No, this is my moment. I have 30 seconds, which is all that has been given. That is all the Ceann Comhairle has allowed me and I intend to make my point. At that point the Government could have moved, along with the rest of us, to form Oireachtas committees immediately under the d'Hondt system. We were told repeatedly that the Government was going to change Standing Orders and that is why the process was delayed. I c…
TDs / Pádraig Mac Lochlainn
Pádraig Mac Lochlainn
Portrait: Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (CC BY 4.0) · source file
584
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
50,740
words spoken in the chamber
Across 447 contributions
442
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
153
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 584 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 447 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 3 |
| January 2025 | 5 | 11 |
| February 2025 | 43 | 38 |
| March 2025 | 53 | 18 |
| April 2025 | 28 | 39 |
| May 2025 | 33 | 26 |
| June 2025 | 37 | 17 |
| July 2025 | 35 | 24 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 12 | 22 |
| October 2025 | 38 | 16 |
| November 2025 | 40 | 17 |
| December 2025 | 14 | 42 |
| January 2026 | 39 | 16 |
| February 2026 | 35 | 43 |
| March 2026 | 24 | 18 |
| April 2026 | 16 | 29 |
| May 2026 | 39 | 21 |
| June 2026 | 40 | 5 |
| July 2026 | 12 | 9 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| September 2026 | 20 | 10 |
| October 2026 | 21 | 22 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 319 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 Donegal 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
Can we prioritise the formation of the foreign affairs and trade committee to get on with-----
There are massive issues and huge concern around these tariffs. Can we at least prioritise the foreign affairs and trade committee?
Can we agree-----
1. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide an update on negotiations with the British Government to reinstate access for the Irish fishing fleet to its traditional fishing grounds at Rockall; and the estimated total financial loss to the Irish fishing industry since the blockade has been enforced by the UK authorities. [13670/25]
I am raising the very serious issue of the waters around Rockall, which comprise a traditional fishing ground for Irish fishers. There was no concern prior to Brexit, with reciprocal fishing arrangements between both jurisdictions. However, for four years the British authorities have put a blockade around what is an uninhabited rock. Under international law, it is not permissible to put any kind of limit on this. Wil…
I thank the Minister of State. I know he is new to his brief and I wish him well. I really do wish him well because if he does well, obviously our fishing communities will do well.
There has been a major diplomatic failure in respect of this matter. The British authorities have engaged in a brazen intervention. Rockall is an uninhabited rock. Unfortunately, after Brexit we passed the Maritime Jurisdiction Act, which…
I appreciate the offer to meet. As the Minister of State knows, it is not even just the Donegal fisherman based in Greencastle and Killybegs who would be seriously impacted. I understand that 25% of the value of the fishery for Greencastle has been lost, but it also has an impact down in Castletownbere and the west of Ireland too, so this is an all-of-Ireland issue. I will engage with the various fishing organisation…
Before the Ceann Comhairle calls the Chief Whip, I wish to raise a point of order. The proposed Order of Business includes changes to Standing Orders. I have made a submission to the Ceann Comhairle on this issue on behalf of Sinn Féin. It is very clear, looking at the video recording of what happened last Tuesday, that the motion on Standing Orders was not passed. It was an amendment to the motion that was passed. I…
If I can respond, then I will resume my seat.
With respect, a Cheann Comhairle, that is not the remedy.
What I am saying is that in any objective assessment of the video, you can see with your own eyes and hear clearly tells you that the motion was not passed. It is an amendment to the motion that was passed.
It is very clear that the Government is completely out of order to bring in these changes to Standing Orders that are so controversial when the motion was not passed.
Hold on; you are not the Ceann Comhairle, young man.
No, it is not a remedy.
Any objective assessment tells you this is completely out of order.
It is not agreed.
No, it is not. I am presenting to the Ceann Comhairle, and to be very clear, I am presenting in protest. Any objective assessment of what happened last Tuesday, if you look at the section that dealt with the motion-----
A cheann Comhairle, in your haste to get the business done, you actually passed an amendment to the Government's motion. It is clear. I can read it out to you if you want.
I have the transcript here: Is the amendment agreed; It is not agreed; I propose; I ask is the amendment agreed; Tá or Níl; Tá; The question is carried; Votáil. It is clear; that is the transcript. That is the Dáil transcript.
I will resume my seat.
What I will say to the Ceann Comhairle now is that under protest, I am taking the 30 seconds. To be clear, every party should have the right to decide who speaks for them on the Order of Business. This is blatant what is happening here. The Taoiseach does not want to be held to account, so the Government Chief Whip responds. It is treated like some procedural matter. Rather than dealing with the actual business of th…
The journalist of long-standing, Sam Smyth, wrote a really powerful article for The Currency. If Members have not read it, they all should. At the end of that piece, he wrote: "Lowry broke a sacred trust with the Irish people as a government minister, as was repeatedly highlighted by the Moriarty Tribunal." Yet after all this history, Lowry has re-emerged on the political stage as a would-be kingmaker. Mary Lou McDon…
Ag insint bréag.
Jesus.