Thirteen days ago, we had a saltwater intrusion into the groundwater source for the Ballyheigue public water supply. It also affects the western Clanmaurice group water scheme and parts of Ardfert and Kilmoyley. This is very serious, as it affects more than 4,000 customers, including businesses, schools, residents, and older people and vulnerable people. The unusual thing about this is that it is probably the most se…
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
Many of the measures that have been undertaken in this budget are issues that were raised, put forward, promoted, and advocated for by the Independents supporting this Government. The Independents that support the Government had a strong influence on the programme for Government and I am glad to see that being adhered to. I will give an example of the commitment on the carer's allowance being changed to allow more pe…
I have heard people saying that the Minister is for the privileged classes and so on, but that is rubbish talk. I warmly welcome these changes. There are people in this House who do not understand that if someone inherits farmland, that land might be worth a lot of money on paper, but all it is worth is what the person can work hard at to make a living out of it. It is not as if the person is going to be inheriting t…
I heard the Labour Party say this Government is favouring the hospitality sector. I remind the same party that the hospitality sector also includes small hairdressers, small businesses and family hotels. That is who the Government favoured. I could not see anything wrong with that. They are people who create employment. When I hear people saying that it is unfair, I would like those same people to look at where most …
For anyone who says a person like that is not good for this country, I remind them of the seventies, the eighties and even the nineties, when people had to pay a fortune to come home from England if they wanted to go to a funeral if a parent died. Thanks be to God for Michael O'Leary being there. The only thing that is wrong with him is that we do not have enough people like him to create more work-----
-----and more employment. What we want in this country is employment and people who will invest in this country. That is why I welcome what is being proposed.
Nobody could argue with the Minister's introduction. The whole idea of the Government's policy is to try to stop everybody from smoking, particularly our young people. That is, of course, 100% correct. However, I have never supported an increase in the cost of tobacco. Alcohol was never more freely available than when alcohol sales were banned during prohibition in America many years ago. If a packet of cigarettes we…
I thank the Taoiseach; the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill; the Ministers of State, Deputies Butler, Buttimer and Moran; and all of the other people who took time out from their busy schedules during the summer to come to County Kerry. Those meetings, those groups and delegations they met, were not photo opportunities; they were about work and about business in Kerry. I am grateful for all of that time, and I appre…
I welcome the passing of this resolution in a very special way. At this time, we need to continue these supports as they are very important. If we look at the bigger picture and the future fuel needs of the country, the fact is that an awful lot of activity, including agricultural activity, is based in rural areas. So much needs to be moved around this island every day by large trucks and we do not have train or bus …
This motion is timely because, with the massive increases for people running their homes and businesses, people who are working have never been at more of a disadvantage because of the high cost of going to work, childcare and fuel. What we need is a more targeted approach by the Government. It will never be more important or timely than in the upcoming budget to make sure that the supports that will be made availabl…
I sincerely thank Deputy Charles Ward for bringing forward this important motion. It is a reasonable motion. I acknowledge the work that has been done by people from the Government and the Opposition in securing the situation with IS 465:2026. Large sums of money have been put forward to help the affected families. I have spoken to many of them over the years. The one thing of paramount importance is the case-by-case…
I urge the Government to outline its position on the EU lead ammunition proposal. This is the proposal to take lead out of ammunition, which could have a negative effect on 150,000 licensed shotgun owners in Ireland. There seems to be a problem in government in identifying which Minister and Department is actually going to be responsible for this. I would like a bit of effort to be made in that regard because rural s…
Yes, but the Minister seems to be saying it is not his responsibility.
The Minister knows my views on this whole matter. Like Deputy Toole, I would like to think that I am coming at this from a sound and sensible perspective, not like the motion we had here last week where we had people who were against economic activity, building roads and everything we are trying to do from a common-sense point of view. We need roads and houses. A term used in the motion last week was "unsustainable h…
Is my time up?
Sorry. Regarding many of the estates that are built there, the airport was there before the houses, and they knew where they were going to live.
This motion is mad. It states that Dáil Éireann recognises that the Government will further increase carbon emissions by lifting the Dublin Airport cap, promoting unsustainable housing and economic development and by no longer prioritising public transport and active travel investment over road construction. The message must go out loud and clear from here today that the Labour Party is against tourism and economic d…
"Safe, legal and rare" was the line in 2018. HSE data shows that between 2019 and 2024, 10,426 women who attended an abortion appointment did not return after the three-day cooling-off and waiting period. That proves that those ladies took time to reflect and made a different decision to what they might have made if they did not have the cooling-off period. The waiting period was presented as an important safeguard w…
141. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to update the house on the short-term letting Bill 2025 coming from his Department. [45285/26]
I ask the Minister to give confidence to the sector - the long-established self-catering operators who have been operating legally for many years - that they will not be forced out of business as a consequence of the new short-term letting regulations?
I thank the Minister. I know his heart is in the right place on this matter, which is the reason I am asking him the questions. What communications has he had on the national planning statement? Will the statement be made available for consultation with stakeholders before implementation? What would the Minister like to see in it?
I welcome the statements from the Minister, Deputy James Browne, the Minister of State, Deputy John Cummins, and the Tánaiste on overhauling rural planning. This is an issue the Taoiseach feels very strongly about himself. Kerry has been severely impacted. Places like Kilcummin and Beaufort are effectively sterilised, as is the Ring of Kerry route. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, has questions to answer on thi…
In regard to the package put in place, I want to thank the Minister, Deputy Heydon, the Ministers of State, Deputies Dooley and Grealish, and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien. I also thank the team who worked to put it together. Of course, I would welcome the package because I worked on it too. Like every package put together, the one thing you would always ask is whether it went far enough. The whole issue of ta…
We should all recognise the value of short-term letting to rural economies. Of course, the Government should also recognise this. I appreciate the work that has been done in this regard by the Ministers involved. There are 1,800 short-term lets in Kerry worth over €17 million to the county's economy. On the Wild Atlantic Way between Kerry and Donegal, there are over 6,800 short-term lets all in rural counties across …
I acknowledge that the minimum figure of 20,000 for towns was a put in place. I had lobbied strongly for that because we want to protect the tourism capital of the western world, which, as everybody knows, is Killarney, County Kerry and there is no doubt about that. However, I am worried about people in towns and areas with a population of less than 20,000 where the planning guidelines will be put in place for short-…