That is the policy.
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
If you prohibit, you prohibit from 1 October. My briefing note states a limited total allowable catch of 2,000 tonnes of sprat will be permitted for vessels over 18 m long overall within the 6 nautical miles and inside baselines from October 2025 to 30 December 2026 only. The Deputy will know the story of the extensive public consultation that happened prior to this decision being made and the 5,000 submissions recei…
It is very disturbing. Irish Water should have the highest standards. Something like this should not be occurring. In recent months, Uisce Éireann had been assessing the feasible options for addressing the primary issue relating to the nine terraced houses and associated septic tank and percolation area in Shannonvale Park. The option is to establish a pumping station and transfer flow across the river towards the Cl…
I thank the Deputy and he has made a very fair point. Obviously, there are pressures on budgets all over. There are ongoing discussions between the respective Ministers and the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, right now. We are conscious of the pressures on schools in respect of capitation and the need for longer term sustainable funding to deal with increasing costs.
I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. I fully acknowledge the tillage sector is under significant pressure. I met with some individuals at the recent national ploughing championships and also met with the IFA in respect of the issue, as well as the ICMSA and other organisations.
Substantial support has been allocated by Government, including about €32.4 million under the tillage and horticul…
----- farming for water EIP, the tillage capital investment scheme, ACRES and the organic farming scheme. However, there are issues and we do not want to maintain that support.
There is a programme for Government. I do not announce budgets in advance.
The Deputy's ministerial colleague would not be happy if I announced the budget in advance.
My understanding is Carlow County Council made a submission to Irish Water. I do not know how recent that was. The Government and the Minister, Deputy Chambers, have allocated substantial funding to Irish Water in respect of the national development plan. We have engaged with Irish Water on this particular proposal.
My understanding is that the Minister for education met with the group or representatives of the group yesterday. Obviously, I would ask people to come off the hunger strike. It is difficult for the survivors concerned to be on hunger strike. It can have health implications. The Government will engage, and I hope people will come off the hunger strike.
The Ministers were very clear and acted in good faith. The Minister for justice was clear that there was not sufficient documentation. Any future visit should be properly organised well in advance and there should be engagement with the national sporting authorities of any particular code of sport and then with the Government well in advance of the submission of any applications in order that we can avoid any issues …
It was more than that. There were issues of minors and accompanying them.
The legislation is on a priority publication list. It is being worked on intensively. Hopefully, given that it is on a priority publication list, we will see its publication shortly. The Dáil has been back two weeks and work has been under way for quite some time. I will consult with the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, in respect of any communication to the Deputy in respect of this issue.
There have been quite a number of very large commencements in Cork city. There is the Greenfield site, for example. The old Dairygold site is now commencing, and money has been released for that. There are the Railway Yard apartments and the docklands. So there has been some very significant-----
Sorry?
They are private?
What is wrong with that?
I will come back to the Deputy again, maybe, and we will discuss that.
There have been very substantial increases in funding in recent years. I appreciate what the Deputy has said about the fantastic work that CDYS is doing in Mitchelstown and in the hinterland. It provides very important interventions and opportunities for young people to progress. I will convey the Deputy's views to the Minister for Education and Youth, Helen McEntee, in respect of the issue he has raised.
Military neutrality is protected. We are not members of NATO. We are not militarily aligned.
The second point I will make about the specifics is that the world has changed dramatically since 2013. Russia, the United States and China have the veto on Irish foreign policy - well, not foreign policy.
I ask the Deputy to let me finish. Not on foreign policy but on any decision we would make to send Irish troops abroad.
It is quite interesting that a number of Sinn Féin Deputies are asking that we send the Irish Naval Service out to international waters in the Middle East. That would breach the triple lock.
Russia should not have a veto over Ireland's decisions to participate in peacekeeping. We are peacekeepers. We have always been peacekeepers. That is what we want to be in the future. That is our commitment.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 10, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on health last met on 17 July and is due to meet again soon. The committee oversees implementation of programme for Government commitments in relation to health, receives detailed reports on identified policy areas and considers health reforms including Sláintecare, the reform of public health and health system preparedness for futu…
I thank the ambassador for her work over the past number of years. We enjoyed our engagement with her and I really appreciate that.
Deputy McAuliffe raised the issue of Beaumont Hospital. There are four major projects under way there. The national development plan has allocated very substantial funding to the Department of Health and the HSE for the realisation of those projects. The key is to keep the pressure on t…