I congratulate the Minister on her post. I have not yet had an opportunity to say that to her across the floor.
What are her Department's plans to ensure all students, especially children with additional needs, have access to in-school supports such as occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and psychological services? What is the plan to roll them out, for recruitment and resourcing schools throughout the…
TDs / Jen Cummins
Jen Cummins
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
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| 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
- constituency Dublin South-Central 29 November 2024 to now
- party Social Democrats 29 November 2024 to now
It is great that it will be rolled out. I am anxious to know exactly how far along the implementation of those places is, particularly at third level, for the autumn intake under the Central Admissions Office, CAO. I note from the programme for Government that a plan was set out to double the number of college places for speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and educational psychol…
I thank the Minister. Going further than that, it is great to see there will be a roll-out of these services and supports to young people and children in special schools. From looking at it, what we would like to see from an education perspective is that young people who need a service in mainstream schools will be able to access it. There are children throughout the country who need that support. School is a fantast…
I am sharing time with Deputy Paul Murphy.
No, Deputy Murphy will go first.
Like Deputy Murphy and I am sure many others, we have seen numerous emails coming in from parents worried about how this is going to affect their children. In 2021, 1,300 students received a maximum of 625 CAO points, which I am sure everybody knows is an extremely difficult thing to do. That was more than double the number in 2020 and nearly six times the figures from 2019. Now we are in a situation where we have st…
I thank the Minister of State for acknowledging the huge pressure students are under. Having worked in education for many years and having my own children go through the leaving certificate, it is a time of huge pressure not only for the student but also for everyone around him or her. It is quite a difficult situation. At what point will we be rid of this system? When will what was put in place during the pandemic p…
During the Taoiseach's maiden speech in June 2020 following the election, he mentioned the school completion programme. I do not know whether he knows that school completion co-ordinators and project workers throughout the country were delighted that it was mentioned in his maiden speech. As he probably knows, I worked for a school completion programme, Ballymun Anseo, as Deputy Paul McAuliffe knows because I had his…
Like my colleague, I was a youth worker for many years and worked on the school completion programme. Anyone who has worked with young people knows just how amazing they are, how hopeful they are and how clear they are in their vision for the future. They love their friends and their families.
When things are going well for young people, it is a positive experience to be around them. However, Ireland has a real diff…
8. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his Department's plans to provide adequate protections for students renting in digs accommodation. [14649/25]
I wish the Minister the very best of luck in his new role. I look forward to working with him. How does the Government plan to protect third level students who are in digs accommodation? Over recent weeks and months, we have had people into the audiovisual room explaining the very difficult situation they are in with regard to their accommodation. Digs accommodation may not be the first preference for many students a…
I thank the Minister for that. I agree that there needs to be a variety of accommodation. My own daughter is in college and travels quite a long distance to get there-----
-----because there is no on-campus accommodation, which would be ideal for a great many people. It is also very expensive. I live in Dublin 8 and quite a lot of student accommodation was built in the area over recent years. However, it is totally unaffordable for the average student with rents of €1,250 per month. If it is a five-week month, it is €1,350. That accommodation is totally unaffordable for most students. …
The flipside is that parents sending children into digs accommodation cannot be sure they will be fully protected. That is also a challenge. I agree with the Minister that there definitely needs to be balance from the perspective of both the landlord or digs provider and of the student. These students are often in their first year and do not have a big network so we need to have that protection in place. The students…
I congratulate the Minister of State on his new role. I wish him the best of luck and look forward to working with him over the course of this term. I will be speaking on pathways to youth work at third level. Youth work in Ireland is decades old. There are many types of youth work and they exist in every community in the country. Youth workers do a job that is sometimes mistaken or misunderstood by others, and that …
I thank the Minister of State for his contribution. The increase in funding for youth work is very welcome. The role I had immediately after youth work was working in the school completion programme. While there have been increases in funding for both of those sectors, during the austerity era youth work and the school completion programme were cut so dramatically and so drastically that they have not recovered to pr…
This motion is about giving voice to the people of Ireland. It is a matter that goes beyond policy; it is about democracy. The Government's attempt to remove the triple lock without public consultation is not just a policy change but a fundamental shift in Ireland's stance on the global stage and yet the people have not been asked.
During the most recent election, neutrality and the triple lock did not really featur…
-----because it is not about that. I want to be very clear on that.
Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Labour Party as an rún seo. Fáilte to all the young carers, those from Family Carers Ireland who are in the Visitors Gallery and those watching. I support this crucial motion because for too long, young carers in this country have been invisible as they work in their homes providing vital assistance to loved ones in their families and communities. The sacrifices they make go…
As this is my first Topical Issue, hopefully I will get the timing and all the rest of it right. I thank the Minister of State for taking this and wish him the very best of luck in his new role. I do not think I have congratulated him yet.
Today, I am asking about families in Dublin 8 who are looking to have a multidenominational secondary school for their children. They have been campaigning for a number of years a…
I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive answer. Yes, it is not the answer I want but God loves a trier. The reconfiguration process has been very slow to date. The previous programme for Government had it that, I think, 400 schools would be transferred. Unfortunately, that number has not been reached yet and I did not see it in the programme for Government this time.
The survey has been promised for quit…
Gabhaim buíochas le Sinn Féin as an tairiscint seo. I ask the Government to engage with the Opposition on housing because, frankly, the policies the former is putting forward are ensuring that people go into homelessness, and that includes families, children and hard-working individuals. They are facing homelessness and there is absolutely no reason for it. This scheme is a solution, and it is just so frustrating tha…
On International Women's Day, every day and every year, this House has statements on issues facing women. I feel a bit heavier this year because of the number of domestic violence services that have come into the audiovisual room here since I was elected in November. A motion tabled by Deputy Coppinger has been debated. The issue of gender-based violence in this country is not reducing; in fact, it might be completel…
Táim an-sásta cúpla focal a labhairt ar Sheachtain na Gaeilge. Tá mé ag foghlaim Gaeilge since July 2023. Bhí mé sa Ghaeltacht in Oideas Gael i nGleann Cholm Cille i gContae Dhún na nGall. Bhí an-craic againn. Níl mé ábalta a lán Ghaeilge a labhairt ach táim ábalta í a thuiscint. Nuair a bhí mé elected, rinne mé cúrsa Gaeilge online. Tá na ranganna go hiontach. Táim ag léamh an leabhar Beidh tú Alright: An Irish Lang…
I wish the Minister the best of luck in his new role. I have been contacted by many constituents in Dublin South-Central since I was elected in November - in fact, when I was a councillor from June until November 2024, people were contacting me about this issue - about the lack of a Garda presence and the persistent antisocial behaviour around the Fatima Luas station in Rialto. It has been reported to me that people …