I thank the Minister. My question today is important. Will rural counties such as Clare receive an equal share of the BIA scheme? The randomised selection model is fair in principle as it ensures no bias in individual selection. However, fairness in process is not the same as equity of outcome. Clare has a proud professional arts community but artists in rural counties often lack access to the institutional networks,…
TDs / Joe Cooney
Joe Cooney
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
555
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
13,177
words spoken in the chamber
Across 90 contributions
440
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
197
topics asked about
Across 19 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 555 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 90 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 15 | 2 |
| March 2025 | 15 | 0 |
| April 2025 | 45 | 0 |
| May 2025 | 35 | 6 |
| June 2025 | 40 | 8 |
| July 2025 | 48 | 4 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 56 | 0 |
| October 2025 | 21 | 1 |
| November 2025 | 29 | 4 |
| December 2025 | 30 | 6 |
| January 2026 | 14 | 0 |
| February 2026 | 19 | 4 |
| March 2026 | 22 | 13 |
| April 2026 | 31 | 0 |
| May 2026 | 21 | 16 |
| June 2026 | 29 | 10 |
| July 2026 | 53 | 4 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 22 | 4 |
| October 2026 | 10 | 8 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 88 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 Clare 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
14. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if the Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026 will apply to wastewater projects irrespective of their scale or geographic location; if he will consider a programme-level designation for wastewater treatment infrastructure across the country rather than limiting fast-track status to individual large-sca…
Many towns and villages lack adequate wastewater treatment, with a significant number discharging raw sewage every day. The planning process is one aspect where long delays can occur in the delivery of wastewater treatment plants. Given the huge issues we have with water quality and our failure to comply with EU legislation, will the Minister consider a national designation for all wastewater treatment plants across …
I thank the Minister. I have to be direct with him. Wastewater treatment is named in the Government's own Bill as critical infrastructure. Logic dictates, then, that individual rural schemes should not have to make their own separate case for designation under the Bill. As far as I am concerned, they should all be included. The communities I represent in County Clare are not asking for special treatment. They are ask…
I thank the Minister. Again, this question is not about Uisce Éireann’s capital programme. It is about whether the Minister will look at the current status of wastewater treatment as a national scandal, one that has huge negative consequences for the environment and all our communities, whether rural, coastal or urban. The Minister accepts that wastewater is critical infrastructure. All that remains is for him to det…
Changes to the tenant in situ scheme are of significant concern for some constituents who face the very real prospect of homelessness because a scheme that was working has been effectively dismantled. When a landlord decided to sell, the local authority could step in, buy the property and keep the family in their home. It was straightforward and cost-effective and it worked, but last year the Department made a critic…
As far as I can see, the scheme is not working as well as previously. I ask the Minister of State to consider a number of things to make it work better in the future. Reinstate the scheme to its original state. Failing that, reinstate it for properties where refurbishment costs are proportionate to a purchase which is often worse value. Provide county-level data on acquisitions that have been declined or not pursued …
14. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the Garda resources that have been allocated to County Clare in respect of major events scheduled for 2026, including a tournament (details supplied); whether the staffing required for such events is being drawn from within the existing Clare-Tipperary division complement or from other divisions; the steps being taken to ensure that high…
I raise the issue of resourcing gardaí in County Clare for the Irish Open in September. This is a huge event coming to County Clare and it will bring tens of thousands of visitors to our county. I ask the Minister what additional resources both human and financial will be made available by his department to Clare Garda division for this event.
I thank the Minister of State. I congratulate everyone who has helped to bring this event to County Clare. It will provide a major boost to the local economy, particularly during the shoulder season of the year, but it will also place additional pressure on Garda resources, especially in west Clare. Gardaí will have to be reassigned from other duties, including community policing, to deal with crowd management, traff…
There is also a possibility of a visit this time by President Trump who owns Doonbeg golf club. We saw in previous visits the scale of the operation required for a presidential visit, including road closures, major security arrangements, co-ordination with the US Secret Service and the redeployment of Garda personnel from across the region. An Garda Síochána in Clare simply cannot do this with existing resources with…
87. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the current herd incidence rate of bovine tuberculosis, TB, in County Clare; the steps being taken to support Clare farmers who have suffered financial losses due to TB reactor removals; whether the on-farm market valuation ceiling of €3,000 for non-pedigree cattle will be reviewed in light of the significant gap between that ceiling and th…
As the Minister is well aware, TB is an issue that is hitting farm families very hard across the county, including my county of Clare. Could he provide information on where we are with the eradication strategy? Does he think eradication is a realistic goal? What are his plans to evaluate the current compensation cap?
I compliment the Minister on his great work on this issue, but, unfortunately, I hear from farmers in Clare every week who are losing thousands of euro in comparison with what they would get on the open market. Independent valuers assigned by the Department are valuing animals well above the Department ceiling of €3,000. With the high costs at the moment, this means that farmers, through no fault of their own, are lo…
Compensation values are totally outdated and do not reflect the true value of animals in 2026. It appears that increased costs and values are being accommodated across many sectors except for farmers with TB. The defective concrete blocks scheme is one example, where we have rightly gone back to affected homeowners and increased compensation values for rebuilding their homes.
I appreciate the work the Minister is do…
I raise an issue that communities all over the country can relate to, namely, proper community engagement. These are three very important words. We hear the phrase all the time. It is in development plans, policy documents and Government reports. Developers talk about it while councils and other State bodies say they are doing it. It even came up in two Oireachtas reports that I worked on this week. However, what doe…
I thank the Minister of State. Every one of us in this House knows of a local project, very often an energy project, in respect of which communities were angry about how developers engaged with them, or about whether they engaged with them at all. Instead of constantly dealing with these disputes, should we not create a clear set of standards that every public and private body must follow, whether it involves a major…
The defective concrete block issue is causing huge concern for those affected. The process is long, complicated and stressful. Those who have been approved but who have appealed that decision also find themselves in no man's land, with no information on how their appeal is being dealt with.
In January I submitted a parliamentary question asking for the number of appeals made to date under the defective concrete bloc…
I thank the Minister of State. I agree that we must respect the independent appeals board but it is important that people get the information, at least get updated information about what is happening in the appeals board. I am aware of householders who have been waiting almost 12 months and have heard nothing whatsoever. Their appeals went in. They were notified they were received but did not get any further informat…
I want to raise an issue that is a real worry for people, not just in County Clare but across the country. I hear every day from older people and their families who are struggling to get home care or a place in a nursing home. Clare has the longest home-support waiting list per person in the country. Even though the Government is spending more on home support nationally, Clare is not getting its fair share. This need…
I thank the Taoiseach. Clare is a county with one of the fastest growing older populations and avoiding serious challenges for those elderly people is very important. Its rural nature and the remoteness of many of its areas are especially challenging to provide home help to older people, given the travelling distance. In addition, support for more home help and nursing homes in Clare would help in a big way to allevi…
5. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of contracts issued to hotels and-or guest houses to accommodate Ukrainian people, including the total number of beds, by county, at end of both February 2025 and February 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20884/26]
County Clare has welcomed significant numbers of Ukrainian people fleeing the war, just as it did with Hungarian and Kosovan refugees in the past. Our communities opened their schools, organisations and workplaces to them.
Now, four years on, many Ukrainians are moving on from emergency accommodation and hotel contracts are ending. Will the Minister of State confirm how many contracts have been concluded and how man…
I thank the Minister of State for the reply and welcome the reduction in the hotel contracts. This is a positive step, showing that many people are moving on from emergency accommodation by finding homes, entering work and moving elsewhere. We should recognise the support of Clare communities and the contribution many Ukrainians have made in return. Hotels returning to serving visitors is an important opportunity for…
Clare has lost thousands of tourist bed nights each month over the past four years, with the vast majority in north and west Clare, where tourism is a key part of the local economy. While I understand that tourism is not directly within the Minister of State's brief, the return of this bed stock is both vital and important. It must be managed to ensure that it delivers the maximum benefit quickly. Will the Minister o…