I should have pointed out when I was responding to Deputy McDonald that my understanding is that Deputy Barry Heneghan is on that flotilla as well. I extend my best wishes to him. I express my concern and the concern of the wider Government for his safety as well as that of Senator Andrews.
Deputy Bacik is being unfair. It is inappropriate to compare the response of the Irish Government to climate change to that of …
TDs / Jim O'Callaghan
Jim O'Callaghan
Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
13
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
306,120
words spoken in the chamber
304,929 as a minister, 1,191 as a TD
360
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
8
topics asked about
Across 6 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 13 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 1,001 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 13 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 | 17 |
| March 2025 | 0 | 45 |
| April 2025 | 0 | 34 |
| May 2025 | 0 | 33 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 44 |
| July 2025 | 0 | 88 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 | 95 |
| October 2025 | 0 | 65 |
| November 2025 | 0 | 11 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 41 |
| January 2026 | 0 | 71 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 68 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 83 |
| April 2026 | 0 | 45 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 73 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 49 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 81 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 11 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 47 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 598 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Not enough questions on record to compare.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Dublin Bay South 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Justice 23 January 2025 to 4 June 2025
- office Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration 5 June 2025 to now
The Deputy is ignoring the great work being done on securing renewable energy in this country. As of last February, 48% of Ireland's power was powered by onshore wind. They are facts the Deputy simply cannot ignore. The Deputy also talked about how we need to ensure there is no LNG plant. We have to provide people in this country with energy security.
It is absolutely essential we have a secure form of energy for them. The Deputy is aware of what is happening as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the consequence of that from a European perspective. We cannot continue to fund President Putin and Europe cannot continue to fund President Putin by purchasing his fossil oil.
A huge amount is being done. Minister O'Brien takes it extremely seriously. In te…
I thank the Deputy for her question. Her statement that the Government is doing nothing is not in fact correct. The Minister of State who has responsibility for this area and who has been engaging with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, is Minister Dillon, and he met representatives of the CCPC in June and has asked it to conduct an analysis of the Irish grocery retail sector with a view to det…
I should point out that in order for this to happen, the law in the country has to change. The law can be changed-----
The entity that changes the law is the Oireachtas. Government proposes laws and has the advantage of the majority in the Houses of the Oireachtas but there is nothing stopping Opposition parties from bringing forward legislation that they believe will change the law. Motions are-----
-----easy to bring forward and they get covered-----
------but the hard work is done when it comes to drafting legislation.
If a Member believes legislation should be introduced to change the law, they should come forward with that legislation. We need to be careful about vilifying grocers. There are a lot of grocers in Ireland that provide a lot of employment to people. Of course, they make profits. It is our job to ensure that their profits are not excessive and that we curtail them. The best way to do that is through the CCPC and engag…
I thank Deputy O'Flynn for his question. As the budget approaches, many sectors in society will be anxious to ensure their sector gets taken care of in the budget. As I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, the Government has a limited cake and that amount has to be spread out equitably across the different sectors. Regarding school funding and capitation, since 2020 schools have benefited from significant increases in…
It has been a game-changer for parents of schoolchildren. It has had a considerable role in reducing the pressures on them. I am conscious, as I know the Minister, Deputy McEntee is, that schools can face financial difficulties and that there are further financial burdens placed upon them. The capitation grant has increased, and we hope it will increase again. There are mechanisms through which schools in financial d…
That constitutional obligation on the State is being complied with.
It is being complied with-----
What about the other resources that the Deputy has not mentioned?
The Government has put €200 million into ICT in schools. The minor works programme can be availed of for the purposes of works in schools. The summer works programme, which is very popular, ensures works can be done over a short period of time while schools are out on holiday.
As I stated, the free books scheme has not been mentioned by him. There is the hot meals scheme as well in schools.
There are huge advantages that have been introduced into the education sector in schools by this Government and its predecessor and they need to be acknowledged by the Deputy. We acknowledge that there are schools that are under financial pressures but there is a mechanism for them to engage with the Department in respect of that. If there are schools that need to engage with the Department, the Minister, Deputy McEn…
I thank Deputy Murphy very much for his question. I very much share his concerns about the impact that vacancy and dereliction can have on our towns and cities throughout the country. It can create the impression of a downturn in that area and this has an impact not just on the local community but in terms of the development of business in the area. I commend Deputy Murphy on coming forward with proposals in respect …
We certainly do need to return all derelict properties to use, and preferably residential use. We all know the time it takes to construct new dwellings. If we have derelict dwellings in our towns and cities we need to get them back into use as quickly as possible. I cannot give a commitment in respect of the proposals the Deputy is making here this afternoon but, as I said, I will raise it with the relevant Ministers…
I am pleased to hear the Deputy spoke to Senator Andrews. It is obviously a very traumatic event for him and all other persons who are on the flotilla. As I said in my earlier comments, this is a reflection of the contempt Israel has for people who are non-combatants, whether they are in Gaza or on international waters. Having engaged with the Tánaiste's Department this morning I am aware that the Tánaiste and the Ta…
Government policy on any health issue has to be guided by science. It cannot be guided by politics. I recall 20 years ago there was a theory put out that there was a link between autism and the MMR vaccine. It got a lot of traction in very respectable organs. Ultimately, it was completely disproven. The Irish Government will certainly not be taking any stances in respect of causes of diseases without any proof in pla…
No. I thank the Deputy for the question. Like him, I am a Deputy for Dublin city centre. It is a great city. I am concerned about a narrative that keeps stating that it is a dangerous place to go into.
There are tens of thousands of people walking around the streets of Dublin today as the Deputy and I will do later. They feel safe, and they are right to feel safe.
There are always going to be circumstances where there are criminal acts. It is a city and county that has 1.2 million people in it. As Minister for justice, I cannot come to the Deputy and say there will be no criminal activity in Dublin. It is a large international capital city. What we have to do as Deputies representing the city centre is be more positive about it. There are obviously aspects-----
There are parts of Dublin city that can be unsafe, particularly for somebody who has been attacked, but predominantly it is a safe city. Look at the crime statistics; they are down. Look at the knife statistics; they are down. The Garda is doing a good job and the Deputy should get behind his city rather than denigrating it.