I thank the Deputy and appreciate where she is coming from. I hear the frustration. I appreciate the views of neighbours. As a public representative like the Deputy, I fully understand that sometimes what is proposed does not align with reality. It is important that I, having taken the question this morning, articulate and communicate the Deputy's views and those of residents back to the NTA. I am not obfuscating res…
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
All of us, no matter where we are from, want Bus Connects to succeed. At its core, it is about bringing new service and providing better all-day frequency and more reliability. Every day, we get complaints about the quality of a bus service, whether in Cork city or Dublin. We are not immune. As a Minister and Ministers of State, we are determined to ensure that we can deliver that.
It disappoints me, as a Minister o…
Amen.
I thank Deputy Gould for raising this very important matter. As he knows - we are both from Cork city - detailed planning for the implementation of the BusConnects Cork network is under way. I am told by the National Transport Authority, NTA, and Cork City Council that does involve redesign, which is continuing to happen, with the new network to be rolled out on a phased basis. It is fair to say that we both wish it …
I thoroughly support Deputy Gould. I share the same ambition he has and it frustrates all of us that we have issues with the bus service, not just in Cork but across the country. To be fair to the NTA - and I am critical of the NTA, as he knows - we have seen investment by Government through the NTA in the BusConnects Cork network and we will have delivery on the ground. It needs to be expedited but, in fairness, as …
I will pose the question to Deputy Gould: is he for or against BusConnects?
No, hold on-----
Yes. The important point is that we have to deliver. The Deputy talks about burning money. Some €940 million of a public service obligation, PSO, contribution to public transport is a significant amount of money. The Deputy is around a long time and is a clever man. The money we are spending on BusConnects is about delivery and putting the infrastructure and the planning in place so we will have BusConnects. I am abs…
I thank the Deputy for her ongoing support for public transport in Louth and other places in rural Ireland. This question deserves attention in terms of the progress we have made in rural transport. As the Deputy knows, it is one of the key points of our programme for Government. The Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I are very much committed to balanced regional investment being designated as a cor…
I hear what the Deputy is saying in the context of County Louth. The key point for us as a Department and for me as the Minister of State with responsibility for rural transport is to look, along with TFI and Local Link, at the enhancement of the No. 161 from Dundalk to Carlingford to Newry. We are also looking at the piece around the No. 162 Dundalk to Monaghan bus service and the review of existing services in Coun…
I was in Carlingford over the summer, which is a beautiful spot. Regarding the Deputy's point about passenger numbers, the numbers using the regular rural service have increased by 72%.
If we put in investment aligned with the interest, people will travel. As the Deputy said, it is about tourism and economic opportunity but also about getting people from A to B. It goes back to the discussion that I had with Deputy Gould this morning about getting people out of their cars and onto buses. I will work with Deputy McGreehan on that.
Hear, hear.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht na ceiste. Is cúis mhór bhróid dom an cheist seo a fhreagairt ar son mo chomhghleacaithe, an tAire, an Teachta Calleary, agus go mórmhór an tAire Iompair, an Teachta O'Brien. I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and for his interest in rural transport. He will have a group from west Waterford here tomorrow. I hope we will get together.
The Government is of the…
As the Deputy is aware, I have been in west Waterford and I hope we will find a solution to that impasse. Having visited the site and spoken to locals, what is happening there does not make sense to me. I have asked that it be looked at.
I will make the point in the round that the Minister, Deputy Calleary, has been proactive, as have I, in being an advocate for rural Ireland and rural communities. That voice is hea…
-----we will continue to drive stakeholder engagement.
The Government and the Department of Transport have been proactive in their support of rural transport. I do not think the Deputy would dismiss the fact that this year €718 million has been allocated to investment in the regional and local road network. I do not think the Deputy will oppose that and Waterford, through its county council, has received significant funding.
The Department of Rural and Community Develop…
I do not think it is as simple as the Deputy thinks but I thank her for the question. It is an important question. The provision of community childcare is very important. The Deputy and I probably share a view on the issue. As she will know, this does not necessarily fall under the remit of the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP. I will come back to her again. I hope we will find common ground…
I understand where the Deputy is coming from. I genuinely do. Empower is the community childcare provider in her area. It does phenomenal work. As the Deputy knows, SICAP does not directly provide that community childcare place. I am meeting John Logue and Richard Bruton from Social Enterprise Republic of Ireland, SERI, next week to have a conversation with them in terms of this piece. I will pose the question in a r…
Okay. I will come back again.
The important point is that there is a commitment by the Government. I share the Deputy's confidence in terms of the capacity of social enterprises to deliver. I will have that conversation next week, but it would be fair to say that we are seeing a co-ordinated response from the Government. We are tackling the key issues. There is a deficit in some places around the provision of community childcare places. In saying…
I will come back in again if I can.
Okay.
I thank the Deputy for the question. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I have developed a range of funding schemes and interventions which advance the development of communities across the country. While many of the Department's schemes are focused on rural areas, others traverse both rural and urban communities. These include the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, the community services pro…
I appreciate that Dundrum, in some cases, is not eligible for funding under some of the criteria for schemes. The Minister and I have had conversations with many Deputies in the House, especially those from west Dublin, parts of Cork South-Central and parts of the Deputy’s own constituency. We are very much committed to community development and regeneration. The Deputy will have heard the Minister, Deputy Calleary, …