But they clearly are.
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
8. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the National Economic and Social Council, a statutory agency operating under the aegis of his Department. [22105/25]
Care of older people is very important and is generally privatised in terms of nursing homes. The workers who provide this service in nursing homes are essential workers. Many of them were brought over on a special work permit in which the Government was involved. I ask the Taoiseach on a humanitarian basis to listen to the issues raised by these workers. Their wages are too low to allow them to bring their families …
21. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Northern Ireland will meet next. [19931/25]
The UK Supreme Court judgment on the definition of a woman impacts trans and intersex people in Northern Ireland. Many of them are living in fear and being driven out of public life, which is the intent of the judgment. The DUP has said that it will look at guidelines for schools, which means there could be further attacks on the rights of trans people. Many of these are eligible to be citizens of Ireland should they…
Would the Minister agree that his Government's record on housing over the first 100 days has been an unmitigated disaster? A total of 15,376 people are in emergency accommodation, housing completions are down by 6.7% and social and affordable targets are down by 18%. These are figures that the Government knew about before the election but has not yet explained why it stayed quiet about them. To top it all off, search…
With regard to the issues raised about the favoured candidate for the post, the question was whether the Government will investigate these issues, even if the Minister does not want to answer them right now.
We do not need a housing tsar to contact Fingal County Council, have a meeting, discuss its needs and then organise the payment for whatever needs to be done. We do not need a housing tsar. It is not as if this …
Have those meetings taken place? If they have not, will the Minister organise that they will take place?
Has the Minister met the councils?
You do not do anything about it.
We need action.
This is one of the most upsetting things that has happened in this country that anyone here is likely to be speaking on for a long while. Grace, as she has been called, was intellectually and physically disabled after complications at birth. She is non-verbal and was born to a teenage mother in a mother and baby home. That is a very difficult start in life. She was then placed in foster care, that is, the care of the…
During the general election, you could not move but for tripping over another promotion of €200-a-month childcare. Every party on the Government side was at it. That is what happens in elections and now, unfortunately, we have been told this promise will fade into dust and there will be no movement on it in the upcoming budget. It is extremely cynical and stressful for parents. We have the worst-funded childcare in t…
I hope the Tánaiste can clarify exactly what our position on the Palestinian state is because I am genuinely baffled. On one hand, we recognise the Palestinian state, we support the Palestinian people and we support the ICJ case but, on the other hand, Congressman Brian Mast was hosted in Leinster House last week. He believes all Palestinians are guilty, including Gazan babies. We have also had a severely repressive …
Why are protestors being attacked by the Garda?
I hope the Tánaiste looks into it.
It is regrettable the Minister is not here. There are very few debates or discussions on workers in this Dáil and he should be here. I particularly wanted to ask him - he should come back before the end of the debate - to apologise to workers for the insult he delivered to teachers, who are a huge section of the workforce in this country. He invited somebody who was basically an anti-union billionaire who insulted wo…
I welcome the parents and campaigners to the Gallery. I have seen these women at the Dáil more than I have seen some TDs. That is how often they are here. They are absolute heroes for campaigning for their kids in this way.
I will mention Dublin 15 because some may be under the illusion that the pilot project in the area has done something magical. It absolutely has not. As has been mentioned, the 12 places that wer…
I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 in the interests of balancing the right to privacy, the right to healthcare and the functioning of the criminal justice system, to prohibit the disclosure of counselling records in criminal proceedings in criminal trials for sexual offences; and to provide for related matters.
I welcome survivors, therapists an…
I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."
Serious allegations were made about the policing of a protest by Mothers Against Genocide. Since then, TDs like me have been accused of not telling the truth. More seriously, women involved in the protest have been made out to be liars by the Garda Commissioner and by the Minister for Justice. I want to clarify the situation. What does the Taoiseach think about this turn in policing? We were told that the Commissione…
I am aware of that.
They were not named.
This is a litany of systemic failures. It is not one incident here or there. Issues include non-medical springs being used, unnecessary hip operations being carried out, defective equipment repair mechanisms with regard to X-rays, IT - Wi-Fi used in the chemotherapy unit rather than having its own Internet - and infection rates way above the norms. These have been brought to light by whistleblowers.
Nothing less tha…
Previous speakers referred to obesity, screen time for children, children not getting enough sleep and the importance of playing football. That was quite incredible in the context of a debate designed to deal with a succession of ongoing failures at CHI.
I do not want to partake in hyperbole, particularly as health workers are the absolute salt of the earth. Everybody who has any experience of our health service kno…