The Minister, Deputy Foley, in particular, is a very strong supporter of family resource centres and last year, she secured funding for the establishment of ten new family resource centres. I agree with the Deputy that family resource centres play a very significant role in communities across the country. I am a strong advocate for them and I know the Minister is as well. I hope she will be successful in securing som…
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.
Month by month
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
Dec 2024Oct 2026
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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 |
| November 2025 | 291 |
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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
Is the Deputy talking about VAT?
The bottom line is we have given back about €1.3 billion. Not given back, I am sorry, that is-----
We did not. That is the point.
No, that is a false comparison.
We did not, in any shape or form, have anything equivalent to €1.3 billion. The figure for increased VAT returns and so on is much lower.
No.
I will try to arrange, through the Minister for Finance, a meeting between the Deputy and others and finance officials to get the full, transparent presentation of that. I make the point, however, that revenue across government is also required to sustain schools, as the Deputy advocates, and to support farmers and so on.
I agree 100%, which is why-----
That is why we have free hot school meals in every single school at primary level.
My understanding is that the domino scheme at Cork University Maternity Hospital remains operational and available both to women currently using the service and new patients who meet the eligibility criteria. Care is delivered through three pathways, namely, the supported care pathway, the assisted care pathway and the specialised care pathway for high-risk pregnancies led by a named consultant obstetrician. To cut t…
Securing the provision of a post-mortem examination service for the coronial death investigation function has proved challenging. The Ministers for justice and Health have engaged on the issue. The short-term solution in operation at University Hospital Waterford is one in which locum pathologists provide coroner services three days per week. This is obviously necessary to minimise any impact on bereaved family membe…
I do not have those here.
The Deputy will be glad to know that at the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party meeting last evening, Deputy Brendan Smith, Senator Gallagher and the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, articulated similar concerns to those the Deputy raised about Monaghan, Cavan and some other areas of the country. We are very conscious of the pressure on roads, especially from storms and inclement weather, which have compounded the proble…
I thank the Deputy, who has raised this with me before. I am glad he had contact with the Department. I will talk to the Ministers again in respect of it. We are focusing strongly on special education and capital provision to get as many places secured as we possibly physically can. Obviously, this would be a significant advance on that.
It is a very sensitive issue, with many different perspectives across the House and the country in respect of it.
We had a referendum a number of years ago that essentially created the legislative framework that now governs termination of pregnancy services. Significant progress has been made in that respect over the past number of years, which sometimes does not get acknowledged in the commentary.
As the Deputy kn…
I am obviously very well aware of this issue. It is challenging legislation and work is under way in the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in respect of it. Interim arrangements have been put in place as well to accelerate security clearances for personnel where this is required, particularly in research and industry. It is a very important issue.
During the summer, there was an acceleration of recruitment within the HSE. That was even above approved staffing levels, so it has created a challenge for the HSE. That said, the HSE is looking at the nursing issue, specifically what can be done to accommodate those who have graduated. There are pressures on the HSE budget. There is no point in saying otherwise. We would like to prioritise front-line workers and par…
I thank the Deputy for raising a very important issue. I support the provision of services for those who have been sexually assaulted and the establishment of centres to do that. I do not have the specifics in respect of the progression of this in the mid-west but I will talk to the Minister about it. I would be fully supportive of it, subject to resource availability.
Under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, the Minister with responsibility for planning is specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular planning-related matter with which a planning authority or the board is or may be concerned. There is a legislative prohibition on a Minister intervening in any specific planning application or issue. In terms …
Obviously, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is very aware of the situation with regard to ferries and the capacity to transport live cattle. Other companies are also examining this and we hope that a solution to it will be in place by 1 January. I know the Minister is very concerned and is acting on it.
Essentially, over the last five years, there was almost a de facto moratorium on data centres, and the exponential increase in data centres predated the last four to five years. Under the large energy user action plan, LEAP, which was published in January of this year, we are moving to a plan-led system that will provide greater certainty for industry and ensure that the cost of developing necessary additional infras…
First, I want to thank Deputy Cahill. He has been a strong advocate for that road on the Ring of Kerry. I know that he is welcoming the €10 million, but he is looking for more. It is a nice phrase - humps and hollows. It is poetic, but while it may be poetic, it is not good enough for the driver traversing that road. The €5 million for Cahersiveen, which the Deputy lobbied strongly for, is very welcome. The Ring of K…
I ask the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the House to indulge me for a moment as I acknowledge the presence and imminent retirement of our colleague Miriam Lord, who is in the Gallery today. I think we would all agree that Miriam’s journalism, and in particular her oversight and accounts of our work in this House, has been a critical part of our national conversation, and indeed our nation’s democracy, over quite a number…
I have been in touch with the British Prime Minister. We discussed it over the weekend. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has been in constant contact with the Secretary of State. If we are honest about this, I do not think it is as simple as that. I think that one intervention is not going to resolve it. People have to stand back and there has to be some collective pathway determined with some degree of mediation.
I wa…