Before moving to the Social Democrats, I acknowledge the group from New Zealand in our Distinguished Visitors Gallery. They were welcomed formally yesterday. They were so impressed that they came back again today. They might mark a sheet for us about how people performed yesterday versus today.
TDs / John McGuinness
John McGuinness
Leas-Cheann Comhairle
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
423
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
53,878
words spoken in the chamber
Across 132 contributions. Plus 1,827 contributions from the chair, not counted
107
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
138
topics asked about
Across 20 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 423 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 132 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 3 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 13 | 4 |
| March 2025 | 35 | 7 |
| April 2025 | 24 | 6 |
| May 2025 | 54 | 7 |
| June 2025 | 14 | 3 |
| July 2025 | 28 | 6 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 59 | 0 |
| October 2025 | 11 | 4 |
| November 2025 | 39 | 21 |
| December 2025 | 14 | 9 |
| January 2026 | 8 | 6 |
| February 2026 | 20 | 8 |
| March 2026 | 20 | 3 |
| April 2026 | 14 | 2 |
| May 2026 | 18 | 15 |
| June 2026 | 14 | 19 |
| July 2026 | 13 | 7 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 14 | 2 |
| October 2026 | 8 | 2 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 46 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 Carlow-Kilkenny 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Leas-Cheann Comhairle 19 February 2025 to now
I thank the Deputy.
We have to conclude, Deputy McGrath.
The Select Committee on Agriculture and Food has completed its consideration of the following further Revised Estimate for Public Services for the service of the year ending 31 December 2025: Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Deputy Hearne, you had your turn.
Seacht nóiméad.
Yes, the group has 21 minutes.
Maybe Deputy Collins can have a chat with him on a personal matter.
Amendments Nos. 6 and 7 in the name of Deputy Sheehan have been ruled out of order as they are not within the scope of the Bill.
The Bill will now be sent to the Seanad.
We are dealing with amendment No. 139.
Acceptance of amendment No. 139 involves the deletion of section 46 of the Bill. It was already discussed with amendment No. 131.
Amendment No. 140 has already been discussed with amendment No. 131.
Amendments Nos. 147 to 150, inclusive, 152 to 156, inclusive, 189 to 191, inclusive, 193, 194, 196, 197 and 199 are related and may be discussed together.
Amendment No. 157 has been ruled out of order.
Amendment Nos. 165, 167 and 168 are related and may be discussed together.
Amendment No. 185 is in the names of Deputies Clarke and Cullinane. Amendments Nos. 185 to 188, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together.
We are discussing section 83 and we are on amendment No. 185. The Deputy is opposing the section in total. We will deal with amendment No. 185 first.
We will deal with that at the end. We will go through the amendments and then we will get to Deputy Quaide. We are on amendment No. 185, which Deputy Clarke has moved.
Deputy Quaide wishes to delete the section. The Minister of State has indicated that this section will be withdrawn in total.
To be clear, what we are agreeing is that section 83 be deleted from the Bill.
Amendment No. 204 has been ruled out of order due to a potential charge on Revenue.
Amendments Nos. 205 to 212, inclusive, are related and will be discussed together.
I ask Deputy Coppinger to conclude.
I listened carefully all contributions but to one in particular. Deputy Gould certainly struck a note with me in his description of local authority and local government, the spending of money and the delivery for constituents. He was right; we need to do something to adjust the balance in favour of the people we represent.
I also listened to another contribution. We all get these briefs, but to come in here to read …