I will come back to the Deputy on it.
Deputy Cleere's question was on Friedreich’s ataxia. I think I referenced this earlier. I fully appreciate what the Deputy said. I think he mentioned Emily Felix and Oisín Pollard. I have met quite a number of people as well. It is very distressing, difficult and challenging for the families and for Emily, Oisín and their contemporaries who want access to Skyclarys as quickly as…
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 propose to take Questions Nos. 21 to 32, inclusive, together.
I undertook a four-day programme of engagements in the United States, visiting Philadelphia and Washington DC to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. My programme began in Philadelphia, where I met Irish community and business representatives, as well as Congressman Boyle, with whom I participated in the St. Patrick's Day parade. While there, I laid a wreath at…
Deputy Coppinger put words into my mouth. I did not use those specific words about sport and politics but I did say that I do not think the Irish football team should be disadvantaged by the issue of the Israeli-Ireland game.
I did not use that phrase so let us be clear about that. I do not want Irish football to be the victim. There are issues with FIFA, as we know. It would not cost FIFA a thought the Irish football team were to be relegated or whatever, and if there were consequences for seedings and if Irish football was set back by potentially a decade. That is an issue.
On the visit, the relationship with Ireland is significant for…
I mean no disrespect but what a horrible way to put it.
It is as if the Deputy has a monopoly on moral rectitude in respect of this. The Irish Government is known internationally for its strong stance in defending Palestinians and self-determination. The occupied territories Bill is the latest issue that has arisen. It will not be of any consequence in actuality and will impact less than €200,000 worth of goods. However, it is symbolic. That is largely its import and impa…
The Minister is bringing the legislation forward. It is going through the House at the moment and I presume it will be passed. It is another advance on ten to 15 decisions we have taken. Ireland was foremost in defending the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, for example, when it was under real threat from some within the previous European Commission at the time. We…
The Deputy is scraping the barrel with that one. Excuse the pun.
The LNG facility is an energy security issue. It was raised under the last Government and documentation exists from the Department warning the last Government that if anything were to happen to gas interconnections with Britain, our economy would be in trouble within ten days. It would be totally irresponsible of any Government not to act on that advic…
Is léir gur tharla ardú an-ard ar fad ar phraghsanna peitril agus díosail de dheasca an chogaidh san Iaráin. Bhí brú faoi leith ar mhuintir na tíre agus ar an ngeilleagar agus tá fós. Rinne an Rialtas cinneadh faoi leith suas le €750 milliún a chur ar fáil chun an brú seo a laghdú do dhaoine. D'éirigh linn. Mar aon leis sin, rinneamar i bhfad níos mó, go háirithe ó thaobh cúrsaí talmhaíochta, iascaireachta agus iompa…
The pressures on people have been very significant because of the increase in fuel prices arising out of the war in Iran between America and Iran. On the Hormuz strait, there has been a cessation of violence and war, but there has also been at least a resolution which has given some respite to the situation. We took significant measures to try to help people. I will come back to that in a moment. Brent crude, as a re…
First of all, we did not, as the Deputy said, vote last week to increase anything.
Deputy Doherty just wants to look after the oil companies by giving them whatever. He does not even want to monitor what is going to happen over the next number of weeks. It makes sense that one watches the market - of course it does - otherwise one is just filling the pockets of the oil companies which will benefit from the decline. We are talking about taxpayers' money. As I said, we have some distance to go before…
I did not interrupt you.
The Deputy put the amendments down last week so he could then make the allegation that we are increasing prices and try to engineer protests. That is what is going on. I have seen the Facebook pages. I have seen it all. The Government makes a decision, there are going to be protests. That is the game.
No, no.
The Deputy is entitled to raise the issue, but that is-----
-----the political agenda. I did not interrupt the Deputy. He has an awful habit of doing it. That is his political agenda. The Government has not made a decision in respect of the end of July. Is that clear?
The Government is going to keep it under review and act accordingly.
I welcome the final report of the joint committee. I have not had an opportunity to read it in its entirety. Senator Mary Fitzpatrick, who is a member of the committee, made a presentation to the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party last evening on the report's core recommendations. Fundamentally, over the past 20 years we have moved to a health-led approach in terms of drug addiction. It has not been a criminal response,…
The Government accepts and has accepted that possession of illicit drugs for personal use is fundamentally a public health issue and not just a matter for the criminal justice system. That has been the position for quite some time. The Government will shortly introduce a health referral scheme for those found to be in possession of illicit drugs for personal use. The report has just been published. As is necessary, b…
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Clearly, the defective concrete blocks issue has evolved. It is a very complex issue, which the Government is addressing in the first instance by agreeing and allocating very significant amounts of funds to the affected homeowners to enable families to rebuild their homes and get on with their lives. I believe in a multidisciplinary approach to issues. The Deputy's basic que…
For what is the Deputy seeking a timeframe?
The revision to IS 465 was made on 2 June. Under section 51 of the Act, the Minister must review the scheme following that revision. The review will examine several aspects of the scheme, including treatment of foundations. Findings must be reported to the Oireachtas within three months of completion. That is the timeline.
We need a sense of balance and perspective here. The Deputy's assessment is way off the mark, in terms of painting a picture of where childcare is today compared with where it was even five years ago. We have delivered more progress on childcare in five years than in the previous 30 years. Costs are down by 36%, investment is at a record high and now, for the first time in the State's history, we are beginning to dir…
Budget 2026 invested almost €1.5 billion in early learning and childcare, which is a 12% increase. Going back a decade, that figure was €260 million. Numbers speak for themselves in terms of the funding. A total of 277,000 children will benefit from the national childcare scheme in 2026. That is 27,000 more than last year. That is not collapse; it is expansion. Childcare prices have fallen by 36% since October 2022, …