As the Deputy knows, we have a significant set of objectives in the programme for Government that we wish to achieve. The most important of these is the removal of the income disregard and the means test. There are other measures as well. I will ask the Minister to respond to the Deputy on the specific issue she raised in respect of pension contributions.
TDs / Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin
Taoiseach
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0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
688,766
words spoken in the chamber
686,628 as a minister, 2,138 as a TD
197
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
Members of the Government answer parliamentary questions rather than ask them, so this page lists none of theirs.
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Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 6,546 in all
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| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 11 |
| January 2025 | 6 |
| February 2025 | 438 |
| March 2025 | 518 |
| April 2025 | 317 |
| May 2025 | 426 |
| June 2025 | 424 |
| July 2025 | 344 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 146 |
| October 2025 | 375 |
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| January 2026 | 326 |
| February 2026 | 529 |
| March 2026 | 229 |
| April 2026 | 385 |
| May 2026 | 474 |
| June 2026 | 425 |
| July 2026 | 181 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 198 |
| October 2026 | 222 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 6,426 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Cork South-Central 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Taoiseach 23 January 2025 to now
I did not hear that interview. The Deputy is correct to say that the severity and frequency of these storms is going to continue. Climate change is here now. We are investing in adaptation and mitigation efforts. We are contributing financially to that. We really need a debate on flood relief schemes in the context of getting them through the system. There is enormous consultation involved. Environmental consideratio…
The Deputy raised the issue of storms. I want to make the point that we must protect life, property, businesses and the livelihoods of people. I would argue that, as a society, we have overdone it in terms of all the various consultations and so on that must take place to the detriment of getting flood relief schemes through local authorities and the planning process in a timely manner. The one in Enniscorthy was ref…
I have made my views known to him on previous occasions. It is reprehensible behaviour. What is happening with the prosecution of the Mayor of Budapest for organising and participating in the Pride parade is unacceptable. I have made that consistently clear, both as foreign Minister and as Taoiseach, to Prime Minister Orbán, as have others. There are fundamental issues here, as an EU member state, in terms of upholdi…
We have to be careful about this, because there has to be some regulatory framework governing substitute products.
It is not simple. We have had experiences in the past where situations have been exploited or whatever. I will refer the matter to the Minister for Health and him to respond to the Deputy about the issue. I appreciate him raising it because obviously, it is an issue of concern to quite a number of people out there.
I appreciate the very strong position that has been consistently articulated by Deputy Crowe in respect of this issue. It is fair to say that those gardaí have been acquitted by the courts. That is an issue on which we have to reflect. I will discuss the matter with the Minister for justice and the implications of that. It seems that a review of what transpired needs to happen because it impacted Garda morale more br…
I take on board what the Deputy is saying and I appreciate that he has been consistently and articulately advocating on this issue for a long time.
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I will have to talk to the relevant Ministers in respect of the autism innovation fund, which was recommended by the committee. I may have further discussions with the Deputy to see how best we can proceed with this and in what specific area. It has application across education, health, work and generally. Maybe it should be combined with some research and some broader analys…
Actually, the Government brought in the tenant in situ scheme and provided substantial funding. In some areas - I am not saying in Waterford - the scheme broadened and was used by local authorities for investments that should never have occurred. We had cases where some local authorities were spending €50,000 to €60,000 on the refurbishment of houses. The whole purpose of the tenant in situ scheme was to stop people …
We did not gut it because the same funding was applied, and that additional funding was applied. Some local authorities were approaching it differently - there is no question that they were - with different applications that were unnecessary in my view. It tends to happen when funding and so on gets allocated like that. There has been engagement with the local authorities and the Minister, and we have a scheme in pla…
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I am familiar with the Fitzgerald camp barracks. I will talk to the IDA and respond to the Deputy. Personally, I think that if the IDA has purchased the site, it is potentially a site that could attract foreign direct investment, FDI, into the Fermoy and north Cork area, which is important, if that is possible. I remember people in Carlow asking me many years ago if the IDA s…
I appreciate that the Deputy has been consistently advocating for law on this issue. We passed the 2023 Act largely as a result of the Deputy's advocacy and that of Deputy McAuliffe, and, I have to say, others in the House. It seems that for about 85% of that legislation, the regulations were then formulated to commence and then there was one aspect, the banning. There is a pursuit policy. As the Deputy knows, pursui…
It is going to be a very difficult year, a difficult number of years, actually. I have met with the fishing representative bodies along with the Minister, Deputy Heydon, and Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, who have responsibility for the marine. Largely because of the research that came in terms of the stocks, which everybody generally accepts - that has always been a consistent position - there has been a 70% redu…
Beidh mé ag labhairt leis an Aire leanaí, an Teachta Norma Foley, faoin cheist seo. Tá deacrachtaí ann agus níl Mick Finnegan sásta leis an méid atá tar éis tarlú go dtí seo. Mar sin, beidh mé ag labhairt leis an Aire agus, b’fhéidir, déanfar teagmháil idir an Roinn agus na daoine a luaigh an Teachta Heneghan.
We have allocated funding to councils. They might say otherwise but there has never been more funding allocated to councils than in the past number of years. We will continue to work with them in regard to prevention. Yes, there is an issue in terms of co-ordination and around local forecasting as opposed to the national forecast. There are issues there. To be fair, a lot of councils have improved an awful lot in ter…
First, very significant measures have been taken in terms of recruitment and retention in our uniformed services, with the result that we have huge volumes of applications to An Garda and other services. We have made progress in the Defence Forces in the past two to three years and we need more progress there. We have made progress on that front because of measures we have taken to enhance the conditions for people i…
That is a substantial sum of money, particularly when the State, through another Department, is allocating funding to new community centres - I am not sure whether that happened in Rylane - and then it is being taken out on the other side. On the other hand, Uisce Éireann needs some sustainability in terms of funding. We need a balance and, in particular, we need to take on board the overall public good and that the …
Without question, Wicklow and Wexford were severely hit by Storm Chandra yesterday. The schemes have been opened in terms of the emergency response payment and the business and community flooding support scheme, both of which are clearly required. Other locations across the country are affected as well but, certainly, the impact of rivers in Wexford and Wicklow bursting their banks has been severe.
I was in Gorey re…
I thank the Deputy for raising it. That seems like something that should be rectified. I will talk to the Minister and the HSE in respect of this, and to the National Ambulance Service. I appreciate she has been raising it on a consistent basis.
Again, I have to examine that. Obviously the NTA is the regulatory body. It is an independent transport regulator. Something like the Deputy proposes, or the taxi drivers propose, would need to be examined in the context of that legislation and whether the NTA is in a position to actually do what is being suggested.
There could be a potential conflict of interest. I have not examined it in detail. The Deputy has raised it and I will ask that the NTA engage with that to see whether it is possible for it to do that.
I want to express my deepest sympathies to the family of Grace Lynch who was mowed down by a scrambler and who died as a result. No words can console the family. Nothing that I can say can in any way ease the devastation, the pain, the hurt and the anger that Grace’s family feels right now. I understand that anger, and I understand the devastation that they are going through. They have lost a beautiful daughter who s…
First of all, I do hear the anger from the community and we are going to act. Also, I know that the Minister for justice has spoken with the Garda Commissioner. He is attending to this immediately and treating this with the upmost priority in terms of the enforcement side of it. On the legislation in terms of seizures and so on, the Garda did act in a number of areas and despite what one hears, it was in a position t…
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I fully agree with what she said on the courage of Siobhán Lynch in respect of the loss of her daughter Grace and pursuing with great clarity the need for absolute change.
The legislation has been passed by this House. I convened a meeting a number of years ago to set that in train and the legislation was passed. Additional powers have been given to the Garda and additional…