-----and the employment regulation is key to that.
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
I met Mark and Cara this morning at 9 a.m. It was a positive and constructive meeting. We discussed all the issues involved and I outlined what I will do and what the Government will do. I already outlined in a response under Leaders' Questions earlier, all the steps we will take.
I was involved in drafting the 2005 legislation-----
-----so I am fairly well clued-in with the legislation.
The important point is this: I am interested in solutions. I am not at all clear that Sinn Féin is.
I get the feeling from the Deputy that the longer-----
Sorry? We will bring that forward to this House.
I said it yesterday-----.
-----in terms of greater flexibility so that we use therapists optimally and get interventions.
The fundamental intervention at the moment is State-led. The Labour Party says it believes in State-led intervention. Almost the entirety of the intervention nowadays is State-led.
It stands at more than €8 billion at the moment.
That is the highest ever on record. We need a private sector dimension to house building. I do not know whether the Deputy believes in that.
Does the Deputy believe there is a role for institutional funds, for example?
I am just putting it to the Deputy because I have watched over the past three or four years on housing. All I get is an antipathy on the Opposition side towards any private sector funding in housing. If they maintain that position, we will not deal with the housing supply issue.
That is ultimately the way to deal with reducing the rate of increase in rent. The RTB is quite clear in terms of the levels at the moment.
What we have witnessed in the last 24 hours is welcome but it is too late in some respects. There has been a division of opinion among member states in respect of this issue for quite some time. It is quite historic as the Deputy knows. Not everybody agrees with Ireland. We have a number of like-minded states, such as Slovenia and Spain, and Belgium to a lesser degree, which has a coalition government. There is a rea…
We have made significant progress in terms of the HPV vaccine. I will check with the Minister for Health in respect of the catch-up programme. I will ask the Minister to revert back to the Deputy in respect of it. It is a fair question to raise and I will follow it up.
I do not know the background to the Crosshaven situation. As the Deputy said, it is just hot off the press. However, I will follow it up. I work closely with the Irish Postmasters Union and we keep in touch with the network. As the Deputy knows, the Government has committed to supporting Ireland's post office network and as part of that commitment, it is currently providing An Post with €10 million funding per annum …
I also welcome the pupils from Kilrane National School. I hope they will learn something from observing the activities in the House and also from the rich history and heritage that the House has to offer.
I agree with Deputy O'Sullivan that the time is now for the suspension of the agreement because Article 2 is not being complied with. All human rights have been abandoned. The weaponisation of aid is appalling. It …
Strawberries are very high in nutrients and that is very important so I will not say no.
Generally speaking, this Government has taken a position to support the construction of roads within the provisions of the public capital programme. The updating of the national development plan will involve provision for roads. We may not go into every specific road in the country in that plan because flexibility has to be allowed to Transport Infrastructure Ireland and to local authorities. However, we want to prog…
There has been an increased allocation for the tenant in situ scheme. There were reviews around making sure the resources would go to those tenants who were in danger of being rendered homeless. The tenant in situ scheme is not for general acquisition of second-hand homes. It is specifically for those in danger of becoming homeless. The Minister is engaging with local authorities to make sure the commitments can be f…
This is a disability service, is it?
For where?
The introduction of free schoolbooks for some 940,000 children and young people in primary and post-primary and special schools in the free education scheme from the start of 2025-26 was a really significant progressive decision that was taken some years ago by the then education Minister, Deputy Foley, and has been continued. The Deputy has raised interesting points about the mechanics of the scheme and how it opera…
I fully understand the issue the Deputy has raised. The ask is that there would be access to a single public service pension scheme. That is something that needs to be resolved through the industrial relations processes. We have made progress in respect of the salary side and the payroll aspect of this. Since September 2023 the Department has been providing a payroll service for formerly grant-funded school secretari…
The Deputy has raised fairly legitimate issues. There has been a tendency lately in planning to have no car parking spaces in certain developments. The Deputy made a fair point about restricting car use but not car ownership. There has to be more flexibility in the planning frameworks governing developments of this kind and, as the Deputy said, the Adamstown plan itself. I would like to see a complete review. You wou…