DEIS status affords very significant opportunities to schools in terms of pupil-teacher ratios and additional supports. The Deputy has outlined the position with DEIS+. The budget has approved it and allocation of resources has happened. Obviously, a scheme has to be developed. It is going to be a very targeted programme for those most in need in education. I will ask the Minister to revert to the Deputy. The Deputy …
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
There is a responsibility on the local authority. The derelict sites levy is there. We are changing that as a result of the budget, as the Deputy knows. The Government has decided that the responsibility for dereliction and derelict buildings will transfer to Revenue. Work is under way between the Department of Finance and local authorities to get the proper maps for local authority areas that will fall under the rem…
Public transport is the way forward. Rail is particularly important. The more people we can encourage and incentivise towards using rail, the better, particularly in areas like Kilkenny and Carlow which are very close to the Dublin area where people would commute for work and so forth. Sustainability in terms of financial sustainability is potentially an issue. Sometimes charges are made because if they did not have …
I appreciate the Deputy taking the opportunity to express sympathies on the death of his late colleague, Mickey Brady. I join in the sympathies to his wife Caroline and his family more generally. On the carers situation, I answered the Deputy's party leader earlier in respect of that. Nothing has changed. There is no additional taxation. Rather, the Government has significantly increased the income disregard to recor…
I thank the Deputy. As he said, other Members have also raised this issue. I did a tour of Maynooth with Deputy Ó Cearúil. It is a classic education town. It is a beautiful town with tremendous potential at all levels of education. Is féidir leat do thuras oideachasúil idir bhunscoil, an dara leibhéal agus an tríú leibhéal a dhéanamh trí Ghaeilge. Is áit speisialta é.
We are very committed to expanding investment in…
I will help in that I will communicate with X and ask that they turn up. There is not that the gap in the legislation. The 2020 Act does cover-----
It does cover the sharing, dissemination and distribution of intimate adult images.
We can arrange legal advice for the Deputy in that regard.
We always put the worker first. I question much of the basis of the Oxfam report, as I have in the past, as the Deputy knows. Economists are dubious about some of the basis and premise upon which the research is based and its application to Ireland, in particular. Certainly, there is no €1 billion waiting out there in terms of a wealth tax.
I move:
That, pursuant to subsection (2A) (inserted by section 2 of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 (No. 31 of 2001)), of section 21 of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 (No. 22 of 1995), Dáil Éireann recommends the appointment of Ms. Justice Elizabeth Dunne, currently a Judge of the Supreme Court, by the President on the advice of the Government to be the Chairperson of the Standards in Public Office Com…
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 18, inclusive, together.
In May 2024, the Government appointed a task force to take a holistic view of the measures required to rejuvenate Dublin city centre, north and south, to make Dublin city centre a more thriving, attractive, and safe cityscape and a desirable location to live, work, do business and visit. Following the task force report and recommendations, as agreed by t…
Deputy Séamus McGrath raised the issue of a task force for Cork city, as did Deputies Pádraig O'Sullivan and Thomas Gould. First of all, we have not been awaiting the establishment of the task force in respect of investment in Cork city. The most significant investment recently was the up to €90 million announced for the Crawford Gallery, which is a national institution. It is very substantial and will transform that…
Again, the city council has a key role to play here, particularly as I said earlier in terms of playing facilities. That applies in terms of arts facilities and cultural facilities as well. Many facilities have been provided, but it is very disappointing in terms of The Complex.
Sorry, I am speaking now. What is important is that for those areas and premises that we can control, the local authorities should identify and prioritise those for community and artistic engagement. In terms of the recommendations, the establishment of a special purpose vehicle, SPV, under section 66 of the Local Government Act 2001-----
-----is a matter for the elected members of Dublin City Council. The council is taking the required steps to set up the legal entity. The SPV is key. We have seen in the past that when SPVs get established, they can get things done in respect of buildings and having control and agency in a lot of areas. It is expected that the legal entity will be established by the end of quarter 2 of 2026.
The OPW is leading on th…
As the Deputy knows, work is under way on Moore Street under the aegis of the OPW. I have been there. This will also form part of the overall rejuvenation of O'Connell Street, respecting the ethos and the historic nature of Moore Street, in particular. A previous Government designated it as a national monument. We are very clear about its importance historically. We will preserve and make available that heritage for …
The funding will be allocated as required. You do not just send a dollop straight up.
Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett referred to The Complex also and the core and multi-annual funding for theatre. He described the model as a neoliberal model. I think we have a thriving arts and cultural situation in Ireland. The Arts Council is important in that regard. The arts departments of city councils are very important in suppor…
I will. I did not catch it but I will now that the Deputy has drawn my attention to it. I will have a look at that. I am always very open to supporting production, drama and so on. The question is what the most effective way of doing it is. It is a core part of any city in terms of quality of life, which is important. We do not just live in an economy; we live in a society. We have strengths in that regard.
In respo…
I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 to 28, inclusive, together.
The Department of the Taoiseach's annual report for 2024 was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in October of last year. I hope everybody has read it. The report sets out the work of the Department in 2024 to achieve the strategic priorities identified in its statement of strategy and to support the implementation of the programme for Government, …
I thank all the Deputies who raised a variety of issues. Deputy O'Meara raised the issue of affordable housing, specifically in Tipperary and north-west Kilkenny in a variety of towns. There is a variety of schemes to help people to afford housing. Lots of people have used the help to buy and first home schemes. The local authority affordable scheme has had applications in some counties more effectively than others. …
We will keep going. Deputy Doherty raised the issue of those who were on hunger strike. We have made very good progress in respect of that. I have communicated in respect of that to those involved. I have written but they may not have received anything.
Fine. It is very clear from that correspondence that we are very close now-----
-----to bringing that to finality, including the issue of an apology.
Turning to Deputy O'Sullivan, again in terms of disability and inclusion, we have since this report and the general election, established a disability unit in the Department, which manifested itself in the budget in terms of the domiciliary care allowance, the monthly allowance, going up another €20, and in terms of the income disregard for carers…
Just human capital. Myself and a couple of others.
There were no huge resources. No huge resources are allocated to strategising about how we engage and meet with other leaders.