The presentation from the Opposition is very disproportionate.
TDs / Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin
Taoiseach
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0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
705,467
words spoken in the chamber
703,329 as a minister, 2,138 as a TD
198
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 4 November 2026.
Contributions to debates 6,677 in all
Dec 2024Nov 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 |
| November 2026 | 131 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 6,554 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 thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The Little Angels School is a multidenominational school catering to pupils with moderate, severe and profound learning disabilities aged up to 18 years. It is my understanding a new state-of-the-art school building is nearing completion and is due to open in the coming weeks. The new building will offer a range of specialist accommodation including designated classrooms, the…
The Department of Education is engaging with the school on this reconfiguration. The Minister of State has asked the Department officials whether another request from the school to continue to use its former building, which is owned by the HSE, can be considered and is awaiting an urgent update.
Fundamentally, it will be within the spirit of the UN Charter, but we do not want countries like Russia in particular vetoing or having the ultimate decision on whether Ireland should send its military on a peacekeeping mission.
It is very simple.
Given the behaviour of Russia over a decade, and in particular in the past three years, it is incomprehensible that we would allow Russia to have a veto.
That is the view. Other aspects of the existing legislation need to change. The figure of 12 should be brought up to 50. There are other missions like the drug narcotics international group, of which we are a member. We cannot send a ship to track down narcotics because of the existing legislation.
The climate action plan will be published in the next number of weeks. The Government is absolutely committed to addressing the issues presented by climate change. We have made significant progress over the past four years. I have referenced the massive population increase in Ireland since 1990, more than 1.5 million people. The economy has grown very strongly since then. The number of cars has increased by 1 million…
The Government is very committed to doing that and the big story will be our success and the pace at which we can deliver offshore renewables and solar power, which will be the big game changers.
The Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, met SOSAD before Christmas. My understanding is that there has been ongoing engagement between SOSAD and the HSE mental health services. That will continue. Engagement is continuing with the HSE in Louth-Meath and SOSAD on the steps required to complete a funding application. It is doing very good work. As I said, the Minister met the organisation to outline the steps that n…
I certainly welcome CBS Charleville to Dáil Éireann. I hope they have a fruitful, enjoyable and enlightening day. I wish Maddie a very happy birthday. I presume it is because of her birthday that everyone is here to enjoy themselves.
In respect of the defective blocks scheme, the State was anxious to recover some revenue, given the extraordinary outlay involved in the defective concrete blocks scheme. The industry b…
I thank Deputy Lahart for bringing home the reality of our bus services for consumers and users. We are endeavouring to encourage people to use our buses but this is a truly shocking story. I will bring this to the attention of the Minister. We have recently heard quite a number of cases like this.
I thank the Deputy for raising an important issue regarding school transport. I will certainly talk to the Minister regarding the specific case and bus route the Deputy raised. There are changes under way in respect of the school transport scheme. I do not have the exact timelines but I will talk to the Minister and revert back to the Deputy on this.
I will talk to the Minister in respect of the issue the Deputy has raised and I will ask him to revert back to her with the up-to-date position.
Aontaím leis an Teachta. Is féidir linn cabhair agus tacaíocht a thabhairt d'Fhoras na Gaeilge. Tuigim go bhfuil brú airgeadais ar Fhoras na Gaeilge agus fógra tugtha ag an mbord le déanaí go mbeidh air maoiniú a ghearradh ó chuid dá scéimeanna mar bheart éigeandála, agus is cúis díomá é sin don Rialtas. Tá ceist airgeadais Fhoras na Gaeilge pléite ag roinnt cruinnithe le tamall anuas. Bhí cruinniú ag oifigigh Roinn …
I thank Deputy Boland for raising this matter. The Government is fully committed to delivering high quality, affordable and accessible childcare for all families. It is interesting to point out that investment in early learning and care in school-age childcare has quadrupled in the past decade, increasing from €260 million in 2015 to €1.37 billion in 2025. The number of enrolments has increased year on year from 2021…
I will get back to the Deputy with a more specific answer but I surmise that the legislation will be complex. We will see whether we can accelerate the timeline for it. We are a generous people but I concur with the Minister for Justice that the majority who apply for protection are economic migrants. The work permits system has proved to be very effective in terms of targeting and in creating a lot of opportunities …
My understanding is that the numbers have grown exponentially. For this school year, the numbers have again increased very significantly in terms of SNAs generally. There are close to 23,500 special needs assistants in our school system right now. These are enormous numbers. The increases have been quite dramatic over the past number of years. I will check in respect of the specifics of the school the Deputy raised.
Four Government Deputies have spoken out of 11 speakers.
If people want, we can provide more. We can provide four if that could be facilitated. I appreciate Deputy Gannon's generosity in wanting to share time with Government Deputies. That is kind of in line with Government thinking.
On Deputy O'Flynn's question, we need to review the regulatory framework governing energy prices, particularly in terms of the user base. It will not be easy but the Government is committed t…
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive, together.
Ireland's well-being framework is a Government initiative to measure progress and policy impact in Ireland in a more holistic way. The framework consists of 11 dimensions that reflect different aspects of well-being. It is supported by a dashboard hosted by the Central Statistics Office and composed of 35 indicators that bring together economic, social an…
Sorry?
Deputy Cian O'Callaghan raised the issue of the CIÉ pensioners. I take on board the Deputy's point that the actuaries are saying it would not impact on the scheme itself if the pensions continued to match salary increases. I will talk to the Minister with a view to getting an assessment of it. I am conscious of the issue. I want to see other ways to make progress on this issue. I will come back to the Deputy.
I am n…
Did he apply for retention?
I will examine the details and try to get back to the Deputy. If he can send me the background to the case, we will pursue it. We want people to insulate. We do not want people to be penalised for insulation.
Deputy Bacik raised workers' rights and the reproductive healthcare leave Bill. I will have to check where the research commissioned by the previous Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is.
Remote and flexible working i…
Yes, Deputy Bennett too, apologies. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler said earlier she has met the group. She says the HSE is telling her that it has to satisfy governance and it wants audits and so on. It is working with the group to try to fix that and get that sorted.