I thank Deputy Gould for raising this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien. From the outset, I would like to clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport but neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services.
The statutory respon…
TDs / Seán Canney
Seán Canney
Minister of State at the Department of Transport
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
65
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
81,563
words spoken in the chamber
81,563 as a minister, 0 as a TD
343
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
39
topics asked about
Across 9 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 65 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 220 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 4 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 5 | 21 |
| March 2025 | 4 | 12 |
| April 2025 | 4 | 5 |
| May 2025 | 2 | 33 |
| June 2025 | 8 | 15 |
| July 2025 | 7 | 2 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 8 | 0 |
| October 2025 | 2 | 8 |
| November 2025 | 5 | 50 |
| December 2025 | 4 | 0 |
| January 2026 | 1 | 13 |
| February 2026 | 4 | 6 |
| March 2026 | 2 | 2 |
| April 2026 | 3 | 19 |
| May 2026 | 2 | 1 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 4 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 25 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 4 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 164 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 Galway East 29 November 2024 to now
- party Independent 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Transport 23 January 2025 to now
That is not what I said.
I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. First, I accept and I said here that the service is not right. I have also said I and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, are not responsible for the day-to-day running of the service - we are responsible for providing the funding. If there are issues with the service we will get to the bottom of it. I know there have been issues with getting drivers and I appreciate the Deputy's frustr…
Sorry-----
A Chathaoirligh.
With due respect, Deputy, you had your time and-----
If you could have the manners to let me talk, please. It is just common courtesy. I gave that to you. What I would say to you is I meet Bus Éireann on a regular basis where issues arise and I can meet it on this, but I will not be goaded into it or bullied into it by you.
What do you want?
No, I would say he can have the time. Sure he knows it all.
There is no point in talking when he shouts over me.
I thank the Deputy for the question. Commercial vehicle roadworthiness testing, CVRT, in Ireland is largely based on the EU roadworthiness directive, which is Directive 2014/45/EU. Although the directive has not set specific standards, it requires the provision of modern, up-to-date testing facilities to ensure all tests are carried out in accordance with the directive. While as Minister of State I have responsibilit…
There are currently 147 authorised commercial vehicle roadworthiness test operators. I will list the expiry dates for their authorisations. Sixty will expire on or after 18 March 2034 and seven will expire between 18 March 2027 and 18 March 2034. Their premises will also comply. Sixty-nine expire on 18 March 2027 and 11 operators have informed the RSA that they will not continue to operate after that date. Of the 69 …
I thank the Deputy very much for raising this matter. I will give her the reply that I have been given, but, basically, my understanding is that in the context of the role of the Minister, this is a planning issue. I believe there is planning going on at the moment. I do not know the exact detail. While there is a planning application in the system, the role of the Minister is primarily to provide a policy and legisl…
I cannot comment on the particular situation. Now that I understand what has happened, planning permission has been given for this and it is still in the planning process. I cannot comment on that-----
I have it in my own constituency with wind farms. These wind farms are being imposed on communities in their own backyards. They are very imposing. Again, we do not know who owns them. Investors own them. Communities are preparing submissions to go into the local authority to make their cases. They are meeting in community halls to see how they will do this when they should be at home enjoying themselves with their f…
I thank the Deputy for the question. In County Galway, we have 30 villages without any treatment plant, so I empathise with him.
Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation. Neither I, nor the Minister, Deputy Browne, who offers his apologies as he cannot be here this evening for this question, have an operational function in the matter to which the D…
I can feel the Deputy's frustration with this particular issue. As I said, for the first time ever we have put money into Uisce Éireann, which is ring-fenced money, for it to develop new infrastructure. Since its inception, Uisce Éireann has spent a lot of its time trying to firefight existing infrastructure which was not functioning properly. In fairness, it did not get the proper money to do the job it was set up t…
I welcome the opportunity to address the House on road haulage costs and how the Government is supporting this critical sector. I will share my time with the Ministers of State, Deputies Christopher O'Sullivan and Jerry Buttimer.
Geopolitical events over the past number of years and the storm damage to Holyhead at the end of last year have highlighted the importance of the road haulage sector and the contribution it…
I rise today to pay tribute to my colleague, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, on the occasion of his departure from Cabinet. It is an important moment for this House and the country because it marks the close of a remarkable chapter in public service, one defined by stability, integrity and an unwavering commitment to the Irish people. Paschal Donohoe has given incredible service to this State since he first entered the Dáil …
-----we were waiting to make sure that over the next four years we would do that. I look forward to working with my colleagues for the next four years.
For almost 1,400 days, Ukraine has been subjected to an armed aggression, the likes of which had not darkened our Continent in decades. The actions of the Russian Government in invading the territory of a sovereign, independent state are an affront to humanity, conducted with flagrant disregard for the UN Charter and for international law. In the course of its military aggression, Russia has killed thousands of Ukrai…
I thank the Deputy for his question. First, I want to state that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is at COP30 and that is why he is not here tonight to answer questions. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I are here to answer the questions.
It is important to point out that the Minister for Transport has no formal role when it comes to tolls. The setting of tolls is a statutory function of Transport Infrastruc…
First, I cannot speak for people who made election promises in manifestos. I am here to deal with the question tonight and that is what I am here to do. I note there are 11 toll roads in the State of which ten are on the national roads. The East-Link-Ringsend bridge toll in Dublin is on the local road network. Of the ten tolls, there are two public tolls, namely, the M50 and the Dublin tunnel tolls. Revenue from thes…
First, the question here is about the tolls and what they are doing. To recap again, there were previous tolls on eight PPP roads, the M50 and the Dublin tunnel. There were toll increases in 2025.
At the moment, there are no changes for cars with the exception of a 10 cent increase on the M3 and M4 tolls. There are also increases for goods vehicles across all schemes, a 20% increase for heavy goods vehicles of more …
As Minister of State with responsibility for international and road transport, logistics, rail and ports, I wish to begin by noting that e-scooter users, like cyclists and pedestrians, are vulnerable road users. Their safety is of paramount importance when regulating for safer roads in Ireland. To that end, regulations providing for and governing the safe and legal use of e-scooters on Irish roads were introduced in …