There is no real detailed teasing out of issues or discussion of issues in here on Leaders' Questions - it is get up and have a go. The Deputy mentioned the proposal around the SSIA, a savings and investments scheme. She must acknowledge that it would take some years before the necessary funds would be available. The State itself is investing hugely with about €6.8 billion in capital on housing in 2025 and that will …
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
The Government's focus has been on housing supply. The Government has dramatically increased the level of public sector investment. We had record numbers of social houses built in the last four years. One would need to go as far back as 1975 to get an equivalent level of social housing built.
We have built up to 36,000 social houses since.
We have also supported affordability.
For example, the help to buy scheme and the first home scheme are significant supports for first-time buyers.
I know the main Opposition party, to which the other parties have all aligned, wanted to get rid of the first home scheme-----
-----and wanted to get rid of the help to buy scheme. It wants to get rid of those two schemes for first-time buyers. In addition, we have produced very significant grant support for people who want to renovate and live in a derelict house, for example, or in a vacant house. This is not investor led. This is people-led investment and support that we as a Government have introduced and will continue to support the you…
First of all, "Yes" is the answer. We will. Utilities need certainty. Utilities can be a great enabler of both housing and infrastructure. The national development plan will reflect the prioritisation of water in particular, expansion of the grid and public transport along with road infrastructure. The Minister, Deputy Chambers, has established an infrastructure division within the Department of public expenditure an…
Absolutely, funding and reform. The funding will be made available through the national development plan. The issue will be whether we can get societal buy-in to a lot of the required infrastructure. That is the big issue. The Deputy mentioned the ring road in Galway. His former colleagues in the Green Party were very much against roads. That is just a fact; that is their political view. Even in government, it was pr…
I think we have had too simplistic a debate on roads from those on the environmental pillar who see roads as just a total non-starter. We need better debate around these issues because they can also have beneficial environmental impacts.
Increasingly, Deputy McDonald's use of language-----
-----is lacking any credibility. We have words like "botched", "made a bags of" and "astonishing". There is nothing astonishing about it. I pay tribute to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, who has handled this very well. Approximately €29 billion was invested and €29 billion has been recovered. We have a fully functioning bank. Europe-wise, legislation and the regulatory environment have been transformed. They have been …
Where is the Bill at the moment?
You are proposing to introduce it. We will certainly examine it and look at it positively. We believe that the religious orders, first and foremost, should be accountable and contribute redress, even though this will never compensate for the appalling abuse inflicted on any individual or group of persons. Compensation or redress can never do so, but they constitute an aspect of accountability. Certainly, we are inter…
The Government does fulfil its legal obligations. In respect of aviation, there are international conventions that the Government and all other governments have to adhere to regarding inspections or state flights as opposed to commercial flights. The Government is adhering to and observing those obligations. I have not seen the Deputy's letter to the Attorney General. If it is okay, I will ask him to forward a copy o…
I presume the Deputy has approached the HSE on the matter. If she could forward the details to me or the Minister for Health, I will certainly follow it up with the Minister and HSE. Was it a private practice?
The public health service has some remit there-----
----- and the HSE would too.
There is a set procedure for how protected closures are dealt with. I am not familiar with the full details of this case. I do not know whether the Deputy has raised it with the-----
With the Ministers for justice. That is fine.
I cannot intervene in every case, but I will ask the Minister for justice for his perspective on this to see what the situation is and what help can be given.
I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this very serious and important issue. It is important to detail the timeline of events and steps taken by the Football Association of Ireland regarding these allegations. As the Deputy said, and as is my understanding, an internal email was sent by a former FAI CEO in May 2023 regarding rumours relating to a former coach and alleged historical inappropriate behaviour.
This is t…
-----an independent complaint-handling firm. I will raise this matter with the Ministers for sport and for children, obviously.
I appreciate Deputy Aird raising this very serious question. I agree with him. Approximately 24 million hours-----
-----of home care were delivered last year. This is all the more reason for a proper regulatory framework to govern it. We intend to place this on a statutory footing in terms of home care entitlements and so on. However, training and supports are vital. Quality of healthcare must be at the centre of this and the legislation will be published shortly.
First, there will be increased investment in water. I have had discussions with Irish Water in respect of some rural towns or where there are certain developments where bespoke arrangements have to be arrived at between developers, for example, who could develop waste water treatment facilities and supply in accordance with guidelines issued by Irish Water and subsequent inspections-----