I thank the Government, particularly the Minister of State, Deputy John Cummins, and the Minister, Deputy James Browne, for the excellent work they have done in progressing planning exemptions on modular homes. I take issue with some political commentators and people in the media who refer to them as beds in sheds. This is highly insulting to the excellent and reputable Irish companies that are producing these modula…
TDs / Michael Healy-Rae
Michael Healy-Rae
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
898
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
41,713
words spoken in the chamber
33,601 as a minister, 8,112 as a TD
302
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
201
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 898 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 254 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 24 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 94 | 11 |
| March 2025 | 47 | 2 |
| April 2025 | 35 | 9 |
| May 2025 | 45 | 3 |
| June 2025 | 39 | 9 |
| July 2025 | 64 | 3 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 53 | 3 |
| October 2025 | 43 | 48 |
| November 2025 | 53 | 29 |
| December 2025 | 38 | 27 |
| January 2026 | 35 | 10 |
| February 2026 | 26 | 61 |
| March 2026 | 17 | 9 |
| April 2026 | 31 | 3 |
| May 2026 | 81 | 3 |
| June 2026 | 54 | 13 |
| July 2026 | 29 | 1 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| September 2026 | 43 | 1 |
| October 2026 | 47 | 7 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 91 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 Kerry 29 November 2024 to now
- party Independent 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine 29 January 2025 to 14 April 2026
I have listened to the protestors. I have listened to the workers. I have listened to the people of Kerry - the canvassers who soldiered on long days and bad nights with me over the years. I have listened to my family and my friends, to the office staff in Kerry - Fiona and Kevin - and to the Department of agriculture people, such as Jacquie Casey and all of the people I adore. I have listened to my son Jackie, who h…
Sorry, just one second. It is a lesson for people in the future. I adored being a Minister of State in the Department of agriculture because I felt I was able to do good and I was passionate about my job.
I am sorry, and I thank you all very, very much.
I thank Deputy O'Donoghue for the question. The Government fully recognises the importance of the horticultural sector to the economy and its contribution to food security in Ireland. My Department is closely monitoring developments regarding input costs. The current conflict in the Middle East is putting upward pressure on energy and fertiliser prices. The Strait of Hormuz is currently closed, leading to delays in t…
Deputy O'Donoghue is so correct in everything he says. If we take the events of last week, one of our highly respected carrot producers went into liquidation. That is a situation I, the Department, and the Government find very concerning. It drives home now more than ever before that the customers - the people who go into shops - should be looking to try to buy Irish produce. We are better at producing our goods than…
What we are hoping for is that the situation will not be a repeat of 2022.
The Government will, of course, continuously assess the situation and try to respond in the most proactive and helpful way we can. It is too early to assess the full impact of increased energy and fertiliser costs but any spike in those prices obviously will have an impact on farmers' margins. The impact on fertiliser price will depend on how long the disruption lasts, whether physical energy production infrastructur…
It is not. The Deputy is completely wrong.
What was Sinn Féin doing when the Minister was doing all of that?
It did nothing.
I am very grateful for, and glad of, the opportunity to speak here today. I must declare a small interest in this. I am a postmaster. I have a district divisional office, DDO, and I deal on a daily basis with post offices and post office issues, not just as a politician, but also on the practical side of what it takes to deliver the mail. Of course, because of those two jobs, I have dealt an awful lot with post offic…
What did Sinn Féin do to keep them open?
We brought them in.
And they have objected to it.
On behalf of the Minister for justice, I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. It is important to state that the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has no role in individual court proceedings, nor can he intervene in operational matters that fall under the remit of courts, including the processes by which translation and interpretation services are provided.
Management of the courts is the…
The Deputy makes his point very well in a very sound, fair and reasonable fashion but I remind him that the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has no role in individual court proceedings. As I have previously noted, Article 5 of EU Directive 2010/64/EU requires member states to take concrete measures to ensure the quality of interpretation and translation services. A 2018 European Commission report on t…
Nobody on that side was interrupted.
Do not point your finger at me.
Fifteen years as spokesman in opposition on finance.
Fifteen years mouthing.
The answer is "No". It is not an issue.
I acknowledge the presence of the president of the IFA, Francie Gorman, as well as Kathleen Herlihy and all the chairpersons of the different counties representing the IFA; John Joe Fitzgerald from the INHFA; the other organisations around the country watching in tonight; the ICMSA; and all the people who represent farmers.
When I am speaking here tonight, and I am addressing people sincerely, I am here as a member …
I do, 100%.
I can guarantee you one thing: being subject to Bord Bia audits is a worrying thing.