairiscint seo. I commend Deputy Daly on tabling the motion. Members will be aware the Government is not opposing the motion. All of us on all sides of the House share the frustration and annoyance around the difficulties being experienced by people in our const…
I thank Deputy Ward for submitting this very important Topical Issue. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy O’Callaghan. I commend Deputy Ward on his proactivity both here this morning and in the Seanad when he served there. I commend the former Senator, Lisa Chambers, and Deputy Ward on their work on this particular matter.
I acknowledge the important concerns raised by Deputy Ward regarding…