Topics / Departmental Policies

A subject heading for parliamentary questions

Departmental Policies

1,112 questions from 127 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 22 October 2026.

1,112
questions
1,096 written, 16 oral
127
TDs have asked
10
parties and groups
Independents counted together
20
departments asked

This is one of the catch-all headings the Oireachtas uses for how a department runs rather than what a question is about, so it is left out of the range and focus figures.

Questions per month

The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.

Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
MonthQuestions
January 20258
February 202535
March 202529
April 202551
May 202530
June 202557
July 202568
August 20250
September 202589
October 202524
November 202538
December 2025102
January 202628
February 202683
March 202669
April 202676
May 202689
June 202683
July 202671
August 20260
September 202645
October 202637

Who asks, by party

The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.

  • Aontú25 from 2 TDs · 2 seats today
  • Fianna Fáil305 from 30 TDs · 48 seats today
  • Fine Gael153 from 22 TDs · 38 seats today
  • Green Party28 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Independent75 from 12 TDs · 15 seats today
  • Independent Ireland110 from 3 TDs · 4 seats today
  • Labour Party59 from 11 TDs · 11 seats today
  • People Before Profit-Solidarity53 from 3 TDs · 3 seats today
  • Sinn Féin209 from 32 TDs · 39 seats today

The TDs who asked most

Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.

  1. 94
  2. 69
  3. 42
  4. 30
  5. 29
  6. 28
  7. 27
  8. 21

Asked of

Debated under the same heading

Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.

The questions

Aengus Ó Snodaigh Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Defence
180. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence the statutory basis, if any, under which troops may be deployed as aid to the civil power following the expiry of the Emergency Powers Act 1976 in 1995; who and in what circumstances may such deployment be authorised; and to provide details on any instances since 1995 where this has been authorised and implemented. [20565/26]
Michael Cahill Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Transport
306. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Transport his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19603/26]
Ruth Coppinger Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Culture
947. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to consider implementing a policy to ensure that all sports clubs are required to have clear comprehensive adult safeguarding policies in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19587/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Culture
970. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport whether his Department has considered introducing a dedicated capital stream for large regional facilities in major urban areas such as Cork, where the scale of infrastructure required often exceeds the typical local grant thresholds. [20407/26]
Rory Hearne Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Housing
1018. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the protocol to allow households fleeing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence to transfer time spent on a social housing waiting list to another local authority; when this protocol will be implemented, to outline the resources that will be provided to local authorities to support the implementation of t…
Ged Nash Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1288. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to confirm that the recently launched child maintenance calculator is intended as guidance only; that it is not intended to influence judicial decision-making in the area; the frequency with which the calculator will be reviewed to reflect changes in the rate of inflation; if international best practice informed the development of the to…
Carol Nolan Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1319. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the current legal status of so-called “non-crime hate incidents” in Ireland and any recent changes made to policy in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19584/26]
Ruth Coppinger Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1335. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to review the child maintenance calculator that has just been launched by his Department given issues that have been raised (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19894/26]
Erin McGreehan Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1339. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to clarify whether the new Child Maintenance Calculator is intended as guidance only, or whether it is expected to influence judicial decision-making within family law proceedings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19984/26]
Erin McGreehan Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1340. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the rationale for excluding essential household expenditures including housing, childcare, transport, medical costs and existing financial obligation from the child maintenance calculator; and whether future revisions will incorporate cost-of-living considerations to better reflect the actual cost of raising a child. [19985/26]
Erin McGreehan Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1341. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether international child maintenance models, including those used in the United Kingdom and the United States, were examined during the development of Ireland's child maintenance calculator; and if he will publish any comparative analysis carried out by his Department. [19986/26]
Erin McGreehan Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1342. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the consultation process that took place with single parents, advocacy groups, family law practitioners and relevant stakeholders prior to the introduction of the child maintenance calculator. [19987/26]
Erin McGreehan Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1343. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the way in which her Department intends to monitor and evaluate the impact of the child maintenance calculator on child welfare, maintenance levels and financial outcomes for primary caregivers; and whether she will commit to refining the model based on real-world evidence. [19988/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1364. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide, for each engagement by the Irish Prison Service with podcasts, broadcasters, or media providers since 1 January 2020, the procurement reference number, contract or purchase order reference, procurement route used, date of approval, and total final amount paid. [20343/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1365. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether a written sole supplier justification was completed in respect of the 2025 partnership with a podcast (details supplied); the date on which that justification was approved; by whom it was approved by grade; and if he will provide the reason an open or competitive process was not used. [20344/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1366. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Irish Prison Service obtained more than one quotation in respect of an engagement (details supplied); if so, the number quotations were sought and received; whether the comparator quotation related to like-for-like services; and if he will provide the total quoted amounts, without prejudice to commercial sensitivity. [2034…
Ken O'Flynn Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1367. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether expenditure aggregation rules were applied in respect of repeated payments to the same media or podcast providers since 1 January 2020 for the purposes of procurement compliance; and if he will set out the manner in which those rules were applied in each case. [20346/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1368. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide the annual and project-level breakdown of the 214 podcasts and five broadcast episodes referred to in his reply, including by provider, title or series, date, format, intended audience, and whether each output was commissioned for internal prisoner information use, public release, or both. [20347/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1369. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to specify the budget subhead, funding source, and legal or administrative basis under which each payment listed in the Irish Prison Service media expenditure table for 2020 to 2025 was approved. [20348/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1370. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any internal audit, compliance review, procurement assurance review, or management assurance process examined Irish Prison Service expenditure on podcasts, media, broadcasting, influencer, or communications projects since 1 January 2020; and if so, to state the date, scope, and outcome of each such review. [20349/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1371. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the specific performance indicators, deliverables, milestones, or reporting requirements were attached to the Experts by Experience programme in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and the way in which achievement against those requirements was assessed. [20350/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1372. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the measurable recruitment outcomes were attributed to a partnership (details supplied), including application numbers, click-throughs, campaign reach, conversion indicators, or any post-campaign assessment of value for money. [20351/26]
Ken O'Flynn Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1373. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the project-specific evaluation, impact assessment, or cost-effectiveness review was conducted in relation to the Experts by Experience podcast and broadcast outputs funded since 2023, as distinct from general international literature or broader programme observations. [20352/26]
Louise O'Reilly Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1406. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration how the child maintenance calculator will handle difficult issues that arise, such as putting a figure on lost income for parents who give up work to raise children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20896/26]
Louise O'Reilly Written 18 Mar 2026 · to Justice
1407. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he intends the child maintenance calculator to be one-size-fits-all; if he has given consideration to how it will deal with self-employed people with variable incomes; how it will deal with edge cases - for example, those with lower liquid assists but with property or land, such as farmers; or those with non-salary income; and …