People would be shocked by the idea that their TDs do not have the right to speak or ask questions-----
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
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
-----whether they are in a political party or not. We are not going to be railroaded, browbeaten or intimidated by the Opposition in terms of its tactics.
I will be very happy to facilitate a debate on the issue of flooding in Cork. The Deputy asked last week for a debate on the Housing Commission and there will be statements on it on Thursday. If we can do it this week, we will.
My clear belief is that there is a constitutional right for every child to have a school place and an education. I met yesterday with eight Ministers to discuss the establishment of a disability unit within the Department of An Taoiseach. There has been and there will continue to be significant investment in special education, particularly in the context of additional special schools and classes. The number of specia…
The tenant in situ scheme has been effective and impactful, certainly last year and the year before.
The Minister is looking to target that scheme more effectively, particularly for people who are very vulnerable. We will have clarity next week on the situation for the remainder of this year.
I addressed this earlier. I make the point that as a percentage of the overall population, the number of children with special and additional needs is increasing fairly significantly. For example, in 2018, about 42,000 children benefited from domiciliary care allowance. That has risen to 64,500 in a short number of years. We need to provide additional spaces in this regard. Officials from the Department of Education …
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The decision by New Look is a devastating blow for the workers in the first instance. We will do everything we can, through the Government agencies, to see if we can secure alternative employment for those workers. Clonmel is a fine and very attractive town, and a significant hub in the region. I will talk to the Minister about a timeline for call 4 of the URDF.
Fundamentally, it is about recruitment and retention. What is the name of the service?
The Deputy outlined the situation. One person is on maternity leave - I will check with the HSE about that because there should be a locum operating in that role - and another has left. The recruitment and retention of therapists has been a real issue for the HSE. There have been additional resources provided. Progress is slow. Approximately 272 extra whole-time equivalent staff were recruited last year. A further 11…
I agree with the Deputy 100%. He articulated very well the importance of St. Patrick's week in the US, particularly in regard to solidarity with our significant diaspora there. The diaspora really values the engagement with Ireland. It is important in terms of the undocumented. The link with Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen is extremely important in terms of looking out for the undocumented in various parts…
The economic relationship is enormous. Many thousands of Irish livelihoods and Irish workers depend on the economic relationship between the United States and Ireland. That needs to be said. It has been taken too much for granted. Hence the need for a very proactive engagement for the entirety of St. Patrick’s week across the length and breadth of the US.
I thank the Deputy for raising an important matter. As he will know, along with him and others, I have been a champion of an elective site being built on this site. I am also supportive of the project relating to an elective hospital for Galway. The HSE tends to have rather lengthy processes, particularly in terms of getting to the stage of tendering for a project of this scale. My understanding is that it is close a…
The Deputy will accept that the Government has invested heavily in the Dundalk area over many years.
It has also invested in Drogheda, and progressively, as the Deputy said. I do not have the background to the meeting next Monday. However, I will check with the Minister regarding the up-to-date position.
The scheme is being examined by the Ministers for housing and public expenditure. As I said earlier, there will be clarity on this next week, when I expect an announcement in respect of the scheme.
The prime focus has to be on tenants, not necessarily on landlords. We just had a debate about value for money and waste. However, when a Minister is taking a few weeks - I am not saying Deputy O'Dea is saying this; I am just saying it to the Opposition - to see whether the scheme can be retargeted or fine tuned in order to make it more targeted for vulnerable and needy people, there are those who say we should ploug…
I agree with the Deputy. Every effort is being made by the various State agencies to restore services. I have met with most of them - Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks, EirGrid and so on - in the context of getting power restored as quickly as possible and also in terms of the restoration of communications networks. More than that, we need to invest in areas in terms of the social and human networks that were so indispensa…
Glacaim go bhfuil deacracht ann gan amhras. Nílim cinnte gurb í stailc an tslí is fearr chun é seo a réiteach. Bhíos ag labhairt leis an Aire, an Teachta Calleary, faoi seo ar maidin. Bhí an tAire ag Ard-Fheis Chonradh na Gaeilge i rith an deireadh seachtaine agus bhí daoine ag caint faoi. Beimid, agus tá súil agam go mbeidh an Tánaiste, ag déanamh ár ndíchill chun feabhas a chur ar an scéal. Tá a fhios agam go bhfui…
The Deputy has raised this issue previously. Again, I do not intervene in every single case. The Minister with responsibility obviously assesses the situation in different locations. I will certainly alert the Minister that Deputy Lawless has raised the matter.
The Bill is being currently. Some 450 homes are under construction or being refurbished at the moment.
Yes, but there are 450 under construction. That is a significant number. We have to keep ensuring that there is momentum behind this in terms of getting houses refurbished, rebuilt or whatever. This is a hugely resourced scheme. The Government has committed enormous sums of money towards it, and correctly so. If the Deputy is saying there is an insufficiency in terms of the scheme, Donegal County Council will have to…
It is my understanding that there is a High Court action, in which the judge-----
I know, but it is not the Government's fault that we lost. The previous Government had decided-----
I agree with the policy. I was going to make the point that because of the High Court decision, the Department said it had to be exhaustive in terms of the second consultation to make sure that it would not fall foul of another court decision in the time ahead if someone challenged it. It was concluded last summer. The consultation is over now. My view now is that we need to move ahead and get this done. I will come …
I propose to take Questions No. 1 to 11, inclusive, together.
The Programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland’s Future, recognises the importance of Cabinet committees to the policy development and oversight work of Government and commits to the establishment of a reformed structure of Cabinet committees. The Government followed through on that commitment, part of which was the establishment of the Cabinet commi…