It is really important to say that at any time a government needs to be both ready and able to respond to crises if and when they arise. We saw recently that when the Government was in a position where it could respond. It had the capital to deploy to help support people through the oil shock we are experiencing due to what is going on in the Middle East, and to the tune of €750 million. It is prudent financial manag…
TDs / Albert Dolan
Albert Dolan
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,557
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
45,779
words spoken in the chamber
Across 211 contributions
416
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
209
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 1,557 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 211 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 3 | 7 |
| February 2025 | 85 | 6 |
| March 2025 | 68 | 5 |
| April 2025 | 49 | 3 |
| May 2025 | 132 | 17 |
| June 2025 | 125 | 16 |
| July 2025 | 149 | 5 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 100 | 13 |
| October 2025 | 97 | 6 |
| November 2025 | 138 | 11 |
| December 2025 | 53 | 14 |
| January 2026 | 71 | 16 |
| February 2026 | 38 | 14 |
| March 2026 | 92 | 12 |
| April 2026 | 55 | 10 |
| May 2026 | 65 | 11 |
| June 2026 | 131 | 15 |
| July 2026 | 51 | 0 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 21 | 20 |
| October 2026 | 34 | 10 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 157 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 Galway East 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
Something that we have to be cognisant of is that over the past few years many people have said that it is our corporate tax rate that has attracted so much investment. That is not the case any more. It is our people who are driving that investment. It is also down to our knowledge base, our skills base, our highly-educated workforce, our work ethic and, I guess, to a desire for better and to do more. That does not j…
17. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy will next meet. [11861/26]
In the past two weeks, we had some fantastic news for Galway. In our only model 4 hospital, the design team was appointed for a 300-bed block at University Hospital Galway. This is really welcome. However, as the Taoiseach knows, design teams get appointed, we go through the planning process and it can take an incredibly long time before we see a shovel in the ground. Would it be possible for the only model 4 hospita…
2. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on the economy, trade and competitiveness will next meet. [9932/26]
I speak regularly to sole traders, farmers, tradespeople and small business owners who are under immense pressure from rising costs, irregular income patterns and administrative burden. Many also remain concerned about the level of protection available to them if illness strikes or if business slows. Will the Taoiseach look seriously at strengthening supports for the self-employed, including areas such as simplified …
There is growing concern in the town of Athenry in east Galway that a service that was introduced - the 6.50 a.m. train service from Athenry to Galway city - will be lost. In October 2025, this service was added as a temporary service in light of the works that were ongoing at Ceannt Station and Oranmore Station. As the Minister of State can imagine, there are many people who now rely on and benefit from this service…
I appreciate the Minister of State’s comments and sentiment. This new service was welcomed when it started last October. The critical piece of the Minister of State’s reply is that these carriages were stabled at Athenry, which allowed for the early commuter service. I completely welcome the works and the incredible transformation and investment that have taken place at Ceannt Station. Regardless of what is happening…
I raise with the Taoiseach the case of Carrabane National School in east Galway. This school is on the priority list for development, and we welcome that, but the prefabs at the school are falling apart. The tenders were received for this building in January 2024. We are now in April 2026 and the Department of education has not yet made a decision on whether it will proceed. Will the Taoiseach please engage with the …
I welcome this discussion on the future of rural policy and on Our Rural Future. I welcome the opening and consideration of the consultation for same. It is so important people right across this country, whether they are in an urban or rural area, contribute to what they believe the future of rural Ireland should look like and that we reflect on the first phase of this plan in terms of what went right, what went wron…
130. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the assessment his Department has made of the impact of recent fuel price increases on small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in transport, construction and agri-related sectors; and if he will outline any targeted supports under consideration. [30164/26]
Has the Department prepared any assessment of the recent rise in fuel prices and the impact it is having on small and medium businesses in agri-related sectors and the construction and transport sectors?
I want to make something abundantly clear and it is very important that I get this point across. Let us take someone in the agri-sector who is contracting day in, day out. If their machine is costing them an extra €200 a day to keep on the road, that amounts to a grand a week, which is over €50,000 a year. No business can survive that. That is why this intervention is absolutely critical. School bus operators are sig…
I welcome the intervention and the sizeable package that has been put in place, but it is like any scheme or package that was rolled out over the past few years. It is about how quickly a business can get this into its bank account to provide cashflow and liquidity so it can continue in business and get through a difficult and turbulent time. It is critical that the supports that are put in place now are through a st…
When we talk about these statements post the European Council meeting, it is so important that we have a conversation about the positive role that Europe and being part of Europe can play in all our lives. We are yet to see many of the benefits that were envisaged in a European Union and from a trade perspective. We do not have an opportunity to deal with banks across Europe. We do not have an opportunity to deal wit…
It is something that I have raised with the Minister. Roisin and Peggy from Down Syndrome Galway had a fantastic meeting with the Minister. I wish to reiterate the issue that exists in that circular regarding the special speech and language disorder classes and having accessibility for everyone to them. I will use my two minutes - not that the Minister is not aware - as a reminder of how important the role of educati…
14. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his Department’s statement of strategy for 2025 to 2028. [16742/26]
The Taoiseach's reply highlighted a number of priorities. One area of key focus is disability. The Cabinet committee on disability is going to try to push forward with the national rights strategy for disabled people 2025-30. One key area the Government needs to focus on is accessibility in our towns, particularly towns like Athenry, Tuam, Gort and Loughrea. These are towns in Galway East where, in the last year, we …
Tomorrow we will all collectively celebrate Daffodil Day and we will support the Irish Cancer Society. I see many Members across the House donning the daffodil today. In Galway last year, 1,332 people were diagnosed with cancer and in 2024, sadly, 531 people died at the hands of this disease. One thing we in this House can do is try to alleviate some of the pressures people face when they are battling cancer. I want …
It is great to be able to speak here today on International Women's Day and to discuss so many issues facing women right across this country, particularly in our role as representatives to ensure we represent all voices. I say that as a man standing here speaking while thinking about my mother, my three lovely sisters and all the women I meet every week in my constituency clinics and the issues they bring to me, as t…
We need to be abundantly clear here. Families across this country are under serious pressure and the fuel costs are a major part of that pressure.
In Galway East and across rural Ireland, people do not have a choice. They rely on their cars every day to get to work, bring their children to school and keep their livelihoods going, and right now, they are being squeezed. When people are paying more than €100 to fill a…
It is important for me to outline the changing landscape we are seeing for young people on social media and the impact recommender algorithms are having on them. In my generation, when we went into secondary school we still had phones where you could call and text people and that was the extent of it. By the time we were in junior certificate, everyone had a smartphone. Everyone had Instagram and everyone had Snapcha…
In 2022, the Government announced a fantastic scheme to provide sewerage services to unsewered villages. Two of those villages, Craughwell and Clarinbridge, are in County Galway, and a sum of €21.9 million was allocated. Subsequently at the end of last year, the Minister, Deputy Browne, increased that to €29.9 million, which was fantastic and it reduced the matched funding contribution from the council from 15% to 8%…
It has been three years and nothing has happened.
Is mór an onóir dom seasamh anseo sa Dáil inniu chun labhairt faoi ábhar atá an-ghar do mo chroí agus do chroí an náisiúin, is é sin, ár dteanga náisiúnta, an Ghaeilge. Agus muid i lár Sheachtain na Gaeilge, cuirfidh mé tús le mo chuid cainte trí comhghairdeas a dhéanamh le Conradh na Gaeilge agus le gach duine atá bainteach le heagrú na féile iontaí seo. Bliain i ndiaidh bliana, tugann sí spreagadh ollmhór dúinn ar …