I agree with the Deputy and I appreciate her offer of engagement and co-operation. The code of practice will be finalised and I know the Minister has spoken to the Garda Commissioner in relation to this. The newly appointed Garda Commissioner is very clear on the prioritisation we attach to this issue. That code of practice in respect of drones and their utilisation in detection and so on will be done now. Also, the …
TDs / Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin
Taoiseach
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
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
Show as a table
| 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 |
| December 2025 | 281 |
| 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
First, I reject the spin the Deputy has put on the legislation the Cabinet approved today in respect of rent. Fundamentally, to summarise, what we are now looking at is national rent regulation and national rent control across the entire country.
That is an outcome of this Bill. There will be strengthened protection for renters through the introduction of tenancies of minimum duration. That has not happened before. …
I did but I noticed the Deputy's supplementary question was pre-scripted. I have no issue discussing with the Deputy. Let us put the scripts away and let us debate it. Let us talk. I do not use scripts all the time. I am just saying that I made a few points-----
No, the point is this. It is clear the Deputy was not listening to what I was saying. She just has empty soundbites that she just pronounces. They are good. They sound well but there is a desperate lack of substance in what the Deputy is saying about housing. I equally argue the Social Democrats have not come up with solutions.
Earlier, the Deputy spoke about a construction company. How long does she think that will take to set up?
That is why those kind of policies do not resonate with people because they do not see solutions there either. I acknowledge housing is a huge issue. It is an enormous issue. It is the number one issue facing our society. We are throwing the kitchen sink at it in terms of public sector investment. We are trying to get additional private sector investment in because we must. Deputy Cairns does not want to tolerate pri…
We need €20 billion a year to get to 50,000 to 60,000 houses a year.
Let us put aside the soundbites and ask ourselves a question. How do we get to 50,000 or 60,000 houses per year because that is what is required?
I thank the Deputy for raising a very grave issue, particularly in the context of the deaths of Conor, Darragh and Carla McGinley. The Minister for justice met with Andrew in late November. We will reflect on what he has articulated very passionately. We are also conscious that this is a very challenging area in respect of the rights of all concerned but also the issues of mental health. I will seek an answer as to w…
There are public interest issues and these issues are complex. It is my understanding that the new Mental Health Bill currently before the Seanad will provide for the appointment of a nominated person who can be involved in a person's care. However, I think the Deputy is talking more in terms of the inquest, the nature of that inquest,-----
-----the level of information that is put forward and the avoidance of any over-restriction in terms of information that may be put forward. I would like to discuss this later with the Ministers for Health and justice and the HSE to get their perspective on it. There clearly are issues here. I readily acknowledge that they need to be pursued and that those who have lost loved ones as a result of horrific events of th…
The Deputy is engaging in polemic and political propaganda. The bottom line is that the legislation will not have any impact on the 240,000 people who are currently renting.
The bottom line is that for the 240,000 people currently renting, this legislation will not have any impact. It is only for new tenancies that start on 1 March. The core element of this is national rent regulation. What we are talking about is n…
Why is she against that level of protection for renters?
Storm Chandra has had very severe impacts. High winds and heavy rain are being experienced across the country, with very significant impacts in the areas the Deputy has outlined. That is fully understood. It is why the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage's national directorate of fire and emergency management met with all of the local authorities and the other key response agencies in advance of Stor…
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue, which, as he knows, was raised earlier.
I fully accept what Deputy Gannon said in relation to the courage, actions and compassion of Siobhán Lynch in terms of looking at the wider situation and making sure this will never happen again, and how devastating the loss of Grace has been for her mother, father and entire family. It is utterly devastating. The legislation passed in 2023 allows for the banning of such vehicles on public roads. That is something th…
It is an absolutely ridiculous suggestion. We have a very honourable and proud peacekeeping reputation in this country. All Government parties are absolutely committed to that peacekeeping tradition. It is because of that tradition that we need to change the law. We cannot have Russia dictating when we enter a peacekeeping mission or not. That is the actual truth of it. The Deputy wants Russia, the US, China and the …
The Security Council has been paralysed for over two decades now. The situation has changed utterly. Where a country invades a European country, just as Russia has invaded Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of young people, the devastation of civilian infrastructure, the destruction of energy infrastructure, and the freezing of the people, the Deputy is saying it should have a veto on where our…
The Deputy's assertion about my statement in China is incorrect. He should look at the transcript of it. I said on that occasion that progress had been made on the insertion of safeguards into the Mercosur agreement. Safeguards were introduced by comparison with where things were over a year ago. Significant safeguards were introduced. That is all I said, and that needed to be acknowledged.
I also said we had deep c…
I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. Clogher House is a day activation unit premises based in Rathcorrick, County Cavan. The HSE advises that there is a comprehensive submission for capital funding for new day services and for premises to replace Clogher House, in line with the national HSE new directions policy for adult day services approved in 2024. HSE disability services and HSE Dublin and N…
I thank Deputy Ellis and I fully appreciate his anger and that of the community he represents. Other Deputies have communicated that to me as well. First, the existing legislation is strong and needs to be implemented. If there is a need for further legislation, we will gladly work with the Deputy in that respect.
We will pursue that. We will work with the Deputy and others in the House-----
-----if there is a necessity to strengthen the legislation. The new Garda Commissioner spoke to the Minister for justice this morning. The Minister rang him and met him to discuss this. The issue of enforcement will be intensified in respect of scramblers.
There is a pursuit policy there and obviously there are balances in regard to protection of lives and so on. I fully understand where the Deputy is coming from and the anger he has articulated on this.
I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue in respect of CIÉ pensions. He is correct; an agreement was arrived at. I have spoken to both Ministers. My understanding is that nothing is holding it up and the Minister for public expenditure is clear that he wants this delivered. I will get full clarity and precision for the Deputy in relation to that but I am pursuing it as well.
I thank the Deputy. It is a very sizeable and important town. Thankfully, we are getting numbers through Templemore with good flow and recruitment. I will talk to the Minister for justice in respect of the presentation the Deputy has made today to see what we can do to get that to a 24-7 service.