What about Michael Lowry, the Chief Whip's colleague?
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
They are not agreed.
Children are on the brink of starvation in Gaza as a consequence of Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid. It is blocking food, water and medicines. More than 500 people have been slaughtered in Gaza in recent days alone. What people might not know is that the Irish Government has made Ireland complicit in funding this genocide. The Irish Central Bank oversees the sale of Israeli war bonds. These are directly used to…
5. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Justice, Migration and Social Affairs will meet next. [22208/25]
I move:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes that:
— children are legally entitled to an assessment of their health and education needs under the Disability Act 2005, and that the assessment must take place within six months; and
— the law is being broken with respect to the 15,296 children whose Assessment of Need is overdue, and with just 4,162 assessments conducted last year the number of children being failed is rising; …
The cost of living continues to bite hard on working people. Ordinary households are finding it very difficult to keep up with the never-ending barrage of rip-off bills, yet the Government seems oblivious to the pressure people are under. It seems content to sit on its hands and do nothing while workers and families barely get by. On the watch of this Government, households are hit by soaring costs across the board. …
Tá sé soiléir go bhfuil daoine agus teaghlaigh faoi bhrú. Is í sin an fhírinne. Sustainability matters for families. Notwithstanding everything the Taoiseach lauded in his self-congratulatory soliloquy, Amy's groceries still cost €260 per week, her electricity bill was €460 and a bottle of shampoo that used to cost €4.50 is now €9. Yes, inflation has tamed but the cost-of-living crisis has not gone away. For the life…
What the Taoiseach said is that he is doing nothing.
The Government cut the per capita rate of the scheme.
Just answer the question.
Please do. I was urging the Taoiseach to do so.
That is not actually true. That is untrue.
It is not true.
The Taoiseach is misleading the Dáil.
That is fine, sorry.
I have the letters here.
I want to return to the issue of the hip dysplasia surgery raised by my colleague, Deputy Cian O'Callaghan. The Taoiseach has misled the Dáil. To set the record straight, the letters were sent to parents on foot of an early recommendation of the audit, and it says so in the letter. This was recommendation No. 4.2.1, to be precise. The recommendation refers specifically to the recall of children. We know with regard t…
The Taoiseach needs to be clear on how many of these letters have been sent and how many recalls are envisaged.
I suspect the Taoiseach actually knows that number and is choosing not to share it.
Because you mislead the Dáil.
Yes.
Then share the facts.
You misled the Dáil.
I offer condolences to everyone who loved Garda Kevin Flatley: his heartbroken wife, Una, and their two children, Aoife and Erin; his parents, family and friends; and, of course, his colleagues in An Garda Síochána. He was a devoted father, a man with a deep grá for community and a GAA man with his beloved club, O'Dwyer's in Balbriggan. His death is a devastating reminder of the dangers faced by gardaí as they keep u…
The anxiety of these parents could not be overstated. As the Taoiseach has correctly noted, the initial sample between 2021 and 2023 involves children between the ages of one and seven. These are very young children, and the idea of any small child being operated on unnecessarily is extremely traumatising for their parents. Their anxiety has been added to by the Government's absolute lack of clarity and the Taoiseach…