Cork East — week of Mon, 22 Sept — Watch Them Work

What your Cork East TDs did this week

Mon, 22 Sept – 28 Sept 2025 · 4 TDs · 4 bills voted on · 28 questions · 4 new lobbying filings

Votes this week

Special Education School Places

2025-09-24 · 2 votes

An amendment to the bill · motion passed 72–61

Voted for 2 James O'Connor · Noel McCarthy

Voted against 2 Liam Quaide · Pat Buckley

The motion · motion passed 76–63

Voted for 2 James O'Connor · Noel McCarthy

Voted against 2 Liam Quaide · Pat Buckley

Energy Costs

2025-09-24 · 2 votes

An amendment to the bill · motion passed 76–63

Voted for 2 James O'Connor · Noel McCarthy

Voted against 2 Liam Quaide · Pat Buckley

The motion · motion passed 77–63

Voted for 2 James O'Connor · Noel McCarthy

Voted against 2 Liam Quaide · Pat Buckley

Child Poverty and Homelessness

2025-09-24 · 2 votes

An amendment to the bill · motion passed 77–63

Voted for 2 James O'Connor · Noel McCarthy

Voted against 2 Liam Quaide · Pat Buckley

The motion · motion passed 77–63

Voted for 2 James O'Connor · Noel McCarthy

Voted against 2 Liam Quaide · Pat Buckley

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

2025-09-23 · 1 vote

The week's Dáil business schedule · motion passed 82–65

Voted for 2 James O'Connor · Noel McCarthy

Voted against 2 Liam Quaide · Pat Buckley

James O'Connor — Fianna Fáil 7 votes · 1 question · 1 new lobbying return

Questions asked 1 total

Education 1 question
- 2025-09-23 Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Education and Youth her Department's plans to update the DEIS plus plan before the end of 2025; the timeline for the publication of this document; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50317/25]

New lobbying 1 return

Christian Aid Ireland EU Affairs
- EU corporate accountability policy

Liam Quaide — Social Democrats 7 votes · 19 questions · 2 new lobbying returns

Questions asked 19 total

Social 6 questions
- 2025-09-23 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will ensure that the Pathways to Work strategy includes dedicated funding for disability-related transport costs, beyond the free travel scheme, to reflect additional costs faced by persons with disabilities, including those in rural areas, and to provide parity with the Access to Work (NI) scheme, which covers extra approved travel costs for disabled workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49699/25]
- 2025-09-23 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider funding and resourcing a national umbrella organisation for supported employment, to provide staff training, best practice standards, policy development and coordination between supported employment service providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49700/25]
- 2025-09-25 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to introduce a cost of disability payment to help address the significant additional costs of having a disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50570/25]
- 2025-09-25 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update on the report on benchmarking and indexing working age social protection rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50573/25]
- 2025-09-25 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to extend automatic entitlement to the household benefits package, the fuel allowance payment, and the additional needs payment to anyone living with a life-limiting cancer diagnosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50572/25]
- 2025-09-25 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to expand the criteria of the occupational injuries benefit scheme to include healthcare workers suffering with long Covid symptoms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50571/25]
Children 4 questions
- 2025-09-23 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the funding status for SOS Kilkenny’s respite services; to outline when the funding that has been promised will be released; the way in which his Department will ensure sustainable, multi-annual funding for specialist respite provision for people with intellectual disabilities in Kilkenny; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49703/25]
- 2025-09-23 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her Department has assessed the resource needs of Ukrainian organisations in Ireland working on integration, mental health support and community development; if she will consider multi-annual funding mechanisms to ensure continuity and sustainability of these services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49705/25]
- 2025-09-24 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she will provide an update on the childcare (amendment) Bill; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50531/25]
- 2025-09-24 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans to amend sections of the Disability Act 2005 as it relates to assessments of need; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50532/25]
Health 2 questions
- 2025-09-23 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Health her plans to expand the availability of free HRT products beyond the treatment of menopause symptoms to transgender people as part of gender-affirming healthcare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49933/25]
- 2025-09-24 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Health the timeline for bringing forward the Health (Adult Safeguarding) Bill 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50534/25]
Education 2 questions
- 2025-09-25 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Education and Youth the current staffing levels at a service (details supplied); the catchment area served; if it extends beyond County Cork; and her plans for further investment in staffing levels. [50947/25]
- 2025-09-25 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of young persons attending a service (details supplied); and the average number attending on a daily basis. [50948/25]
Taoiseach 1 question
- 2025-09-23 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach if he will publish an up-to-date audit of the number and proportion of people with disabilities who are in employment, broken down by sector and region, to allow measurement of progress on closing the disability employment gap, and to provide comparable data to that published in Northern Ireland through NISRA. [49701/25]
Enterprise 1 question
- 2025-09-23 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment his plans to launch a national employer awareness campaign on supported employment, with associated benefits and financial incentives for employers similar to the Workable NI model, to encourage the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities in line with Government targets under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49702/25]
Housing 1 question
- 2025-09-23 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to alter the eligibility criteria for the local authority home loan where long-term State benefit payments may only be considered as repayment income where more than 50% of the income source is of an earned nature, to allow two applicants on long-term State benefit payments to avail of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49980/25]
Rural 1 question
- 2025-09-23 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if his Department will outline the funding streams currently available to Ukrainian-led community organisations to support integration initiatives, including language classes, employment support and cultural exchange projects; and if consideration will be given to developing a ring-fenced fund for migrant-led organisations to strengthen community cohesion and integration at local level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49704/25]
Public Expenditure 1 question
- 2025-09-24 Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation his plans to reform the Ethics in Public Office legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50533/25]

New lobbying 2 returns

National Federation of Voluntary Service Providers Supporting People with Intellectual Disability · 2 returns Budgetary matters · Justice and Equality
- Oireachtas Disability Group - Pre-Budget 2026 Campaign
- Requesting information on the number of residential places delivered for people with disabilities in 2025

Noel McCarthy — Fine Gael 7 votes · 7 questions · 1 new lobbying return

Questions asked 7 total

Social 3 questions
- 2025-09-25 Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of extending illness benefit to the self-employed; the estimated increase in PRSI rates which would be required to meet this cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50441/25]
- 2025-09-25 Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons over 66 years of age who have qualified for the fuel allowance since the expanded means test for over 66s was introduced, by county, in tabular form; the cost of this expansion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50440/25]
- 2025-09-25 Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Social Protection further to the Parliamentary Question No. 1420 of 8 September 2025; the estimated number of anomalies under the yearly averaging method of calculating the rate of pay for the State Pension (Contributory); the different types of anomalies encountered by his Department under this system; the estimated cost to the Exchequer if these anomalies were corrected now; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50920/25]
Children 1 question
- 2025-09-23 Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the work of her Department to support the opening of new family resource centres; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50188/25]
Education 1 question
- 2025-09-23 Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide an update on a climate action summer works scheme application for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50236/25]
Justice 1 question
- 2025-09-23 Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current processing times for Short Stay (Type C) and Long Stay (Type D) visa applications; the efforts being made by his Department to reduce processing times for such visa applications; the additional resources and staff that have been assigned to the visa division over the course of the past year to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49966/25]
Enterprise 1 question
- 2025-09-25 Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the current average processing times for general and critical skills employment permit applications; to provide a comparison with the same period in 2025; the efforts being made by his Department to reduce employment permit application waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50437/25]

New lobbying 1 return

Christian Aid Ireland EU Affairs
- EU corporate accountability policy

Pat Buckley — Sinn Féin 7 votes · 1 question · 0 new lobbying returns

Questions asked 1 total

Health 1 question
- 2025-09-25 Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Health to consider increasing the income threshold for the over 70s medical card in view of the cost of living/inflation increases which gave rise to small pension increases over the past few years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51073/25]