I thank the Deputy very much. He has made a very compelling case in his citing of constitutional decisions in respect of survivors' entitlements to pensions and so forth. I will raise the matter with the Minister for Finance in the context of the forthcoming budget in October to see if he will examine it because the threshold looks rather low.
TDs / Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin
Taoiseach
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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 accept fully that there are cost-of-living pressures on families and individuals arising significantly now from the war in Iran, which has-----
-----resulted in a 20% contraction in oil supplies and a dramatic escalation in oil prices. That is very worrying in terms of its potential impact on the world economy for the rest of the year. Hopefully, that war can end as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we have announced, as the Deputy knows, a €750 million package-----
-----trying to alleviate the pressures on families. I will have to get a look at the bill the Deputy referred to because I did not quite catch the name-----
-----of the company he was talking about, but-----
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Minister, Norma Foley, was, to be fair to her, effective in the Estimates process in getting additional funding to establish ten new family resource centres across the country, a significant milestone in terms of what had been happening prior to that. I will talk to the Minister about core funding requirements. Again, we are anxious to give additional capacity to family…
First of all, I think the Minister is actively engaging with the mid-west university hospital and has continued to engage. I will alert the Minister to what the Deputy has said. He is speaking of HIQA's review. As he knows, the Minister did respond to that review, I think.
The next thing is that I will raise with the Minister the outcome of that report. In fact, the Minister discussed the emergency care situation in Limerick this morning with the Cabinet. Also, in recent weeks, there has been a 10% increase in activity levels at the emergency department in Limerick, so there is no doubt that the hospital remains under significant pressure, notwithstanding the fact that 278 new beds hav…
I will engage with the Minister. The HSE and the hospital should be engaging with the family in the first instance. There are proper mechanisms for accountability in respect of situations like this. However, I will talk to the Minister.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 21, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on the economy, trade and competitiveness last met on 2 March and is scheduled to meet on 25 May. Membership of the committee comprises the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, and the Ministers for public expenditure, foreign affairs, climate, enterprise, culture and further and higher education and research. Other Min…
I agree entirely with Deputy McCormack about the potential for the midlands for renewable energy. There have been some very good developments and announcements there over the last year, with various Ministers attending. I attended one recently with the Deputy. The Bord na Móna land resource has very significant potential for both energy renewables and industry to go along with that. We will do everything we possibly …
We have provided various mechanisms for access-----
-----to credit as well.
Very often, the take-up is not huge in terms of the various loan schemes going back to Covid-19 right through. They had not been taken up to the same extent, but the Deputy attacked it. The VAT reduction was a very simple, straightforward way to try to help the hospitality industry, likewise on the construction side to try to reduce costs but the Opposition attacked it. They cannot have it both ways, but we will cont…
And the other person did-----
It should not have been but-----
-----that is a specific case. They should get it back and the one-stop shop should be approached-----
-----to engage with the company involved.
In response to Deputy McGuinness's question regarding that fire in Waterford, the Ministers of State, Deputies Butler and Cummins, have been there and met with the key people. The Minister, Deputy Browne, visited yesterday. The Minister, Deputy Burke, visited today and also received Cabinet approval today for a humanitarian scheme for those impacted. We are working to see if…
I am looking forward to opening the Fórsa conference as well, and we might allow them to hear my speech first. Perhaps it would be the best thing to do.
In response to Deputy Hearne, we built about 36,000 houses last year. We need to do much more, and we need to go higher again. We are going to do everything we can to provide social and affordable houses to both buy and rent.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 to 40, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs was established by the Government in 2025. It meets quarterly in advance of regular European Council meetings, and as required. Its role is to oversee implementation of programme for Government commitments in relation to the European Union, including preparation for Ireland’s Presidency in the second…
I thank Members for their comments. I will begin with Deputy Shay Brennan, who referred to developments relating to the war in Ukraine. One of the more significant developments has been the unblocking of the €90 billion loan to Ukraine in the aftermath of the Hungarian election. That sends a real signal to Russia that Europe is in there for the long haul and that Ukraine will have the capacity, in budgetary terms, to…
-----in attacking the Irish Government as opposed to the Israeli Government at times. That is what it feels like in this House. In the context of all the protests and all the agitation, it is the Irish Government that the Deputy is attacking-----
We were the first to intervene in the context of the genocide when South Africa took a case before the ICJ. We were the first European State to intervene in that legally and make a strong submission in that respect. We gave additional funding to the ICC in respect of what was happening in Gaza and in the Middle East to support it and give it the resources and capacity. We were one of the earliest to go in and defend …
-----they thank the Irish Government, and they thank the Irish people for their support.
I met with the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, recently when he attended after the informal EU Council meeting. He cited the Irish experience in terms of the peace process and conflict resolution as a basis for how the Lebanon-Israel situation and the Palestinian question could be resolved. That is the other side of the coin. We want to be part of solutions and we want to use our experience in conflict resolution …