I listened intently to the Minister's speech. One of the things that struck me about it was that he mentioned many of the things that the Irish Government has done, recognising Palestine and all of the various actions that were taken, many of which we commend the Government for, and there is no issue with that. The problem is that when it comes to things that will actually give us real teeth, set us apart and give us…
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
What we are saying is they are facilitated by the approval of the Irish Central Bank-----
-----and that is what needs to stop.
It is clear that the Irish Government has an opportunity to play a leadership role. Thankfully, many more states in Europe are beginning to shift their attitude towards the genocidal state that Israel has become. The reality is that this conflict did not start 18 months ago. It started in 1947 and has gone on since. The people of Palestine have been under the cosh of an imperial …
It is a different contract.
You are very lucky you are not out of a job.
Biodiversity affects everyone in every part of the country. Biodiversity week offers an important opportunity to examine this critical part of life on our planet. It is not just nature for the planet; it is for human beings, too. It is for everybody and we are all a part of that.
It is crucial we take a serious approach to tackling the biodiversity crisis in Ireland. Farmers manage and own the vast majority of land …
I raise with the Taoiseach the issue of Grange Post-Primary School in north Sligo. I visited the school last September I think - certainly it was before the general election - with other public representatives and we were given a tour of the school and the very cramped situation they are in. There are overcrowded classrooms and problems with toilet facilities are particularly a problem. Children are queuing up during…
It can be.
I pay tribute to Cara, her family and the thousands of families throughout the country who are in the same position. We all meet them in our constituencies. There are 15,296 people waiting for assessments of need. This wait-time can vary depending on their location and creates inequity across the system. Some children are better served than others based purely on geography. We saw this recently in Sligo-Leitrim where…
111. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has had discussions with his counterparts in the EU on the future of the CAP budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25995/25]
I raise with the Minister an issue with regard to where Ireland stands on the upcoming CAP negotiations. Farmers envisage a lot of difficulties in the future. While prices are high at the farm gate, farmers will still depend on having an adequate CAP in place to guarantee their future and sustainability. There are serious concerns around this kite that has been flown about changing Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 and maybe ama…
It is clear that the multi-annual financial framework is going to be vital going forward and we will get a sense of where it is at. The key issue for farmers is that there are so many competing interests. The Minister mentioned defence and security which is the one in the headlines at the moment. I concur with him that food security is vital for everyone across the European Union and across the globe. When we have hu…
I thank the Minister and recognise all of that. At the core of this, and it is the point our colleague from Laois made, is the issue of Pillars 1 and 2 and the kite being flown regarding where we will be in the future. It is something that really needs to be dealt with because farmers are fearful when change comes in like that that we will see an erosion, particularly of Pillar 1, which is the direct payment they get…
113. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the TB summit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25996/25]
I raise the issue of the TB forum, and some of the soundings that have come from it which have concerned many farm organisations and people on the ground. In my part of the world and in many places we have seen increased incidence of TB and huge problems on foot of that, with farmers being locked up and not being able to sell or trade their animals. The efforts that have been made over the decades have not yielded re…
I thank the Minister. It is stark. That 36% increase really brings home the huge difficulty currently. Wildlife control is one of the serious impacts on all of this. We have to get to grips with the reality. In some parts of the country it is deer; in other parts of the country it is badgers. There are issues there that need to be dealt with.
The vaccination programme has also been a failure in respect of that. It s…
I thank the Minister. He mentioned increased funding. I believe the eradication programme cost about €75 million in 2023. There is a lot of money being spent on this, going back over the decades. We talk about the price of the children's hospital. We are into that kind of money having been spent on trying to eradicate TB in this country, and we are probably worse now than we were many decades ago.
It is time to look…
I support the Deputy on that. At the end of the day we have to get Irish produce into supermarkets. We have to get it exported everywhere around the world. I attended the agrifood regulator inaugural conference today in the Johnstown Court Hotel in County Meath. It was an excellent event and it certainly showed us that we have to look after the farmers and that the primary producer has to get fair play. I know the Mi…
I also welcome Francis Gorman, president of the IFA, and his colleague to the Gallery.
The Common Agricultural Policy was launched way back in 1962 as a partnership between Europe and its farmers. Its aims, which have evolved since then, are to support farmers and improve agricultural productivity, ensuring a stable supply of affordable food; to safeguard EU farmers such that they would be able to make a reasonable …
I raise with the Taoiseach the issue of a family in Sligo, the family of Jimmy Loughlin. Jimmy was murdered in 2018. Unfortunately, the person who killed him had a long-term mental health illness. The situation evolved over a number of years. The family is now looking to get a serious incident report from the HSE. The HSE is supposed to compile such a report. It started it but never finished it. When the family looke…
It should come from the HSE but it has failed to provide one.
It would be for the Mental Health Commission.
I will write to the Taoiseach with the full details.
I wish Deputies Harkin and Lawless all the best in their ministerial roles. Something that strikes me in respect of the higher education system is that the free education scheme is free in name only for many families who do not qualify for the SUSI grant. It is an arduous task to get the grant. It is a very expensive ordeal to send children to college. I have four children within five years of each other. For the pas…
Power and water are the two biggest infrastructural issues in my area and in rural parts of constituencies. The impact of the recent storms on our power infrastructure has been absolutely devastating. It has exposed the serious vulnerability that is there. However, I will mainly focus on the water issue and Uisce Éireann.
In rural south Donegal, there are very serious problems with the water. There is lime in the wa…