I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, very much for taking this Topical Issue matter this morning. I want to raise a very important issue, which relates to rural education and the preservation of the all-important Irish language in my constituency of Clare. This morning I want to highlight a community initiative led by St. Patrick's National School in the village of O'Callaghan's Mills in east Clare…
TDs / Cathal Crowe
Cathal Crowe
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,151
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
50,384
words spoken in the chamber
Across 201 contributions. Plus 78 contributions from the chair, not counted
398
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
275
topics asked about
Across 20 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 1,151 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 201 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 12 | 1 |
| February 2025 | 78 | 12 |
| March 2025 | 44 | 4 |
| April 2025 | 59 | 18 |
| May 2025 | 71 | 16 |
| June 2025 | 42 | 3 |
| July 2025 | 77 | 14 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 62 | 7 |
| October 2025 | 27 | 20 |
| November 2025 | 86 | 13 |
| December 2025 | 80 | 22 |
| January 2026 | 99 | 11 |
| February 2026 | 67 | 12 |
| March 2026 | 76 | 7 |
| April 2026 | 38 | 11 |
| May 2026 | 54 | 16 |
| June 2026 | 44 | 2 |
| July 2026 | 51 | 1 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 57 | 4 |
| October 2026 | 27 | 7 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 99 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 Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
I sincerely thank the Minister of State for his response. It is encouraging. The Department is very aware of this issue. Indeed, it is in almost daily contact with the principal, Gráinne Conlon.
It is important to say a few things about the school itself. Ms Conlon has taught in Irish-medium schools. I think she has taught in three Gaelscoileanna elsewhere in the county. A deputy principal was hired recently, and hi…
44. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on children and education will meet next. [64282/26]
St. Patrick’s National School is a fine primary school in the village of O’Callaghan’s Mills in east Clare. Like many rural schools, its enrolment has dropped in recent years, but the principal, Gráinne Conlon, and her board of management have come up with a novel idea. There is no Gaelscoil in east Clare, so they are proposing to the Department of education that the school would reopen in September 2027 as a Gaelsco…
I want to speak specifically about home support services, which some people call home help or home care. In budget 2027, €1.043 billion was allocated to this, which is a very large sum of money. It is up on 2026 and 2025. Indeed, it goes up every single year. This provides for 28.5 million hours of home support, which sounds fantastic. There is plenty of money allocated to it but the reality is that year on year, the…
I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this debate this evening. I am glad this motion has been accepted because I think the Minister and Minister of State can hear, across the Chamber and across the political divide, that there is a common view here. It is a shared experience in every constituency.
Like others, at the outset, I wish to express my deepest sympathies to the English family in Waterford. It is a…
I am glad to have the opportunity to speak in this debate. When we talk about the cost of home heating oil, we are talking about a fundamental issue of security and comfortable in people's lives. I see this anxiety first-hand when I go around County Clare each week holding advice clinics. Of course, granny's hip operation comes up and people talk about their long-standing application for social housing, but time and …
I raise the situation affecting newly qualified nurses from the University of Galway, a number of whom come from County Clare, who have been in touch with me about an issue in the past few days. In January, the graduating class of about 80 nurses was told they would get permanent positions after graduation. They followed the usual pre-recruitment steps over the next few months and were expecting to get their job offe…
I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this debate. There are three essential points I want to make. First, as others have said, we have not yet seen the bones of this legislation but we are hearing what is coming down the line in respect of citizenship criteria. I am generally supportive of it. I think we need to have bookended policy that defines what citizenship is. That is quite standard for most countries…
12. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will meet next. [64301/26]
Many homeowners in County Clare who are affected by defective concrete blocks are looking at us to deliver fairness, clarity and a scheme that fully works for them. While I absolutely welcome the progress made with the new IS 465 standard, which finally allows for the scientific testing of foundations - that was a crucial step - the reality is that testing alone cannot fix a home. Families are currently left in a dif…
The Oireachtas education and youth committee, which I chair, recently compiled a report on school meals. It is a fantastic scheme led out by our colleague, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and was hugely supported by the Minister, Deputy Foley, when she was at the Department of education. One of our recommendations is that we abolish water charges for schools. The meals are free in the classroom but the water children …
I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill. The imposition of a passenger cap was ludicrous and never worked. It is quite unique in world aviation. The removal of it was always inevitable. On the eve of the last general election, I remember the main party leaders, both Government and Opposition, saying that this would have to happen, with various promises being made in the lead-up to voting day about how…
I am glad to have speaking time in this debate. I was born in 1982, so I spent much of the 1990s in primary school and secondary school, finishing up in 2000. During all those years the schoolyards were, I think, tougher places than they are now. I was a teacher before I became a TD and I think the school I taught in was quite soft and inclusive. However, certainly when I was in school, you shot insults from the hip …
Is the amendment being pressed?
The Minister of State may go ahead.
Okay. So, the amendment is being pressed.
The debate is finished. I am going to put the amendment. The question is that the amendment-----
Okay. Proceed.
We move on to amendment No. 4 in the name of the Minister. It arises out of committee proceedings. Amendments Nos. 4 to 8, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together.
We will now proceed to the voting block. I thank Members.
I raise the issue of St. Joseph's Secondary School in Spanish Point, County Clare. A beautiful school, its enrolment has doubled across the last decade. With that growth have come certain difficulties for the school. At the moment, 216 female students in the school have to use four toilet cubicles. That is all the students have. The school has been approved for ten more toilet cubicles but the approval just sits on a…
Pursuant to Standing Order 194(3), it is reported to the Dáil that the Long Title has now been amended.
Amendment Nos. 4, 7 and 69 are related and will now be discussed together.
Amendments Nos. 5, 6, 70 and 71 are all related and may be discussed together.