Why is the red carpet being rolled out for the NFL in this State this weekend? Why is every second level school in the State being supplied with an American football starter pack and flag for a sport steeped in militarism, racism and macho culture? Why has the Irish Government agreed to fork out €10 million to allow the richest sports league in the world to play a game in Croke Park? This is for NFL owners, by the wa…
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
The NFL is a model for how sport has been hijacked for propaganda and profit and playing on grounds that are meant to be amateur and a community space. It is an absolutely rotten sport to be promoted in this country.
We have our own sports.
And so the Minister ignores all the issues I have raised about racism, militarism and Palestine then.
I am extremely frustrated that we are here on the cusp of October making statements in the Dáil when the election was last November. It is outrageous that the Government has not got its act together to produce a number of Bills over the summer. Even the Minister of State’s party colleague is taking her to task on this issue. We are talking about this important health issue for young people but no legislation is forth…
The annihilation of Gaza is apparently under way. We are seeing a ground attack, the blowing-up of high-rise buildings and the orphaning of children. I am in an Ireland-Palestine solidarity WhatsApp group in Dublin 15. The videos Gazan people are sharing are absolutely chilling. We are in a new phase of the genocide. There is a global day of action today. There will be a protest at the Dáil at 4.30 p.m.
This has bee…
-----will the Irish Government now act unilaterally? The UN has now come out and said that this is officially genocide. The Government is legally obliged. With this body coming out with that recommendation, no more excuses are available to any government. Will the Government, for example, pass the occupied territories Bill in full, undiluted, and not just tell us that it will report back? It should be clear what need…
Over the summer there was a series of attacks, apparently particularly directed against the Indian community. We had the case of an Indian man in Tallaght who was attacked, beaten and humiliated. He had clothing removed from him and there was the age-old racist trope of accusing somebody of colour of being violent. They were trying to accuse him of being a paedophile and there was absolutely no evidence of this, as t…
It is very important we call that out-----
------that they are also echoing the far right as well.
It is five seconds. I am about to stop.
We have to begin by saying that we all agree drones have massive potential for good in society such as for emergency relief mapping and delivering medicines to isolated areas etc. The focus of this Topical Issue is the fast-food drones that have been operating in Dublin 15 in particular. Manna, which operates these drones to deliver fast food, has been doing so for about a year and a half. It is unlicensed, obviously…
The Minister of State's reply fails to grasp the point. The framework says that the Irish Aviation Authority oversees the implementation of the EU drone regulations, but it does not monitor noise. It said this at the Joint Committee on Transport. There is nobody monitoring what is the biggest single problem of these drones, which is noise. The Minster of State has said that drone delivery operations are closely regul…
Shame on you.
What about Melissa Hortman? There was no minute of silence. The Deputy is an absolute disgrace.
In my brief time, I do not really have time to comment on the whole national strategy on disability. I just want to focus on one little boy who kind of sums up the attitude of this State to people with disabilities and particularly disabled children, namely, Harvey Morrison Sherratt, whose life was undervalued from the word go. Ironically, his parents were strongly encouraged to have an abortion when his diagnosis wa…
When is a school place not a school place? When it is a sanctioned school place. The verbal gymnastics the Government has been engaging in have been going on for a while, not just under the Minister of State's watch but under that of his predecessor. We have been asking for a long time for a figure in respect of the number of children who still do not have places. Now we want the figure for the number who were told t…
Why are teeth a luxury item in Ireland? Why are they considered an accessory? Everything about our dental system implies that. On one hand, one in six adults over the age of 54 in this country has no natural teeth. The figure for Japan is 15%. It is just completely different. We have a historic and systemic unequal dental system whereby if people are rich and able to pay, they can keep their teeth and keep them strai…
Can murderers, specifically wife murderers, continue on the State payroll after conviction? Is there any regulation to stop someone receiving State funds years after killing someone, particularly the mother of their child? A number of attempts have been made to find out if James Kilroy, who murdered Valerie French, is still being paid by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS. My information is that he is. A j…
Yes.
There is no law to stop such people being on the State payroll.
Well, Deputy Martin should know that. He is the Taoiseach of the country.
He should be able to indicate whether there is a law-----
I asked the Taoiseach if there is a regulation or law and he has not answered.
You might just let me ask a question without getting-----