What Sinn Féin is endeavouring to do-----
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 thank the Deputy for raising a very important issue. In my view, the cases he raised are harrowing. I have, perhaps, a slightly different perspective to the Deputy in that I think solicitors should attend those cases. The dispute, and the nature of it, does not justify the absence from such cases. That is my perspective.
I also put it to the Deputy that, perhaps, he and others in the Opposition should show some le…
-----legal area has increased dramatically also.
First of all, I support the Minister's reform initiative. That is the first point. I would make the point that more than 3,385 certificates have issued. These are invoices for payment for legal aid, with an approximate value of €1.7 million since 1 July. That just represents payments for the District Court alone. There has been ongoing engagement. The Minister met with the Law Society twice. There have been further m…
It is a point that people should not lose sight of either.
As I said, I support the reforms. Not once has the Deputy mentioned the need for reform. Not once has she said there is an onus and a responsibility on solicitors either. She referenced cases that are indeed harrowing and horrific. I put it to her that in such serious cases, solicitors should attend. The substance of this dispute does not justify solicitors not attending the cases she has movingly and eloquently arti…
Surely the Government on behalf of the taxpayer is entitled to reform systems to get better value for money.
First of all, I do not lecture. I am not lecturing the Deputy, and I did not lecture public service workers. Since I came back into Government in 2020, we have expanded-----
-----the public service significantly. We have had two national pay agreements. We will have a further national pay agreement following, hopefully, good negotiations that are under way between the public service trade unions under the WRC with the Government under the aegis of the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers.
In respect of this issue, the Minister has engaged. I have said this to the Deputy alre…
The Deputy said that she supports reform as well, but not now please, and that this is too good for her in opposition to turn.
Deputy Bacik has to take a particular position.
Prior to the work of the senior posts remuneration committee, SPRC, in 2025, there had been no systematic review of CEO pay in commercial State bodies since 2011. The issue had not been looked at since 2011 and it was creating issues comparable in terms of recruiting people for these bodies of a particular calibre, experience and expertise relative to what was happening in the private sector.
The Government agreed a…
I would make the overall point that it was decided independently to assess the post, the office or the position, not any individual, because individuals come and go, but for the position at the head of a given commercial State body, what would be a fair increase. The Deputy said there should be increases. This had not been looked at since 2011. In my view, that should not happen again. It should be looked at far more…
In all jurisdictions, Sinn Féin decides what the rules are.
The Deputy does not care about the people.
We are having a debate.
First of all, we are not indifferent to homelessness. That is an outrageous assertion. I do not have the specifics of this case. I will speak to the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne. It is not Darragh O'Brien; James Browne is the Minister for housing.
I will come back to the Deputy.
The case reported this morning is very serious and deeply worrying. The Minister, Deputy Foley, and other Government colleagues are engaging on this case. The fundamental issue is, as the Deputy said, a shortage of staff in terms of being in a position to open all 26 special care beds. At the moment 15 of the 26 special care beds are staffed. These are for children with particularly complex needs who need sufficient …
First of all, I agree 100% with the Deputy. We are all still shocked at what transpired in Waterford last week and our hearts go out to the family of Kim and Philip English and their children who lost their lives and the two more who are in hospital. We have significantly increased the resources for An Garda Síochána. The DRIVE initiative is strongly supported. Since its launch, more than 800 individuals across the 2…
I agree with the Deputy. The Minister for housing is undertaking a review of this and is giving very serious consideration to some related issues that have to be dealt with as well in the context of increasing the thresholds but he is certainly actively looking at it.
A horrendous trauma was visited upon the Horkan family following the murder of Colm Horkan. We should not lose sight of the fact that a person has been convicted of that murder. We should not make assertions yet that there may be other factors involved. It was referred to Fiosrú but my understanding is that it is not being actively engaged with. The Minister is anxious to be as responsive as possible to the Horkan fa…
I fully agree with Deputy Moynihan in respect of the centrality of infrastructure. The DART+ South West project is key enabler in the overall programme that would quadruple peak-hour capacity on the line from 5,000 passengers to 20,000 passengers. It would be a significant game changer. Since the Deputy first raised this issue with me, I have been in touch and I have been advocating very strongly with the Minister, D…
I thank Deputy Brennan for raising this issue. I am very fond of Arklow and have been there on a number of occasions. The wastewater treatment plant is the latest investment we officially opened. It has a beautiful design, which received some celebrated colourful coverage which I cannot repeat in the House. I take the Deputy's point. There is an arts capital investment fund. It is a new €6 million scheme that deliver…
I am not going to be intimidated or browbeaten by campaigns of untruths-----