I want to shine a light on the claim of our school secretaries and caretakers for access to the public sector pension scheme and other entitlements. I welcome the intervention of the Labour Court but for reasons unknown to me and ten months after their August 2025 strike action, we still await a recommendation. What I do know - I am sure the Minister will agree - is the extent to which they are such a positive force …
TDs / Michael Murphy
Michael Murphy
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
786
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
23,907
words spoken in the chamber
Across 132 contributions. Plus 4 contributions from the chair, not counted
426
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
167
topics asked about
Across 19 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 786 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 132 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 19 | 11 |
| March 2025 | 15 | 1 |
| April 2025 | 12 | 3 |
| May 2025 | 15 | 5 |
| June 2025 | 11 | 2 |
| July 2025 | 9 | 11 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 30 | 3 |
| October 2025 | 24 | 4 |
| November 2025 | 159 | 11 |
| December 2025 | 57 | 10 |
| January 2026 | 93 | 17 |
| February 2026 | 30 | 6 |
| March 2026 | 22 | 5 |
| April 2026 | 96 | 12 |
| May 2026 | 26 | 12 |
| June 2026 | 81 | 5 |
| July 2026 | 22 | 8 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 24 | 5 |
| October 2026 | 40 | 1 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 120 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 Tipperary South 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
This being National Biodiversity Week it is really important we acknowledge the enormous positive work at the local level within our communities by schools, farmers, environmental organisations and especially volunteers and Tidy Towns groups. They do extraordinary work to protect and enhance biodiversity.
If we are serious about protecting biodiversity we also need to be serious about confronting invasive species an…
The racing of horse-drawn vehicles on public roads is totally unacceptable and represents a clear and present danger, not just to the operator of the horse-drawn vehicle but also to motorists, pedestrians and the horse itself. A recent incident in Clonmel shocked not just the citizens of Clonmel but also citizens around the country and resulted in a significant public and road safety issue and loss of life, as a hors…
I thank the Minister of State. The response confirms that under section 74 of the 1993 Act, with the permission of An Garda Síochána and the local authority, a race can be held. Section 74 should be removed from the 1993 Act. It is so difficult to enforce because the legislation allows only for the organiser of the particular race to be prosecuted and it is impossible to identify the organiser. These are matters the …
6. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will provide an update on proposals to introduce official identity cards, including photographic identification, for peace commissioners; the current status of engagement with his Department on this matter; and the timeframe for implementation. [30587/26]
I understand that under the Minister's predecessor, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, a review group was established to examine the provision of official identity cards for peace commissioners. Will the Minister provide an update on what work has been carried out, whether any recommendations have been made and whether the Department intends to move towards the implementation of an official identification system for our p…
I thank the Minister of State. For transparency, I put on record I am a peace commissioner and a commissioner for oaths. I think we have approximately 4,500 peace commissioners appointed nationwide. As the Minister of State said, they carry out vital functions on a voluntary basis, including witnessing signatures, verifying documents and assisting citizens who may otherwise have limited access to such services locall…
I thank the Minister of State. This is a practical and sensible solution. It would provide reassurance not only to peace commissioners but also to members of the public engaging with them. A member of An Garda Síochána can produce an official warrant card yet a peace commissioner, despite exercising a very important statutory function, has nothing comparable to confirm their position.
I accept what the Minister of S…
I welcome the publication of the National Safety Camera Strategy. I do so not only as a TD but also as Chair of the Joint Committee on Transport, for which, as the Minister of State will be aware, road safety has become one of the most urgent and consistent issues for discussion. As the Minister of State will be aware, in recent months the committee has undertaken a focused programme of work in this area. Of course, …
I welcome recent comments in this Chamber by the Taoiseach in which he acknowledged that the abolition of town councils was a huge mistake. My home town of Clonmel was one of five former boroughs established by royal charter in 1608. It was self-governing for more than 400 years and that 400 years of history was wiped out by pen in 2014. I am conscious of the consequences for those representing a region in Spain who …
I am raising this Topical Issue again because children across south Tipperary are being left without access to critical basic community ophthalmology services due to repeated recruitment failures following the planned retirement of the previous consultant, Dr. Hillery, in August 2024. This is not a new issue. It has now escalated into a full-blown failure of ophthalmology service delivery across south Tipperary. What…
I thank the Minister of State for her reply. It is very unfortunate. What I find most frustrating is that Dr. Hillery's retirement was a planned retirement. The recruitment processes that we have been going through for the past 15 months should have commenced before Dr. Hillery's planned retirement.
I am a small bit alarmed about what was not mentioned in the reply, namely, the HSE's engagement with the Royal Victor…
128. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the current position regarding the IDA-owned lands at Ballingarrane in south Tipperary, including the extent to which IDA Ireland is actively promoting the site following the recent grant of planning permission for an advance building; the marketing and investor engagement strategy now being pursued, including international outreach …
Will the Minister give an update on the IDA-owned lands at Ballingarrane industrial estate in Clonmel and the extent to which the IDA is actively promoting the site, particularly following the recent granting of planning permission for a 100,000 sq. ft advanced building solution?
It is positive to see that foreign investment is now at record levels.
There have been 323 investments in the past 12 months that will realise more than 15,000 jobs. Unfortunately, none of those investments are at Ballingarrane industrial estate. As the Minister said, this is a fully-serviced, strategically located land bank of more than 50 acres. It is in IDA ownership for more than 25 years. We have planning permi…
I thank the Minister. It was remiss if me not to acknowledge his own visit to the site at Ballingarrane. This site has been in IDA ownership for a very long time. The people I represent want to see tangible results, zoned and fully serviced lands, planning permission secured and a clear opportunity to deliver a flagship facility. I appeal to the Minister personally to keep the pressure on the IDA. I do not want to be…
133. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment his assessment of the recent escalation in retail crime, including theft, organised shoplifting and related antisocial behaviour; the impact this is having on small and family-run retailers, particularly in terms of financial loss, increased operating costs and staff safety concerns; the specific measures, supports or interventions b…
The reality on the ground is stark. Retail crime is no longer sporadic; it is systematic. We are seeing organised shoplifting, repeat offenders and a growing sense among retailers that there is little deterrence and few consequences. For small and family-run businesses, retail crime leads to lost income, rising insurance and security costs, and in many cases fear among staff going to work. I hear directly from retail…
We need to do everything we can to support our retailers. They are the real heroes at the local level due to the extent to which they hire locally, spend locally and invest locally. Those same retailers tell me that the offenders are well known. Incidents are frequent and brazen and the system is simply not responding at the pace required. We cannot let the situation continue whereby honest businesses invest, employ …
239. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the work being carried out by his Department to ensure that citizens have access to robust and detailed financial analysis regarding the implications of a potential united Ireland, including disparities in taxation, public spending and fiscal transfers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24950/26]
For me, it is really about ensuring that citizens are properly informed. Any decision must be grounded in credible, transparent and accessible financial analysis. I know various independent academic studies are being carried out and some already exist but I do not think there is any single authoritative, State-led body of work. There are a number of areas where clarity is essential, including taxation; the difference…
It is important to acknowledge that a lot of analysis has already been done and is likely to be done but it is fragmented and very technical. It comes back to that overarching point I am making, which is that it is not easily understood by the general public. It is so important that information is collated in a way that is coherent and user-friendly and uses easy-to-understand language. Should we commission some kind…
As if the crisis that exists in the provision of ophthalmology services across the south-east was not enough, we have an even greater crisis in the provision of orthodontic treatment for children across the region. I can only describe the state of orthodontic services in County Tipperary, in particular, as deeply worrying and shocking following new information that I received from the HSE. Figures reveal that 546 chi…
I thank the Minister of State for the reply, but there was nothing in it to give any comfort whatsoever to those children on the waiting list across the south-east, and in particular south Tipperary. I am thinking of those children who have been waiting for up to 82 months for a critical intervention. The solution is not complicated. It is about filling those posts that have been vacant since 2021. We need a targeted…
In my role as Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, I again want to highlight the crisis we now have on Irish roads. Already this year, 37 lives have been lost, which is up on the previous year. Most experts agree that the biggest cause of fatalities on Irish roads is driver behaviour, and what shapes driver behaviour more than anything else is enforcement on our roads. I, like many more, was shocked, follo…