You even got a thumbs up from the Government Chief Whip for all your efforts.
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
The Ceann Comhairle failed to hold a vote to agree Dáil Business when a vote was called. You dumped promised legislation; and in your rush to ram through the Government motion, you only called a vote on an amendment and not on a substantive motion but still declared the Government motion had been passed.
This was farcical, a clear breach of Dáil rules. It was unprecedented and it was unacceptable.
Your actions yesterday, a Cheann Comhairle, were demonstrably partisan and lacked the partiality and independence demanded of your position.
Who convinced the Ceann Comhairle to play her part in this disgraceful charade, or is it simply that bias for the Government is baked into the very deal that secured her position? That is now the question.
Thaispeáin an Ceann Comhairle nach bhfuil sí neamhchlaonta nó neamhspleách. Thacaigh sí go daingean leis an Rialtas chun an beart aiféalach le Michael Lowry a chosaint. Ní féidir léi leanúint ar aghaidh sa phost. Caithfidh sí imeacht.
A Cheann Comhairle, not alone have you lost the confidence of the entire Opposition, you have in fact decimated it-----
-----and the Dáil cannot function properly while you remain in the Chair.
Above all, the Ceann Comhairle must be impartial, fair and independent. By your actions, you have demonstrated that you are not. Your position is therefore untenable. I ask you to reflect very carefully on this because you need to go.
Absolutely not.
Try as you may wish, Taoiseach, with all the tools of deflection, there was one person and one side of the House that undermined democracy yesterday and it was the Government.
Yes, you get to defend your rights as a Government. You have assembled your Government between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry Independents. That is your prerogative - I absolutely recognise that - but you do not get to put together the Opposition.
That is the point. The most basic rule of the functioning of this place is the distinction between the Government exercising its prerogatives and the Opposition holding it robustly to account. You do not like accountability, Micheál Martin - cry me a river, because you will be held to account. The other basic necessity is the independence and absolute impartiality of the Ceann Comhairle. Very regrettably, yesterday t…
Sure we saw it.
It is not false.
Hear, hear.
Hear, hear.
No, you have not.
Yes. The Opposition.
Like what?
Go away with you.
Yes. An absolute disgrace.
That is not correct. That is nonsense.
Hear, hear.
The Taoiseach set out the road to government of the Lowry TDs. He emphasised their willingness to serve, their forensic analysis of the programme for Government and then their accession to high office - all of the building blocks that define them categorically as Government TDs. The Taoiseach is quite right. After an election there is of course a necessity to assemble a Government and you did that - Fine Gael, Fianna…
Robust opposition.