Speaking at the launch of the five-year national human rights strategy for disabled people in Ireland, the Taoiseach said it was a "landmark moment for the advancement of disability rights in Ireland." Last week, with the budget, the Government cut vital cost-of-living supports for people with disabilities. This amounts to a €1,400 drop in income for people with disabilities across the State. While the Government ann…
TDs / Martin Kenny
Martin Kenny
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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
90. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on his recent meetings with his EU counterparts in relation to the next CAP at the AGRIFISH Council meeting in Brussels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54989/25]
I want to ask about the CAP negotiations, the recent meetings the Minister has had with his EU counterparts on the progress we hope to see that will result in a new CAP being put in place in the next couple of years, and what it will mean for Irish farmers. As the Minister is aware, there is considerable concern over the extent of the cuts. The CAP is vital to ensuring Irish farmers have a base level of support. It i…
We are all very conscious of the proposal on the table whereby we face a 22% cut in respect of the CAP. That will have a very serious effect on Irish agriculture in addition to the entire food sector and farm families. The vast majority of our food is produced by small farm families the length and breadth of the country who depend on their CAP payments to remain sustainable. We have had decent prices recently, in fai…
While I agree, at the same time, we need to recognise - I brought this point up at a meeting in Brussels recently attended by Commissioner Hansen - that this has the difficulty of undermining people's confidence in the EU itself. The vast majority of people across the length and breadth of this country have done well out of the European Union, as have the vast majority of farmers from the perspective that they have b…
92. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on his plans to implement the recommendations in the report for generational renewal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54990/25]
I will get straight to it. I ask the Minister about generational renewal, the implementation of the report on this issue, and if he will make a statement on the issue. Recommendations in this regard were announced during the ploughing championships and people want certainty on it. One of the biggest issues we hear about when we talk to farmers is what the future will hold and if future generations will take on farms,…
As I said, we are all conscious of this issue. At the moment, I think 4.3% of farmers are aged under 35. The average age is 60 in Irish agriculture, so there is a clear problem here. It has often been the case that the people who take over the farm subsequently go off and get a job, work away from the farm for a while and then maybe come back in mid-life and take over the farm. That has been the tradition. The type o…
I am referring to new stuff.
We recognise all that. The difficulty I have is that in the past we had a legacy where young farmers were let down. We have had the forgotten farmers and all that before. It still has not been fully dealt with. I would, of course, say that from my side of the House. We need to ensure we do not create a situation where anything like this happens again. We need firm commitments to young people who want to farm that the…
I welcome the movement and commitment to deal with bovine TB and the huge problem it is throughout the length and breadth of the country. A lot of family farms are locked up and there is a whole crisis around that. I gave an example last week, or maybe earlier this week, of a farmer who had written to me. He had seven cattle who went down with TB. The compensation was based on 2023 prices, so he was only able to buy …
Compensation has to be key.
I will ask one short supplementary question in that regard. One of the key problems with Mercosur is that we are bringing product into Europe that does not meet the same standards as European farmers have to meet, and are happy to meet because of the high quality of the product we have in this country.
Is it true that, as part of the deal, the European Union will pay Mercosur countries quite large sums of money, whi…
I will not.
I commend everybody who works in mental health services across the country. Many people's first port of call is their GP. The GP is the rock they can cling to and sometimes the only access they have to someone who will help them.
In her opening statement, the Minister of State said this year's theme was “Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies”. I was quite taken by that because of an issu…
For many people living across the length and breadth of the country, this budget has been quite disappointing. It is a disappointment for workers that they see no tax relief whatsoever, except for a very elite few who happen to be building apartments in Dublin that nobody can afford. They seem to be the only people who have been looked after from a taxation point of view. The agricultural sector and farmers in genera…
Modelling or not, the reality is the number of reactors are going up. That is the problem we have got here.
Therefore, we have a TB eradication programme that is underfunded in the budget. That is the reality of it.
We will see at the end of the year where we are. It has been underfunded in every budget to date.
If we are to go on precedent, we expect it to be the same again.
One of the big complaints farmers have is the valuation they are receiving for reactor cattle, which is too low and does not represent the current market value of cattle. I will give an example. James from Sligo sent me a handwritten note only the other day. In May 2025, he lost seven cattle that were valued at 2023 prices. That is the big problem he h…
For the beef sector and a whole lot of sectors, nothing is happening. It is a disappointing budget for the agricultural sector.
First, I commend the Social Democrats on bringing forward this motion. Family carers are a vital part of the health service in this country and they are not recognised or respected for the work they do. We all know from experience that the healthcare service provided by the HSE is in crisis. The home care service across the country cannot get staff and we are in a situation where thousands of people have been allocat…
It is clear that our current environmental standards are not fit for purpose. The Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 is simply not fit for purpose when it comes to granting licences, amending licences and a whole range of work that needs to be done in that respect. It is causing huge delays in building our infrastructure to meet our energy needs and expansion of businesses, the expansion of our housing and so o…
As the Minister is aware, the week before last there was an "RTÉ Investigates" programme on the death of Liam Farrell, a man in Roosky, County Leitrim, who was found dead on his back door in January 2020. The situation the programme exposed was a very lacklustre investigation by An Garda Síochána. Anyone who saw it - I am sure the Minister did and I know he is aware of the case - was shocked as to what had transpired…
That is okay.