-----the earth effectively largely uninhabitable for all but the richest. That is the trajectory we are on. I have a fixation on climate change, absolutely.
TDs / Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy
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1,527
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
205,529
words spoken in the chamber
Across 1,276 contributions
383
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
314
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 1,527 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 1,276 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 2 |
| January 2025 | 78 | 10 |
| February 2025 | 138 | 69 |
| March 2025 | 120 | 75 |
| April 2025 | 115 | 100 |
| May 2025 | 97 | 97 |
| June 2025 | 88 | 70 |
| July 2025 | 92 | 52 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 66 | 60 |
| October 2025 | 50 | 82 |
| November 2025 | 84 | 73 |
| December 2025 | 59 | 79 |
| January 2026 | 94 | 61 |
| February 2026 | 71 | 78 |
| March 2026 | 49 | 41 |
| April 2026 | 76 | 45 |
| May 2026 | 50 | 40 |
| June 2026 | 58 | 95 |
| July 2026 | 67 | 59 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| September 2026 | 30 | 23 |
| October 2026 | 45 | 64 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 977 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 South-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party People Before Profit-Solidarity 29 November 2024 to now
The Minister should have a fixation on climate change.
You should-----
Well, what do I have a fixation on?
What do I have a fixation on? If it was not climate change, what do I have a fixation on?
So-----
I have a fixation on climate change, and if the Minister's point is that I have a fixation on fossil fuels, yes, I do, because fossil fuels are what is driving the vast majority of climate change. He is proposing, as Minister for the environment, who has responsibility for climate action, to import the dirtiest fossil fuel possible. That is what he is proposing. He is saying now to not worry. He is not saying it is n…
I did support the climate Act. The Government is not implementing it.
Will the Minister correct the record in respect of the climate Act?
9. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications his views on the role of data centres and capacity payments in pushing up the cost of energy for households and privatising the energy system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17930/25]
It was recently reported that householders collectively paid approximately €454 million per year in capacity payments to data centres between 2007 and 2018. Since then, it has more than doubled to €1 billion per year. With 11 more data centres under construction and applications for 30 more, this massive subsidy from ordinary people to data centres is only going to grow. Is the Government going to do nothing to stop …
That sounded like an admission that data centres are pushing up household energy prices. The Minister of State might confirm that the Government accepts that is happening. That means the crazy data centre policy of the Government to allow big tech to come here and dump as much of this 21st century toxic waste as it can is not only driving us further from our climate goals, where the extra energy used by data centres …
On the question of jobs, the Minister of State might confirm how many jobs are directly in data centres. Would I be correct in saying that there are fewer than 3,000 jobs in data centres? For a sector that is going to be using 30% of our electricity by 2030, the waste of electricity and water, and the impact that has on housing construction and other issues, is quite incredible. We recently found out that by 2032, 9%…
No, it is not. It is not at all.
Does the Minister of State know how much extra energy we are going to need?
12. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when the climate action plan for 2025 will be published; the way in which the actions in it for this year can be implemented when it is four months into the year and it has not yet been published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17928/25]
I am sure I will be very satisfied with the Minister’s answer. We are in April, the fourth month of the year, and the Minister still has not published the climate action plan for 2025. Will the Minister tell me when it is going to be published? What has the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Lowry Government taken out from the draft plan that was submitted last December, before it came into office? What are the big new actions in…
Some 3.5 million pigs are slaughtered in Ireland every year. We do not see them much because they are largely confined indoors, in big metal sheds. However, thanks to undercover investigations by the National Animal Rights Association and Animal Rebellion, we know what is going on inside these sheds, and real horrors are happening to these pigs. Six farms have been randomly selected and have had undercover investigat…
Does the Minister think this kind of treatment of pigs is acceptable, and will the Government bring in legislation to stop it?
I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 to provide for minimum Building Energy Rating (BER) standards for private rented accommodation and for related matters.
My office was first approached by the Irish Green Building Council about bringing in minimum BER standards for the private rented sector. I thank the council and Friends of t…
I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."
It is incredible to listen to TD after TD from the Opposition but also from the Government give out about all the failures of Irish Water, which are very real, and appeal for intervention by the Minister. I will do the same in a moment, but it speaks to the failure of Irish Water as an institution, the only real rationale of which was to take the public assets previously in the hands of local authorities, tie them up…
While there is a lot of rhetoric in this debate about protecting workers, it is necessary to take the veil away from some of that rhetoric from the Government and some Opposition parties. Behind that veil, what they are really talking about is protecting the big US multinationals that have operations here, acting on the basis that big pharma and tech have the same interests as workers. That is simply not true. Look a…
We really need to take time this week to debate the HIQA report and to try to learn some lessons from the horrific abuse of some children at Temple Street hospital. The Taoiseach made the point earlier that the insertion of springs should not have happened and that responsibility lies with the surgeon. I agree 100%. The question, however, is how that was allowed to happen and to continue. If it was not for a whistleb…
4. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach to report on the work of the child poverty and well-being programme in his Department. [12378/25]