I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
Before I introduce the Bill, I welcome to the Gallery a huge number of people who are representing various groups in the LGBTQI community. I welcome Transgender Equality Network of Ireland, TENI, Belong To, Intersex Ireland, Trans Healthcare Action, ShoutOut and Trans Pride. Apologies, if I have left anyone out. I can come back to it at the end. It gives the Ministe…
TDs / Ruth Coppinger
Ruth Coppinger
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
938
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
164,714
words spoken in the chamber
Across 1,017 contributions
371
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
239
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 938 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 1,017 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 5 |
| January 2025 | 4 | 2 |
| February 2025 | 40 | 62 |
| March 2025 | 32 | 55 |
| April 2025 | 59 | 51 |
| May 2025 | 42 | 68 |
| June 2025 | 33 | 69 |
| July 2025 | 48 | 63 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 81 | 26 |
| October 2025 | 26 | 79 |
| November 2025 | 81 | 42 |
| December 2025 | 16 | 58 |
| January 2026 | 64 | 66 |
| February 2026 | 64 | 99 |
| March 2026 | 66 | 46 |
| April 2026 | 79 | 48 |
| May 2026 | 53 | 50 |
| June 2026 | 51 | 60 |
| July 2026 | 26 | 32 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| September 2026 | 53 | 20 |
| October 2026 | 20 | 15 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 687 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 Dublin West 29 November 2024 to now
- party People Before Profit-Solidarity 29 November 2024 to now
Thanks for the advice
Like the fuel protests.
I thank the TDs who committed to support the Bill and for speaking today. I again commend the many groups represented here. I am very sorry they have had to come here today and to listen to what the Government has just said. It is going to oppose a Bill which fits in with commitments that it has given itself in the past but it is proposing absolutely no alternative, no roadmap, no pathway and no nothing. That is real…
38. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on children and education will meet next. [66871/26]
90. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health the actions she will take to follow up on allegations of sexual harassment, misogyny, bullying, and intimidation in the National Ambulance Service. [72710/26]
Was my question taken already?
I did not know priority questions were grouped.
Can I just ask the question? I did not know priority questions were grouped like that.
I wish to raise the issue of the serious sexual assault and rape of a woman by an ambulance personnel member. I know the Minister has set up an inquiry into misogyny and the culture within the National Ambulance Service. I have serious questions as to whether what she has established is sufficient, in particular, the scope of the culture initiative and whether a six-month process based on surveys, workshops, intervie…
There are questions. It is nothing personal about this individual. It has to do with questions that have been raised with me by Army personnel when they saw the appointment. Given that somebody occupied very high levels of leadership in one organisation where serious systemic cultural issues emerged in relation to women, it is open to question whether that person was an appropriate choice to independently examine sim…
Yesterday more than 300,000 workers, from street cleaners and doctors to people in this building, had to go out on strike because this Government delivered the most patronising response. It has not been called out enough on it today in this Chamber. It is asking for productivity from nurses who cannot afford to put petrol into their cars. We have heard from student nurses who cannot afford to buy lunch. Teachers are …
I was talking to a secondary teacher, who is a single parent, who will be on strike next week. One of her children is in primary school. She said the reason she is going on strike is that the cost of living is just too damn high. These are her words. She is really careful with money but it is all scrimp and no save. She goes to Lidl and Aldi, the discount supermarkets, and she has changed the whole diet of the family…
The budget, for some reason, studiously ignores all of the crises facing people, including disabled people, young people and workers. I was struck when the Minister, Deputy Harris, started to speak by how a Fine Gael-Tory ethos pervaded the budget. He talked about entrepreneurs being the bedrock of the economy. Then he went on to give a huge tax cut in capital gains tax from 33% down to 31% to businesses, which will …
Is there no way to extend this debate?
We have heard a lot about this Bill but we have not seen it. We have heard what has been planned. We need to say that it is unnecessary, divisive and damaging. There has never been any demand in this Dáil or anywhere else for a discussion about citizenship. In fact, all I have heard about is IPAS centres and "illegals".
Suddenly, we have a problem with citizenship. The Government is failing on housing and the cost o…
I wish Miriam Lord all the best in her retirement. She reaffirms that women are the wittiest and the best satirists. Fair play.
I want to raise with the Taoiseach the role of the Government and the FAI in the debacle that happened in relation to the Ireland versus Israel game, which continues on. The players are still not certain but it has been reported that they will play in the second part of that fixture. The pl…
I hope I get a little bit of extra time. We all agree the players should not have been in that position. That is a unanimous view. The Government and the FAI put them in that position. I want to think of another player today, Natalie Abudayyeh, a Palestinian footballer who is in an Israeli jail. She played here in Ireland in 2024. Any Palestinians I have spoken to really would have appreciated Ireland pulling out of …
Yes.
There is a warrant for his arrest.
7. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will meet next. [66869/26]
I send solidarity to the residents of the Garvaghy Road. We met a delegation here last week and I salute their organisation and their determination. This is a working-class community standing up against a threat to drag Portadown and the North back to the past. The Orange Order seeking to push this march through is sectarian bullying. The march was always offensive to the community. It is not wanted. It is a catalyst…
I will finish on this. What is the Taoiseach going to do? I do not believe the establishment can sit back and just allow this to happen. The Taoiseach, the British Prime Minister and the Secretary of State can intervene to stop these marches being enforced.
21. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs will next meet. [66870/26]
Will the Cabinet agree to send an observer to the Ulm 5 trial in Germany? That trial is taking place without a transcript and without any observer, despite the Minister standing up over there and telling us that there would be oversight of the trial. How can we have oversight if there is no observer on behalf of the Irish Government? I remind the Taoiseach about his speech at the UN when he spoke about an affront to …