Sinn Féin does not know which way it is on this issue. That is its problem.
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 must say one more time to the Deputy that the pact and the Act the Minister introduced does not, in any shape of form, give up our sovereignty in the area of immigration.
Irish officials will still make-----
Deputy McDonald cannot even give a specific reason or area where we do. She has had four and a half minutes and it has been sound bite after sound bite with no substance behind it. The bottom line is that Irish officials will still make the decisions in terms of applicants. The Garda Síochána will still police our borders. Ireland will still be in control our deportation process.
To be fair to the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, he has brought in and is very focused on a firm, robust migration system with much faster times in terms of administration of the initial phase of the applications and on the appeal phase to get it done much faster. That is what we are doing.
We have also increased the number of deportation orders quite significantly over the past while. The importance of this is that it enables us to return migrants back to countries where they probably originated with their applications.
That is important. That makes sense. Likewise, on the common travel area, it will be here long after any scenarios on the constitutionality of the island or whatever. The Deputy knows that.
I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. I appreciate her party's support for the Government's position on this and that of the Minister for Health because a lot was at stake here, not just for maternity services but for the entire edifice that should govern public health and the provision of public health into the future in our acute tertiary system.
The Government took a decision following ne…
I will make my point generally. There is an issue here. We are very clear; we support what the Deputy is saying and, as far as we are concerned, a private model is not sustainable in maternity and, therefore, we want to build and develop hospitals where there is universal access and where, eventually, we will move to public-only consultants. Some have opted out of that, and that is their entitlement under the agreeme…
I did answer the question. I said the money should be refunded. I made that clear in my original reply. The Minister is concerned about the operation of the public-only consultant contract throughout the entirety of the health service and in all hospitals. There is no going back from the position that we negotiated fully, transparently and comprehensively. Over the last five years, there has been an extraordinary lev…
I made it clear that they should be refunded. The Minister has also sought assurances on that front.
The investment has been substantial in the last five years. In terms of the Deputy's question about Sláintecare, I do not think what she said about the lack of investment was fair. We could continue to invest more and more in health, but anybody looking at the last five years will see an extraordinary uptick and scaling up of investment in the public health service.
I appreciate the Deputy has raised quite a range of issues. I will take Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and the Middle East first. Ireland has taken a stand against Israel internationally and that is well recognised internationally and within the European Union. We continue on the humanitarian side to give very substantive contributions to the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA – close to €150 million at this stage. Of cour…
I did not get a chance to deal with every issue but I will come back to the Deputy.
I reject what Francesca Albanese said. I have significant issues with much of what she has said on this issue, in terms of Ireland in particular.
We will work with the European Commission in respect of Aughinish. The Deputy said many jobs are at stake and a solution must be found. Let all of us be honest in the House. We will work with the Commission. We are conscious that there are about1,000 people directly depend…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. We have made a lot of progress in the country with regard to wastewater treatment facilities. I am of the view that it should be tertiary and not secondary where possible. I am not aware of the specifics of the actual proposal for the wastewater facility earmarked for Foynes. I will check with Uisce Éireann on this. It may not be a waste of money because I presume …
I also pay tribute to Marion Fossett and the Fossett family for their extraordinary contribution to Irish life. I remember attending Fossett's Circus as a young child. Some might say I learned a few tricks from that experience.
Our thoughts and prayers are with them on this sad day for the family. We thank them for what they do.
On the wastewater treatment plant, from what I can see, Uisce Éireann is now engaging in extensive works. The Foynes sewerage scheme will include a new wastewater treatment plant and 3.5 km of new pipelines to convey wastewater to and from the new treatment plant site and an upgraded terminal pumping station with s…
I will make the point that, on location, there may be people for or against any given location but someone has to decide on a location from an objective engineering and wider planning perspective. I know of a wastewater treatment plant whose location was decided by one vote but, 30 years later, no one has complained. It did the job and it was the correct decision at the time.
There was a lot of heat around that decision.
I have discussed this with the Minister for Health. We want all those living with Friedreich's ataxia to have access to Skyclarys as fast as we possibly can. The company made its commercial proposal on 28 May-----
On 28 May last-----
I am interested in getting this drug over the line.
I am not interesting in playing games with this. The Deputy asked me a question. I ask her at least to allow me to answer because there are lots of families and people very dependent-----
-----on our getting this over the line. I have discussed this. I had an official with me yesterday when I met one individual who is living with Friedreich's ataxia and with his parent. The commercial proposal came in on 28 May.