As the Minister will probably know, I used to work in Bord Fáilte and Fáilte Ireland until I made the crazy decision to get into politics. I am sure all Members wish I had not. I used to be a manager. I created the national tourism database. I am very proud of that because it distributes all the information to this day for everything we do in tourism. A colleague of mine, a fellow Tipperary man who was my manager, ha…
TDs / Alan Kelly
Alan Kelly
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,036
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
81,639
words spoken in the chamber
Across 329 contributions
340
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
191
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 1,036 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 329 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 49 | 5 |
| February 2025 | 129 | 24 |
| March 2025 | 146 | 38 |
| April 2025 | 116 | 5 |
| May 2025 | 37 | 16 |
| June 2025 | 82 | 27 |
| July 2025 | 57 | 13 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 40 | 7 |
| October 2025 | 42 | 13 |
| November 2025 | 51 | 8 |
| December 2025 | 58 | 21 |
| January 2026 | 29 | 28 |
| February 2026 | 54 | 58 |
| March 2026 | 48 | 10 |
| April 2026 | 25 | 10 |
| May 2026 | 18 | 6 |
| June 2026 | 14 | 16 |
| July 2026 | 2 | 10 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 4 | 10 |
| October 2026 | 35 | 4 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 158 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 Tipperary North 29 November 2024 to now
- party Labour Party 29 November 2024 to now
I have the guts of 20 years' service as a national public representative, but this is the most mental Bill I have ever dealt with in here. It is crazy. There is lots of really good stuff in it but, as regards the structure of a Bill, it is beyond comprehension. It gives "miscellaneous" a new meaning. It is so diverse. It is not good practice; it is the worst kind of practice. I can nearly guarantee the Minister that …
And other Departments, including the Department of Defence. It is a Who's Who. We are doing the ICC Act and the disregard of convictions for homosexuality-related offences today, and there are provisions relating to arrest warrants, prisons, the Minister's capacity to ask for Defence Forces' help, counselling notes, sex for rent, DNA, pepper spray, community service orders, face coverings - there is so much-----
Yes, but if the Minister were sitting here a few years ago, there is no doubt he would be saying what I am saying. I recall quite clearly his criticism of the previous Minister for justice, whom he now sits beside, in relation to lots of legislation. I have to be honest about this. This is no way to do legislation. For instance, the disregard is such an important topic on its own. The issues in relation to the ICC Ac…
That is for sure.
Been there, done that.
Fair point.
I just have a few brief comments to make. The issue in relation to the pre-1922 convictions is obviously different to what the working group said, which is a pity and the previous speaker spoke about military archives as well. How do we deal with that?
The working group proposed a dedicated independent body as the first contact, modelled on the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC. This is the first tim…
I refer to the query on statements. Will the Minister accept them if there is no record? That is most important.
I move amendment No. 9:
In page 9, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following:
PART 2
AMENDMENT OF POLICING, SECURITY AND COMMUNITY SAFETY ACT 2024
Amendment of Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024
4. The Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 98:
“Intimidation
98A.A person who attempts in any way to coerce or intimida…
I take the Minister's word for it. I will pursue this issue. I honestly believe we need to reach another bar not only when it comes to gardaí but all uniformed personnel. I am thinking of the intimidation of uniformed personnel in this country and the manner in which they are being treated, including off duty, and the way in which their families and homes are potentially targeted. We have reached a different threshol…
I move amendment No. 11:
In page 9, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following:
“PART 2
AMENDMENT OF NON-FATAL OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON ACT 1997
Amendment of Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997
4.The Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997 is amended by the insertion of the
following section:
“Obstructing free movement of member of House of Oireachtas
9A.A person who, by violent means…
I will save time.
I move amendment No. 17:
In page 18, to delete lines 31 to 35, to delete pages 19 to 22, and in page 23, to delete lines 1 to 18 and substitute the following:
“Amendment of section 19A of Criminal Evidence Act 1992
16.(1) The Criminal Evidence Act 1992 is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 19A:
“Disclosure of third-party records in certain trials
19A.(1) In this section—
‘Act of 19…
We should be spending hours discussing this instead of 26 minutes. I am not going to take up all the time because I have spoken on this at length in the committee. On behalf of the Labour Party, I am putting forward an amendment drafted by Lorcan Staines SC for the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. It proposes a compromise to deal with this highly sensitive issue. Our justice committee had harrowing, very upsetting and deta…
I wish to briefly acknowledge the passing this morning of Liz Howard, a former president of the Camogie Association. She was a formidable - and I mean formidable - and passionate Tipperary woman. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.
I want to raise an issue in relation to elderly care. A man I have known all my life, who has dementia and other issues, has ended up in a midlands hospital. He has been there for months …
It probably does not happen often, but this is a matter that we, collectively, as a Legislature and a body politic, are glad to see happening. I welcome Valerie's family. They are very welcome. I commend Valerie's brother, David, to whom I listened on multiple media appearances over recent years and during pre-legislative scrutiny in committee. His testimony was compelling. His steadfast determination and resilience …
We have to acknowledge when legislation is necessary and we all agree that this legislation is necessary, and the Minister has brought it forward. We will tease it out. In the main, I support it. I will obviously be supporting it, but we will tease out a few things. The Minister and his Department are to be commended on bringing it forward in a pretty quick manner. I hope we will bring it through the Houses relativel…
I move amendment No. 5:
In page 8, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following:
“(ab) contravenes section 43C(1);”.
The Bill is drafted on the basis that what is not permitted remains prohibited. Checking a person's image against a database of images seems to remain prohibited. It seems the only way to emphasise this is to make it an offence. The Bill already criminalises falsifying, concealing or destroying …
I will not press the amendment. I accept the Minister's response. This is something that may need to be narrowed down and looked at. Something that is inadvertent would, by and large, be acceptable, but something that is deliberate would not. This may be a matter that we can return to at a later stage. On the basis of the Minister’s reply, I will not press the amendment.
This is a rarity, but I thank the Minister. It is not very often that, in effect, a Minister accepts an amendment from the Opposition, particularly on a Bill that is quite technical. I acknowledge that. Even though this is technically not my amendment, it reflects the spirit of the amendment I tabled. I acknowledge the fact that it is the Labour Party's amendment and my amendment. I do accept what the Minister is say…
I wish to share time with Deputy Sheehan and Deputy Ahern.
First, I compliment Deputy Gogarty and his colleagues for bringing this forward. This is an extremely important topic. To a degree, we probably need to get to a political consensus on it. I believe that the Minister can travel this journey with us. He is probably committed to a certain amount of reform in this area. I read what he said last year and prior to that in relation to this. I hope his goodwill towards it is…
Deputy Robert O'Donoghue and I had a meeting with vets over the past period of time with a view to progressing the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill, which was actually brought in by former Fianna Fáil Deputy, Jackie Cahill, and my former constituency colleague. We will have a crisis in veterinary services across Ireland if we do not do something because veterinary practices are being bought up by corporate entiti…
Your own party supports it.