The United Nations is a vital international body that so many countries around the world pay such respect to. It was founded after the two World Wars to try to ensure we would never be in that place again. It is so important that we remain part of that and continue to be an integral part of that whole idea that the countries of the world can come together to ensure that peace can be delivered. That is why it is so im…
TDs / Martin Kenny
Martin Kenny
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
446
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
90,042
words spoken in the chamber
Across 358 contributions. Plus 23 contributions from the chair, not counted
389
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
103
topics asked about
Across 17 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 446 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 358 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 11 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 8 | 11 |
| March 2025 | 35 | 18 |
| April 2025 | 23 | 20 |
| May 2025 | 42 | 34 |
| June 2025 | 14 | 7 |
| July 2025 | 19 | 14 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 26 | 5 |
| October 2025 | 13 | 27 |
| November 2025 | 20 | 24 |
| December 2025 | 19 | 7 |
| January 2026 | 29 | 29 |
| February 2026 | 22 | 51 |
| March 2026 | 39 | 21 |
| April 2026 | 23 | 13 |
| May 2026 | 25 | 27 |
| June 2026 | 34 | 13 |
| July 2026 | 9 | 19 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 24 | 5 |
| October 2026 | 11 | 13 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 179 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 Sligo-Leitrim 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
I was on my way home the week before last when I pulled into a filling station and there was a couple there with five-gallon drums in the boot of their car that the were about to fill with heating oil. I was chatting to one of them and he said he hoped after the budget they could fill the tank properly and they would be getting a bit of relief. There is no relief; that is the reality. What was taken away in the budge…
3. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on negotiations of the Common Agricultural Policy. [70366/26]
I want to ask the Minister where we are at in respect of the CAP negotiations. We need an update on the CAP. Ireland has the Presidency and there was great hope that progress would be made in that context. We were coming into this with the possibility of a 22% cut in the CAP, which has alarmed farmers across Europe and particularly here in Ireland, who depend so much on it. I would like an update on where the negotia…
I appreciate that. I also appreciate the work that is being done. The Minister said the compromise text has been advanced to some extent. What we would like to get is a little detail as to where we are at in regard to the funding. The plan depends on whether we have got the money. That is the big issue that most farmers are concerned about. I appreciate the Minister's concern about it as well. I have stated that clea…
I appreciate that and I understand it. We look forward to this weekend when hopefully clarity will be brought to it if it is being published.
I want to raise another issue with the Minister in respect of that. One of the things that alarmed a lot of farmers in Ireland because of the ageing nature of our farming community is the proposal coming in that if a farmer is in receipt of a pension, he would not be able to r…
Is it off the table?
I have a supplementary question. I support Deputy O'Rourke regarding his particular question on tillage. I have two particular points I want to make. First, one of the issues that we have when we speak to the grain growers is that so much of the food and feed that we have in Ireland, which is used to produce a product that is then labelled as an Irish product. For example, practically the only Irish thing in Irish wh…
I am not misleading anyone.
Irish farmers have been left behind with this budget, with a reduction in current expenditure of €61 million. I refer the Minister to table 2 – Ministerial Vote Group Gross Voted Current Expenditure – in the budget documentation relating to his Department.
It says the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will see a decrease of 3%, or €61 million. The line below for Department of Children, Disability and Eq…
We are given documentation on budget day which sets out what the budget is. We read that documentation and it tells us there is a decrease of €61 million.
I am not misleading the House. I am saying what is in your document that you produced and distributed to everyone in the Chamber yesterday.
Irish agriculture has gone through a very difficult year with rising input costs and severe weather impacting the sector. The Minister has an opportunity to provide assistance for farmers at this difficult time. The reopening of the fuel support scheme is some assistance in the short term but he has failed to provide any fuel support for farmers or contractors in budget 2027. It is only until the end of this year. Fa…
Ireland has changed hugely in the past 40 years or more. As a country, we were a net exporter of labour until 40 years ago. Things have changed. Very large families were the norm and people died younger. We also had an economy which struggled. Now, much of that has changed and as society becomes more affluent, families get smaller and people live longer. Those two things mean that we are going to need an awful lot of…
We are here this evening to try to appeal to the Minister to ensure that these transport hikes do not go ahead in circumstances where across the country we have so many people who simply cannot get public transport in the first place. For example, I was with Irish Rail earlier, and we talked about the commuter service into Sligo town where the earliest train in the morning gets in there at ten o'clock. There is no tr…
We have a serious issue in the north west in regard to transport infrastructure. The issue of infrastructure has been raised by many Members and the Tánaiste has given commitments in regard to critical infrastructure. The western rail corridor is a particularly critical piece of infrastructure for the centres of population from Sligo right down along the western seaboard. It is welcome that the part from Athenry to C…
I thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward this motion. I am disappointed the Government is once again negating its impact. We are seven months into this crisis and the situation is only getting worse, with diesel prices hitting more than €2.20 per litre at the forecourts. Home heating oil costs €1,600 for 1,000 litres and green diesel is almost €1.70 per litre for farmers. As workers and families suffer, the p…
A failed Government.
I welcome this debate. Such a debate has been needed for quite a long time. The reality is that for many people, the issue of the financial implications of Irish unity has been used as a put-down to try to smother or put a stop to argument and debate. This is a welcome way in which we can open that up. This debate is really about the opportunities that Irish unification would offer as opposed to the difficulties that…
As the Taoiseach is aware, for many years people with mental health issues have been attending emergency departments in our hospitals. Many of them get very poor outcomes. They experience long delays and end up on trolleys. Sometimes they are referred for short-term stays or to community services, which offer little or no service. Recently, the Government has decided to put special mental health nursing teams in plac…
3. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on CAP negotiations and specifically in relation to coupled payments and the future of entitlements. [52240/26]
I want to find out what is happening in regard to CAP. We want to see if there is any progress in relation to the proposed budget and retaining the Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 structure which has served Ireland well up to now. During Ireland's Presidency, how much progress can we realistically make towards securing a full and proper budget which will sustain Irish farmers and European agriculture?
I appreciate that but negotiations can only get you so far when you do not have the budget. We need to secure the budget and that is why I want to focus on that more than anything. Over six months of the Presidency, we need to secure that and get agreement on an increased budget. A decrease of approximately 20% will be devastating for Irish agriculture and for many sectors.
I am thinking of the suckler sector in my …
I appreciate that and food security is certainly central to this. Every time somebody from the European Commission speaks, they talk about security but as we know with the various conflicts, and we have seen what is happening again in Iran, primary to security in Europe will be food security. We need to focus on ensuring we keep our agricultural sector vibrant and producing. If we do not do so, we will have a food se…
5. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has engaged with the board of Bord Bia in relation to the report on the review of governance procedures at Bord Bia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52241/26]