Recently, I was shocked to see a bizarre advertisement on the issue of consent, funded by the Department of justice. The advertisement featured an elderly couple greeting their grandchildren with a hug at a family event and suggests that they, the grandparents, should have sought consent first. This is totally wrong in how it demonises elderly grandparents and in the shocking waste of taxpayers' money. Consent is ver…
TDs / Paul Lawless
Paul Lawless
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,995
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
94,569
words spoken in the chamber
Across 496 contributions
391
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
300
topics asked about
Across 19 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 1,995 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 496 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 34 | 1 |
| February 2025 | 27 | 26 |
| March 2025 | 32 | 18 |
| April 2025 | 59 | 23 |
| May 2025 | 104 | 49 |
| June 2025 | 49 | 28 |
| July 2025 | 63 | 30 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 97 | 24 |
| October 2025 | 43 | 26 |
| November 2025 | 136 | 44 |
| December 2025 | 119 | 25 |
| January 2026 | 151 | 28 |
| February 2026 | 141 | 32 |
| March 2026 | 162 | 10 |
| April 2026 | 181 | 34 |
| May 2026 | 214 | 18 |
| June 2026 | 139 | 20 |
| July 2026 | 56 | 15 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| September 2026 | 115 | 21 |
| October 2026 | 73 | 23 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 278 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 Mayo 29 November 2024 to now
- party Aontú 29 November 2024 to now
This Government funded the advertisement campaign. This is taxpayers' money spent by this Government. The utter contempt the Government has shown to older people and grandparents is unacceptable. It is a Government-funded campaign, and the advertisement suggested that when it comes to sexual abuse and violence in this country, we need to be looking at and investigating our grandparents. How much did the advertisement…
What about quality control?
There are no checks on taxpayers' money.
Vape shops are growing at an extraordinary rate across the country. Regional and small towns often have three or four popping up overnight. We all know that vape shops are targeting young people in terms of smell, their other senses and marketing. Some of these vape shops are located very close to schools and appeal very strongly to our young people. They are a huge concern. There appear to be no regulations that ass…
Irish neutrality and the triple lock belong to the Irish people. Micheál Martin said a number of years ago that the triple lock was the core part of our neutrality. Why has the Taoiseach now changed his mind? That is the question we must understand because it is not coming from the Irish people, it is not coming from the Opposition, and it is certainly not coming from the backbenches of Fianna Fáil. What is the inter…
The murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan in 2020 shocked the nation. In Mayo it brought back very painful memories of when two gardaí from Mayo were killed in the line of duty - John Morley and Henry Byrne - in 1980. In recent days the family has come forward and called for a full independent public inquiry into the circumstances of Colm's death and the role the holster may have played. I have spoken to the family, …
9. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the economy, trade and competitiveness will next meet. [69988/26]
29. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on children and education will next meet. [69990/26]
I send my deepest sympathies to the English family in Waterford. There are two children and their parents dead, with two more children fighting for their life. An innocent family was targeted for a debt that was not theirs. It is the most shocking situation. We will be supporting the Bill and will also support Deputy O'Flynn's amendments on CAB and the child trafficking element too.
I am aware of situations in my ow…
The scenes I witnessed yesterday were phenomenal. It was the biggest strike I have seen in my lifetime. I drove across County Mayo and attended many pickets. I stood shoulder to shoulder and was proud to be with hard-working men and women across Ireland, who work incredibly hard to deliver for our society and for the economy.
What struck me most when I stood with those strikers, and when I stood outside Mayo Univers…
I want to raise an important issue in Mayo. It pertains to Ros na Réaltóg, which is a wonderful and outstanding service. It is a forest school built around the outdoors, sensory activities and the learning environment. Above all else, it is a school that prioritises and looks after children with additional needs. We need this. It is a valuable service. Its provider, Mrs. Róisín Geddes, is a registered primary school …
I am asking the Minister of State a simple question, if she could put down the script for a moment. With respect, there is no alternative venue on the table tomorrow or next week. That must be said. I am very happy to work with the Minister of State and the provider to try to find another contingency plan but that cannot happen overnight. There are so many children and families struggling today, we need to find a con…
The people are growing tired of this Government and the spin and bluster from it. The Minister for Finance, over many months and years, has been talking about making work pay. He was fierce excited about this budget, saying he wanted hard work to pay, he wanted overtime to pay and he wanted progression to pay. He said that we have got to make sure that work always pays, and that he wanted to see a personal income tax…
I agree with a lot of what the Minister said, but I cannot support this resolution because it punishes people who are addicted to cigarettes. That is what this will do. There may have been a value in increasing this a number of years ago. However, it is at the point now where this is just inflicting more pain and hardship on people. In some cases, these are people who are on the lower margins. They will sacrifice foo…
It has emerged that a whistleblower made a very serious protected disclosure to the Minister for justice in September 2023. It alleged that the gun holsters being used by An Garda Síochána were faulty and dangerous. The whistleblower said that the warnings about the unregulated gun holsters had been ignored. The faulty gun holsters are alleged to have contributed to the murder of one garda because it was so easy for …
I am very disappointed with that response. I have met the whistleblowers and noted the moral courage they have demonstrated in raising really important issues, such as defective ammunition and holsters that have possibly contributed to the murder of one member of the force.
I am asking a very simple question. It is very clear from the evidence I have seen that the Minister for justice referred this issue back to An …
It has not been. That is the point.
No.
Is it not yours?
This is not happening. That is the point.
That is the point.
Yesterday, I met with a group of women who have benefited from the three-day wait. These women attended their first abortion appointment but subsequently changed their minds and, as a result, had their babies. Indeed, their babies were with them in the room yesterday. The legislation to abolish the three-day wait is currently before the Committee on Health but that committee is strategically blocking the voices of th…
I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. The principle is very simple. If a company is making supernatural profits as a result of war and the design of the market, those profits should return to consumers. The profits are certainly there. Let us consider the ESB, which achieved some €440 million in pre-tax profits this year alone, an increase of €100 million. In the same breath, we learn that the salary of t…
This summer a man was convicted of the murder of three young children in Parnell Square. He lived in Ireland for 20 years. He needed an interpreter because he could not speak the language in court and he never worked a day in his life. Despite this, that person had Irish citizenship. How does that happen? Irish citizenship should be valued. It should be something to be worked for and something to be earned. Generatio…