The Minister of State will not wait for any report. He will just-----
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
It is about gardaí breaking their own rules.
You are the one who has broken lots of laws with your housing and your properties.
It is disgraceful.
The disabled community is reeling in the aftermath of this budget. People are sharing ideas online of how they are going to spend the extra tenner a week. They are absolutely gutted by what the Government did. The Disability Federation of Ireland has called it a major setback. The Government's argument that it is providing services instead of allowing people to live independent lives is utterly insulting. The Governm…
I know we are a smaller group, but one of the Ministers should be here on budget day to hear what the smaller groups have to say. I mean no offence to the Minister of State.
The absence of the Ministers is not a sign that there is an interest in what we have to say.
An independent life is what we all aspire to. What hope can young people have of an independent life and a home of their own after this budget? Two thirds of people under the age of 35 live at home with their parents. What hope can a disabled person have? What hope can a family paying €3,000 euro on average more a year for t…
In the old days, housing figures came out and we took them to be public housing figures. I find it actually laughable in recent years the way the housing figures encompass everything that is built in the country and the Government takes the credit. I see this as the Government’s drive to reach the housing targets it missed by pumping money into private developers and construction companies in a desperate means to get…
The Tánaiste made an infamous promise to parents in 2017 that nobody would be waiting for a scoliosis operation for more than four months. When are we going to reach that point? It seems that 226 children are on the CHI spinal surgery list. In August, 135 were actively waiting, ready to go. The numbers on the spinal outpatient lists are over 461. The CHI spinal surgery management unit said there are delays of months …
There are three issues. Does the Minister have confidence in the clinical lead of the paediatric spinal surgery management unit? This is the person who took Harvey Sherratt off the waiting list without parental knowledge or consent. How many other children were taken off the lists in that way?
Second, does the Minister have any knowledge of any other medical devices that have been used in an off-label fashion at CHI…
So the Minister has confidence in the clinical lead, or does she not?
Okay.
I am sorry; I will clarify. Parents and advocates are asking about three particular issues in this regard. First, they want to know if the Minister has confidence in the clinical lead. Second, which I do not think she referred to either, is she aware of any other devices that have been used in an off-label way - parents have said this - and inserted into children? Third, we all know that it is not the best approach, …
The last thing we need are people on hunger strike outside the gates of Leinster House, especially people who were incarcerated by this State, some of them as children, for 16 years. I cancelled what I had planned to raise today because I met those people - the three women and one man - yesterday. The things they are looking for are so basic it is embarrassing. These include access to the HAA card for medical care - …
-----these people out of the usual redress and this is why they are outside the gates. We need action.
Do you think they have not? Get a grip.
16. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy will next meet. [49986/25]
I want to welcome the families and relatives to the Gallery. They are here because of what is happening in Palestine. Yesterday, a nurse was shot on the job. I have seen kids carrying other kids on their backs. It is a common sight. The worst I saw was a kid carrying a shrouded dead sibling on their back. The fact that governments have allowed this genocide to happen is a stain on the world.
This has been an eye-ope…
There are other people who cannot go to the shop.
No, I cannot. I am suffering this every day.
I suffer drones over my head.
103. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Transport for an update on a direct route from the Dublin 15 area to Dublin Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51872/25]
I note Fianna Fáil had a meeting on drones in Dundrum.
My question relates to a direct bus route from the greater Blanchardstown area to Dublin Airport. Thousands of people work in the airport and many people have to get to it. Recently, Ongar Tidy Towns has been informed by the NTA that the expected roll-out of an N8 service has now been delayed for at least two years.
Fair play to the civil servant who padded out that answer for the Minister because my question was not about BusConnects. Rather, it was about a specific issue. The Minister dealt with that issue in a couple of sentences and the information is very similar. They have been told the project will be delivered in quarter 3 of 2026, which is next year. Given that people have been told it is subject to operational readines…
A taxi from Ongar to Dublin Airport costs €50 to €65, for example. That is what passengers are being forced to spend. We could eliminate 10,000 to 20,000 car journeys immediately by introducing a direct bus route. It should be an absolute priority. Residents have suggested that the Minister might consider extending the W4 route to the airport until the N8 is finally rolled out. Realistically, they believe that could …