There had been engagement with fishers and the representative organisations. I am not aware of the specifics Deputy Boyd Barrett referenced but I will check out the background to it.
Deputy Murphy raised a point. I do not accept that this model would work at all. There would be a huge risk to the taxpayer. There are issues around the capacity of the public service to do it and so on. Right now, we are on a trajector…
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
Deputy Conway-Walsh raised the Corrib gas project. The Corrib gas project has been very impactful and very successful, although everyone opposed it at the time. Sinn Féin opposed it - not the Deputy personally-----
Sinn Féin always has an excuse to say no to something.
The State does not do oil discoveries on its own and never has.
Deputy Lawless raised a question about the clearing house for offshore wind, not onshore wind.
That was the question that was tabled. On the onshore guidelines, I think the indication was that they would be produced in the autumn of next year. The Minister has done a number of planning statements on a number of issues to do with housing, which took priority, not least the planning exemptions. He is now looking at rural planning guidelines for housing also.
Deputy Ó Murchú raised Cork port. It will be ready. H…
I just did.
As a result of the budget last year, public expenditure will rise by 8.6%. That is not failing anybody. That is a very high increase in investment in public services that all workers benefit from - families and people generally. It is investment in education, health, childcare and right across the board but most critically in housing. Housing remains the number one issue facing our country. We put unprecedented inves…
We have free school books and free hot school meals across every single school in the country-----
-----which benefits workers, working families and society at large.
Tá cogadh ar siúl. Tá a fhios ag an Teachta é sin. Níl aon amhras ach go bhfuil brú faoi leith ar theaghlaigh ar fud na tíre agus ar mhuintir na tíre de dheasca an chogaidh atá ar siúl agus ardú praghsanna de dheasca an chogaidh sin.
The Deputy has ignored and failed to mention the fact that the war in the Middle East has been a significant factor in the increase in fuel prices. Everybody knows that except her. Equa…
She had a similar approach to Liz Truss on the energy question.
We have-----
Sorry but I did not interrupt the Deputy. She has always had an inability to allow other people to speak because she does not like the truth.
All I am saying is that we know people are under pressure.
That is why we introduced the €750 million package.
That is why we introduced the €2 billion-----
-----social protection package to protect pensioners and workers who needed support.
We will do more, and we will do more in the next budget, just as we did in previous budgets.
I thank the Deputy for raising what is an extremely important issue. There is a child poverty unit within my Department which actually had a significant impact on the last budget but everybody attacked it because it just targeted those most in need. I hope the Deputy will agree with me that what was done with the child support payment was going in the right direction to deal with poverty among children. It is. Others…
I disagree. It was a decision to bring forward the date so parents and schools would have ample time. It has transpired that parents of many children who were in mainstream classes have applied for special classes. The Deputy is now acknowledging that we are spending money but some weeks ago she was saying we were cutting back on SNAs.
That is what the Deputy said last week, knowing full well-----
No, sorry. A rule of thumb is that if SNAs are not required in any school in any given year, they should not be there. There should always be regular checking.
No, it is not. I get that when in opposition, politicians have to do what is required but the bottom line, I take it, is that the Deputy is not opposing the increase in SNAs.
I thank the Deputy for raising an important issue, particularly for his constituents in County Laois. We have a National Ambulance Service. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate I cannot run the National Ambulance Service from here but I will engage with the issues he raised and I will talk to the Minister for Health about them. The National Ambulance Service will always defend the model it has, and it has consistentl…