I thank the Deputy for raising the issue, which I have no doubt is urgent and of concern. The Deputy will be aware that many rail projects are covered by the national rail review. Unprecedented capital funding has been allocated to rail projects over the next five years. I will talk to the Minister about the specific project the Deputy raised.
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
In the first instance, irrespective of the context, I agree that every effort should be made to end the hunger strike and have these issues resolved through the legal and judicial processes as quickly as possible. I have not specifically intervened in this case but I will discuss the specific issues with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. However, ultimately it is a matter for the British Government in this …
I hope the issue will get resolved in a way that will prevent any loss of life or further injury or ill health.
Many people are gravely concerned about what is happening with Grok and the thousands of images, that are illegal on the face of it, without question, particularly in respect of minors, women and citizens more generally. The State is not complicit in this but we will robustly examine all of this to ensure the full legal instruments available to the State will apply here. If we need more laws, we will enact further la…
I have been to east Cork on many occasions and continue to go there. The Local Link service has been a very significant enhancement for public transport across rural Ireland and has undergone significant expansion in recent years. The been a huge investment in the Cork to Midleton railway line has had a huge impact on east Cork and on to Cobh and has made public transport a real option. Further significant investment…
In the budget we made significant efforts to support people with disabilities and people on low incomes in respect of fuel. There was a basic €10 per week increase in the maximum rate of all State pensions. There were big increases in child support payments. There was an increase of €16 to €78 per week for children over the age of 12 and children under the age of 12 received an additional €8 to bring the payment to €…
I also congratulate Elaine Gunn on her appointment. We look forward to working constructively with her in the time ahead. She is very experienced and knows the operations of this House very well indeed, as well as the various personalities who make up the House and how they all have to be managed differently and carefully. Deputy Boyd Barrett, the applause was for Elaine.
You basked in it nonetheless as you walked in.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 15, inclusive, together.
The Programme for Government: Securing Ireland's Future, recognises the importance of Cabinet committees to the policy development and oversight work of Government. The Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs was established by the Government on 18 February 2025. It meets quarterly in advance of r…
There were quite a number of questions. Deputy Malcolm Byrne raised the issues of Iran and Venezuela but in particular Greenland. I appreciate he is probably one of the few Members of the House who took the trouble of going to visit Greenland. Ireland’s position is very clear. I have spoken to Mette Frederiksen, the Prime Minister of Denmark. Ireland stands in solidarity with Denmark and with the people of Greenland …
It is an important point. I have got a few lectures from the Sinn Féin benches this afternoon and maybe a bit of consistency from yourselves in respect of human rights-----
I have gone back over the record. I have read what Deputy McDonald said in respect of Maduro and defending Venezuela. You have a good record in that part of the world over many years.
Sinn Féin has a really dodgy track record in supporting very dodgy leaders over the years. You had very dodgy relationships.
You had many dodgy relationships with governments across that hemisphere where you shared your expertise in given matters with such authorities down through the years. Maybe a small bit of humility on your side now in terms of lecturing other people about geopolitics might not go amiss. You are the most self-righteous bunch I have ever come across at times in your pontificating about human rights and whole lot of oth…
You guys showed scant regard for human rights when practised by rulers and authoritarian leaders you were friendly with and shared expertise with.
Deputy O’Rourke raised Mercosur. Significant improvements were actually made to the Mercosur agreement. Ireland trades – we are a small open economy. We export €20 billion of our foodstuffs all over the world. There is a need for perspective in this debate. We export €20 …
Everyone is trying to gain ground. I am very focused and clear-eyed in terms of protecting Irish farmers across all the suite of issues we have to deal with over the next 12 months. The most important one will be income to farmers because income matters in terms of the multi-annual financial framework and how much we can ring-fence for the Common Agricultural Policy for the next seven years after 2027. That is vital …
I am just saying Iran has been a malign influence for as long as I can remember.
It has created havoc across the Middle East.
Others.
Does that mean we ignore Iran, does it?
The world has tolerated Iran since the ayatollahs took over.
Look at the damage that Iran has caused across the region, including, more fundamentally, to its own people’s quality of life and so on.
There are legitimate issues but they are for another day because it is very difficult to discuss them when people are more interested in heated exchanges than what may be a more reflective discussion on all of this. The world is in great difficulty, principally because the authorit…
We have been very clear and consistent that international rules must and should apply.
Deputy Paul Murphy referred to various meetings. I am not aware of the US ambassador's attendance at the meeting in question. I have no truck with those who attended the meeting. Again, we have to have faith in our own democracy and assert our own principles here in this House. We should do this and do so collectively, but, again, it is a challenging area. The increasing fragmentation of Irish politics is a problem a…
Deputy McGuinness knows I am telling the truth. The same problem arises with nephrops in that there is a significant------
That is the fundamental issue. We should consider the income we lose now because of our not being able to fish because of the conservation efforts that arise because of the research. What we have to do now – I have met the fishing industry in this regard – is devise supports for the industry that can sustain it over the coming years while fish stocks are replenished. We also have to work harder and robustly with the …