TDs / Jen Cummins

Official portrait of Jen Cummins

Jen Cummins

Social Democrats Dublin South-Central TD in this Dáil since 29 November 2024

Official Oireachtas profile

Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file

895
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
102,602
words spoken in the chamber
Across 269 contributions. Plus 67 contributions from the chair, not counted
406
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
168
topics asked about
Across 18 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 895 in all

Dec 2024Oct 2026

Contributions to debates 269 in all

Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
MonthQuestionsContributions
December 2024 0 1
January 2025 0 0
February 2025 11 8
March 2025 35 18
April 2025 100 12
May 2025 49 18
June 2025 49 16
July 2025 69 15
August 2025 0 0
September 2025 55 8
October 2025 22 11
November 2025 65 12
December 2025 44 23
January 2026 58 12
February 2026 22 18
March 2026 46 8
April 2026 90 18
May 2026 64 20
June 2026 34 15
July 2026 29 17
August 2026 0 0
September 2026 18 6
October 2026 35 13

Debates they spoke in most

Plus 133 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

  1. constituency Dublin South-Central 29 November 2024 to now
  2. party Social Democrats 29 November 2024 to now
Thank you. As I was saying, hospitals, homes and humanity itself have been reduced to dust and they will read about a world that watched. They will ask every one of us, "What did you do? What did Ireland do?" I ask every Deputy here what they will say in response. As a mother of four, I really struggle to watch the television. I struggle to see those dead children and babies wrapped in cloths. I saw a photograph of a…
My question is about flood risk and insurance. A number of people have contacted me because they are not able to get insurance in the first place, or when they want to switch to a different insurance provider they cannot because of the risk of flooding. With the rising possibility of floods in the future, what can the Government do to ensure homeowners and potential buyers are able to secure insurance? The reality is…
Today's motion is a very important milestone in Ireland's journey as a modern knowledge society where research, innovation and international co-operation are placed at the centre of national development. The decision to seek associate membership of CERN is not just a symbolic act; it is a declaration of intent and a clear statement that Ireland sees itself as a serious player in global scientific research. It aligns …
I ask colleagues to imagine it is a mid-July night, it is bucketing rain and there are warnings of high river waters and potential flooding of 1 m. A few hours later, the warning changes to 3 m of flooding and then to 5 m. Eventually, when it is dark and cold, there is an 8 m river flowing through the valley, destroying everything in its path and killing 135 of your neighbours. Thinking you are going to die, you sit …
Third Level Education 22 May 2025
2. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his plans to address the deficit some domestic universities are experiencing. [26519/25]
Third Level Education 22 May 2025
Some of Ireland's third level institutions are facing a critical shortfall in core funding, something repeatedly highlighted by the OECD, the European Commission and our universities. Despite rising student numbers and growing demands in staff and infrastructure, core funding remains well below the required level to ensure quality, accessibility and efficiency. Can the Minister outline what steps his Department is ta…
Third Level Education 22 May 2025
I acknowledge there is additional funding of €50 million in the budget for 2025 under Funding the Future. It is great to hear there is an additional €150 million. The Irish Universities Association has welcomed the multiannual approach the Minister's Department has outlined. Investment in education only stands at 2.8% of GDP. It is among the lowest in the OECD, which has an average of 5.7%. I am concerned the financ…
Third Level Education 22 May 2025
I agree it is really positive when we have those returns, as the Minister outlined. I know that is one element of looking at education. I want to be clear about what I am saying with regard to attracting people from abroad to come here. I am not saying this is not a good idea. However, when the headlines are focusing on how much money is going to be spent on each of those people, it can read as being a little unbalan…
The Tánaiste said he will bring a memo on the occupied territories Bill to Cabinet next week. This is a long overdue but welcome step in aligning Ireland's trade policies with our values on human rights and international law. Not a grain of rice, drop of water or vial of medicine has entered Gaza for months. A trickle of aid has now been allowed in, but the Israeli Government is preventing it from being distributed. …
We do have a world-class education system, broadly speaking, in Ireland but our system is failing many of our young children and young people, and particularly those facing disadvantage and trauma. I have so much to say but I want to be very specific in my speech today. It is about those young people, the ones we do not capture all the time. When I am talking about education disadvantage and young people facing traum…
Bus Services 21 May 2025
I thank the Minister of State for the opportunity to bring forward this matter. It is of deep concern to the people of Inchicore, a number of groups in fact. One of the groups I have been working with is a called Connecting Communities, which has been working on this issue and is looking to have the Minister of State's support. As a resident of that constituency and a community advocate, there is a serious impact fro…
Bus Services 21 May 2025
There is a 57, 68 and a Go-Ahead bus there.
Bus Services 21 May 2025
I thank the Minister of State. I welcome his comments and knowledge of the area. We are all very proud in Dublin 8 of Inchicore and the historic part of the city that it is. We absolutely welcome the fare reduction, particularly for young people and students. It is excellent, especially if someone was to take three buses within the two-hour period. It is fantastic and we do welcome that. BusConnects is welcome. It wi…
I also welcome today's motion on carers. In fact, in the late nineties, I was a carer in London and I was a carer in Dublin when I returned after living abroad for a while. At that time, I noticed there was a significant difference in the level of training and support that carers were given by the agencies I was working for. I was happy to do that work. I was very young at the time, and it was a great introduction to…
I do not know if the Minister of State is a birdwatcher but I am delighted to say that on 10 May, the swifts arrived to Dublin South-Central. We were absolutely delighted. A group of us were out mapping trees to see how many trees were there, and then the swifts arrived. Maybe they have arrived down the Minister of State's neck of the woods as well. Dublin South-Central is a constituency that has, particularly in th…
It is nothing short of a national scandal that over 15,000 children are still waiting for an assessment of need. I know these numbers have been read out several times today but I want to keep saying it because it is an absolute scandal that we are saying there are 15,000 children waiting for an assessment of need and that over 90% of those assessments are not being completed within the legally mandated six-month time…
I am proud to stand here today as a member of the Social Democrats but also as a trade union member and activist for decades at this stage. I thank People Before Profit for introducing this Bill. At its heart, it is about fairness, dignity in the workplace and the fundamental right of workers to a collective voice. This is not a radical idea, but a democratic one. When workers organise, they are not just protecting w…
I wish the Minister the very best of luck. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to today’s debate on the power of higher education, research and skills as economic enablers in a changing world. I echo what previous speakers have said about dropping further education. It is such a valuable part of that Department and I have seen at first hand how further education has changed lives in the communities in which I hav…
I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — more than 90 per cent of Irish primary schools are under religious patronage, while only 5 per cent are multi-denominational; — a survey by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation found that just 4 per cent of teachers think preparing students for sacraments should be the responsibility of primary schools, while more than two fifths believe that faith formation should no…
I thank everybody who participated in today's debate. More importantly, I thank all those parents, educators and campaigners across the country who continue to fight not for privilege but for parity and not for special treatment but for choice. This has been going on for 50 years. I have been a campaigner for multidenominational schools since 2007. As a family of a minority religion as well as strong believers in tha…
I am delighted to support Sinn Féin’s motion this evening. My constituency is Dublin South Central. Like many here, I have received many emails from parents which outline the prohibitive cost of childcare. I have had emails from people in Ballyfermot, Drimnagh and around Dublin 8 from people who are paying more than €1,000 a month per child. For anyone with more than one child - at one stage I had three children unde…
I thank the Labour Party for its motion on special education. I have heard so much pain, frustration and determination from families throughout my constituency and many constituencies in this country. I have travelled to different places to hear from families. In my constituency of Dublin South-Central, from Ballyfermot to Drimnagh, Inchicore and Crumlin, there are parents who at crisis point with their children. The…
Order of Business 29 Apr 2025
My question is similar to that of the previous speaker with regard to parental choice. I was very disappointed to see Government backbenchers expressing what is maybe a U-turn in what the programme for Government was talking about in 2020 on school patronage. It does not seem to appear in the current programme for Government, which I am a little bit concerned about. With 94% of primary schools being under religious e…
Disability Services 8 Apr 2025
111. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education her plans to ensure there are multi-disciplinary teams in all schools, including the recruitment and retention of therapists. [14637/25]