This country has. All I am saying is that we should have a bit of balance. I know the Deputy might be a bit, you know - but he should take it handy. A bit of balance would be appropriate in terms of the different narratives.
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 |
| 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
We have a lot of things to do. I have always acknowledged that.
We had a national child poverty summit recently. Deputy Hayes might be aware of that.
I can inform Deputy O'Sullivan that approximately 90% of providers are in the scheme at the moment. Some did opt out. I have spoken to the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Deputy Foley, who has arrived beside me in the Chamber. There is a cap of €750,00…
Deputy Tóibín used a phrase which I wrote down referring to a three-year old boy who went "missing from State care". This is his classic propagandising of a situation. It is regrettable that he would adopt such a cynical attitude, because that boy did not go missing while in State care. Does the Deputy accept that?
No, I am not asking Deputy Tóibín that. Does he accept he did not go missing while in State care?
I apologise. I should have done it through the Chair.
The point I am trying to make is-----
Yes, but the chair of the national review panel gave a very robust articulation of its role, and the effectiveness of its role. There are ongoing issues in terms of legislation and so on that can be progressed, but that should not be conflated with what happened with Daniel. We need to await the outcome and get the facts first before we jump to conclusions.
I have observed Deputy Tóibín's position on this for quite some time, and the overriding objective seems to be to blame Tusla for every child in the country who goes missing. That is wrong.
There can be wrongdoing or neglect in some cases but Deputy Tóibín raises it in every case. That is wrong.
It is unfair to those working in Tusla and to social workers.
That is what I believe.
I apologise to Deputy Ó Murchú.
Ní aontaím leis an Teachta mar-----
Admhaím go bhfuil brú. Gan amhras, tá brú ar dhaoine agus ar chosmhuintir na tíre maidir leis an gcostas maireachtála. Tá an-chuid déanta ag an Rialtas go dtí seo chun an brú sin a ísliú. An rud is tábhachtaí sna míonna atá le teacht ná cinneadh a dhéanamh infheistíocht a chur isteach in infreastruchtúr, cúrsaí tithíochta agus a lán nithe eile chun an brú sin a ísliú. Beidh sé sin á dhéanamh againn sa cháinaisnéis a …
We are well-placed to deal with it because of the surpluses we have and so on. We have taken fundamental measures such as the free book scheme, which Sinn Féin never mentions for some reason. That was a game-changer in terms of the costs that people have going back to school.
We did that a number of years ago and the finality of it will be this September. Every school now has free school meals. These were things that, up to three years ago, were not on the agenda and Sinn Féin ignores that. We have improved the situation regarding carer's allowance.
What we intend to do in the next budget is to mainstream provisions that will help people to deal with what is a high-cost of living, partic…
That is a positive but we have to provide for that as regards our water infrastructure, housing, energy infrastructure, public transport and roads. We are going to do that but there are limits to what any government can do.
Sinn Féin is a party of Opposition with no limits on what it would spend. In terms of expenditure, it does not matter. It is just whatever turns up on any day, it will spend a billion or two billion euro on it. That is its philosophy and mindset.
Yesterday, in Dáil Éireann, I challenged the Deputy's party to say whether it would support the EU-Canada free trade deal, which has enhanced Ireland's exports.
We were doing about €900 million in exports in 2016. We are now doing €4.1 billion, which is bread on the table of Irish working families. That is how you deal with cost of living, not being against trade deals of that importance and scale, which have real impact on the working lives of people.
In the forthcoming budget, this Government will respond to those most in need. We will test Sinn Féin. This morning, I heard Sinn Féin's spokesman talking about universal benefits for the high rollers. That is what its spokesman, Deputy Doherty, said this morning, that he wants universal energy credits for the high rollers. I will test you and your commitment and principles. Will Sinn Féin agree to targeting and prio…
More fundamentally, the Deputy ducked and dived on the question of the free trade deal between Europe and Canada. It has brought huge benefits to working people in multinationals and Irish-owned companies.
Jobs ultimately put bread on people's tables.
Sinn Féin's economic approach to trade matters in particular - it has opposed this trade deal for years and yesterday, it could not agree if it supported it or not - is a fundamental point.
If we do not continue to expand and grow trade, we will reduce the capacity of ordinary working people-----