The US-Israeli assault on Iran is an act of aggression that threatens to set the entire Middle East ablaze. A sovereign state has been bombed, its leader assassinated and 185 innocent schoolgirls killed. These are not defensive actions. They are the actions of powerful states acting in defiance of international law. Let me state very clearly: the Iranian Government is brutal and repressive. It has crushed protesters,…
TDs / Mary Lou McDonald
Mary Lou McDonald
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
193
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
141,893
words spoken in the chamber
Across 1,424 contributions
172
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
56
topics asked about
Across 12 departments
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
What they ask about
The subject headings the Oireachtas filed their questions under.
Who they ask
The departments their questions were addressed to.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Questions asked 193 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 1,424 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 10 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 17 |
| February 2025 | 15 | 76 |
| March 2025 | 22 | 80 |
| April 2025 | 22 | 73 |
| May 2025 | 19 | 157 |
| June 2025 | 14 | 113 |
| July 2025 | 4 | 111 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 12 | 47 |
| October 2025 | 9 | 85 |
| November 2025 | 4 | 71 |
| December 2025 | 1 | 25 |
| January 2026 | 13 | 59 |
| February 2026 | 22 | 92 |
| March 2026 | 3 | 53 |
| April 2026 | 10 | 84 |
| May 2026 | 3 | 88 |
| June 2026 | 4 | 68 |
| July 2026 | 1 | 38 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| September 2026 | 5 | 31 |
| October 2026 | 10 | 44 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 1,197 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Worked out by computer from the subject headings of each TD's questions, giving more weight to headings few TDs use. It shows shared subjects, not shared views.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Dublin Central 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
Wow. That is really dangerous.
The rhetoric we have just heard from the Taoiseach is very dangerous. He has, in effect, offered a defence and rationale for the indefensible and brazen breach of international law. These strikes were launched while negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme were reportedly making progress, while diplomacy was under way and while talks were described as constructive. Now, instead of dialogue, we have missiles. Instea…
You are not a serious-----
A reported 37 families in Hazelwood in Bridgetown, County Wexford, were hit with eviction notices on Friday. These families are panicked, stressed and worried about the upheaval in their lives. There is a serious lack of homes available to rent in the area, and even if they could find a new place, they would be hit with massive rent increases due to the Government's new legislation. People feel that their landlord is…
16. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the first meeting of the delivery and monitoring committee for the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, which he chaired on 8 December 2025. [15023/26]
Holy Family School for the Deaf in Cabra is a centre of excellence for deaf education and is in fact the only campus in Ireland catering for deaf pupils from the ages of three to 18 years. This is education for deaf children and young people in the deaf community. It is a special school, providing a very specialised service. It is a wonderful school and they need in-house Irish sign language, ISL, interpreters on sta…
Just for clarity, I am not talking about teachers. I am talking about interpreters.
In just four days the Government's rent hike Bill comes into effect. Its legislation allows landlords to hike up rents to the market rate and renters will be hit with massive rent increases, the likes of which we have never seen before. We know that corporate landlords and vulture funds are rubbing their hands in glee, popping champagne corks at the thought of the huge profits they stand to make as a direct result of…
Is waffle atá i gceist anois. This is on the Taoiseach. There is no balance here. The biggest landlord in the country could not be clearer. It knows that it can hike rents by 25% as a result of the Government's rent hike Bill. It knows that it will make an extra €21 million in rents each and every year. That means millions going into the pockets of corporate landlords and thousands coming out of the pockets of renter…
Answer the question.
Not to screw renters.
Answer the question.
The dark shadow cast by what was done to children in Ireland's industrial and reformatory schools is a horror with which our country has never fully reconciled. Indeed, it may be impossible to do so. The scale and depth of the abuse, violence, hurt and life-lasting trauma suffered by victims has rippled and reverberated for decades, sometimes as quiet as uncertain as a whisper, sometimes powerful enough to rock our c…
The Government's plan to take away special needs assistants from vulnerable children was met with massive public anger. Last night, we held a public meeting against the Government's proposed SNA cuts and more than 1,000 people turned up - parents, SNAs and teachers all calling out Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for their cruel treatment of children. They are now determined to fight back against this, tooth and nail. Last …
What the Taoiseach has given us is a demonstration of a complete unwillingness to accept realities on the ground. In fact, I would say his response was gaslighting parents and SNAs.
The Taoiseach needs to know that those parents, children and young people who rely on their SNA to participate in school life and learning, to stay at school, to build confidence, esteem and relationships and who require behavioural regulation need to have the security of the SNA. They cannot live on a wing and a prayer from year to year, hoping against hope that the SNA is not taken away.
The Government attempted t…
It needs to accept the reliance of children and young people to function and to operate-----
-----within the system on those SNAs. It needs to announce not a pause-----
-----or a review of a review but a complete reversal of this disgraceful policy.
Wow.
Wow. The Taoiseach is arrogant.
He is an arrogant man.
The Taoiseach is one arrogant man.
Oh, it is.