There are regulatory bodies supposed to deal with it.
TDs / Sinéad Gibney
Sinéad Gibney
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
858
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
179,395
words spoken in the chamber
Across 528 contributions
409
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
184
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 858 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 528 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 74 | 22 |
| March 2025 | 18 | 18 |
| April 2025 | 100 | 20 |
| May 2025 | 20 | 24 |
| June 2025 | 45 | 34 |
| July 2025 | 212 | 35 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 27 | 19 |
| October 2025 | 43 | 27 |
| November 2025 | 48 | 37 |
| December 2025 | 11 | 9 |
| January 2026 | 45 | 28 |
| February 2026 | 19 | 48 |
| March 2026 | 19 | 16 |
| April 2026 | 52 | 18 |
| May 2026 | 13 | 25 |
| June 2026 | 19 | 35 |
| July 2026 | 34 | 39 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 18 | 23 |
| October 2026 | 41 | 51 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 279 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 Rathdown 29 November 2024 to now
- party Social Democrats 29 November 2024 to now
The UK is threatening to block. The Irish Government could be much stronger.
When I think of AI, I get so excited, because I genuinely see this as an evolution of us as a species from when we first picked up tools to a point in our history where we are about to see those tools take on a life of their own. It is genuinely awe-inspiring to consider the transformation that could bring to us as a globe and what it could do for us as a population, but sadly, the other thing I think of is that we c…
I start by expressing my solidarity with the protesters in Iran and condemning the brutal repression they are facing.
This week has brought into sharp focus how action or inaction at EU level has a real impact on our citizens. Commitment to the European project means being an active and critical participant in it, willing to push back and push hard on trade deals, laws and regulations that impact on all of our lives…
111. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether his Department is concerned about the rising rate of long-term unemployment and the rising rate of youth unemployment, which stands at nearly three times the average unemployment rate, according to the CSO; the measures his Department is taking to find the cause and address these issues in the Irish labour market; and if he wi…
The CSO's labour force survey before Christmas found that we have significant increases in youth and long-term unemployment. The youth unemployment rate is nearly three times the average unemployment rate and it is clearly becoming much harder for young people to find work. What is the Department doing to address this increasing gap in our labour market?
I find it frustrating that when we highlight issues or concerns about rising youth unemployment and long-term unemployment rates, they seem to be batted away with lines like those that the Taoiseach used earlier and that we are hearing now to the effect that we have got so many people in work, that the rate is record breaking and that this is the most important thing. Essentially, the point made is that we should all…
I encourage the Minister of State to go beyond the numbers and talk to young people herself. The young people I speak to tell me about the difficulties they have in finding employment. Beyond the statistics that the Minister of State is setting out, we have to simply acknowledge this.
As I mentioned, and as we know from history repeating itself, it is a canary in the coal mine. We know it is an indicator of a broade…
I would also like to take this opportunity to wish everybody in Dáil Éireann a Happy Christmas and I would like to single out two people in particular, Karen Hinkson-Deeney and Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich, who are my team and without whom I could not have had this first year as a TD. I want to build on Deputy Gannon's points around this particular technology, which I have huge concerns with. Some of the key points I want t…
I congratulate Deputy Whitmore on a brilliant piece of work. While I welcome that the Government is not outright opposing this Bill - I do appreciate that and we all welcome it very much - I have to say it is frustrating and disappointing because we hear this line consistently from the Government that we do not put forward solutions, and yet the last three pieces of legislation this party has put forward have all bee…
Before I talk about online safety I will talk about online dangers we are trying to tackle. The first story is a very sad story of a young man called Adam Raine who died earlier this year.
I express my condolences to his parents, Matthew and Maria, who are now engaged in a lawsuit against OpenAI, whose product ChatGPT essentially led him, over the course of six months from when he first came to ChatGPT to ask about …
I congratulate Deputy Whitmore on bringing this Bill to the floor. It is well researched, well prepared legislation that allows for the establishment of what should be and must be a core part of the infrastructure that shapes Ireland's response to the climate crisis. As Deputy Whitmore described, we have two choices in how we face the climate crisis. We can see it in a way that allows us to flounder, to see the negat…
I would like to discuss the need for schools in the Kilternan area of my constituency of Dublin-Rathdown. Kilternan is one of the most beautiful areas in my constituency. It is in the Dublin Mountains on the Wicklow border. We have a very diverse community with more suburban areas like Dundrum and Stillorgan but as one moves up towards Belarmine, Carrickmines, Stepaside and Kilternan, they are quite different in term…
It is Fiona Downes. I will send on the details.
I thank the Minister of State. There is a lot of detail there about the different demographic data and census data. I am trying to add to that data the voice of the people of Dublin Rathdown and specifically Kilternan. These constituents are, as I said, incredibly frustrated at this. The Minister of State touched on some of the alternatives in other areas but the issue with that is I have just heard this morning that…
I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion and the opportunity to speak to this incredibly important issue. I will use three slogans to shape my contribution. The first is "Trans rights are human rights." The reason I wish to delve into this a bit more is the Minister referenced equality a lot in her contribution. As a professional in the human rights and equality sphere, I have thought a lot about how…
I appreciate the time to speak to this Bill, but I have to share the frustration that many others have expressed at how this has been handled and the fact we have only been able to access the Bill in the past number of hours. The Chief Whip addressed the issue on the Order of Business, but it will have a knock-on effect. She said we will have more time to debate the issue next week, but as somebody who attends the Bu…
2. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the steps An Coimisiún na Meán is taking to promote and enforce safety on social media and combat online harms, with particular regard to vulnerable groups such as children and vulnerable adults; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64384/25]
Last week during Questions on Policy or Legislation, the Tánaiste mentioned that the Minister was preparing proposals around online safety to bring before the House and expected to introduce them by the end of the year. I am keen to hear about the details of that, in particular the role for Coimisiún na Meán and how people will be protected and whether those protections will extend beyond those under 16 years of age.
I thank the Minister. I have concerns. For a start, the focus being entirely on children and vulnerable people risks leaving behind the rest of the population. I am hearing more and more about age verification being a silver bullet to resolve everything. I have huge concerns about age verification, even if it is robust. It raises major privacy issues in that it would hand over official documentation to providers that…
I am not saying that age verification cannot be used. Rather, I am telling the Minister that if it is used, it raises privacy concerns. My point is that it is not fixing the actual problem at the root because all of that nasty material remains online. We need to have recommender systems turned off by default because they are the issue. They are the things keeping our eyeballs on screens and making sure polarisation i…
7. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the status of the progress made regarding the establishment of a permanent basic income for the arts scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64387/25]
We in the Social Democrats welcome this programme. It has been wonderful. My office has spoken to dozen of artists who tell me that no matter the medium, the scheme has meant they have been able to produce more art, has helped them to have healthier and happier lives and has allowed their art to get to more people. There are paintings, sculptures, poems and plays that simply would not exist without this scheme. We ge…
I thank the Minister for the information. We share his passion for this programme. My concern is that it seems that a pilot was run and we are just getting another pilot. We need more certainty, more permanence and a broader cohort of people who can access it. I raised in previous sessions with the Minister the idea that a pilot should also be something that we capture the data from and potentially offer to other coh…
I thank People Before Profit for bringing forward this motion. We in the Social Democrats are very proud to co-sign it. I thank the many parliamentarians since 2018 who have worked on this legislation, particularly Senator Black. I also thank the people in the Gallery - the activists who continue, on a daily basis across this country, to campaign in solidarity with the people of Palestine. The weekly vigil in Monksto…