It seems to me from what we saw in the budget yesterday that the Government does not recognise the pressures that many of our working families and working individuals are facing at this time. Examples provided by the Government in its budget documentation yesterday tell us that a married couple with two children on a modest income of €55,000 a year will be down €50 on their income compared to last year. A single pers…
TDs / Mark Wall
Mark Wall
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
875
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
89,139
words spoken in the chamber
Across 262 contributions. Plus 59 contributions from the chair, not counted
426
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
199
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 875 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 262 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 19 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 56 | 24 |
| March 2025 | 49 | 10 |
| April 2025 | 65 | 6 |
| May 2025 | 70 | 21 |
| June 2025 | 33 | 9 |
| July 2025 | 92 | 13 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 39 | 18 |
| October 2025 | 31 | 9 |
| November 2025 | 32 | 19 |
| December 2025 | 30 | 11 |
| January 2026 | 49 | 14 |
| February 2026 | 63 | 14 |
| March 2026 | 61 | 9 |
| April 2026 | 30 | 9 |
| May 2026 | 31 | 12 |
| June 2026 | 64 | 21 |
| July 2026 | 28 | 10 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 25 | 14 |
| October 2026 | 8 | 19 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 156 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 Kildare South 29 November 2024 to now
- party Labour Party 29 November 2024 to now
Hear, hear.
I thank the Minister of State for coming into the Chamber this evening and the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this very important topic. I want to talk about services in my home town of Athy in Kildare South. The population of Athy, in the recent census, was over 11,000 people. That is a growth of 82% since the 2002 census. Every morning, almost 50% of the working population of the town leaves it to avail of work else…
I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, too. It is good news that the DART+ fleets are being rolled out, albeit on the Drogheda line, because that will free up carriages on the Drogheda line, which is what we want. We are first up, best dressed in Athy looking for those additional carriages that come as part of the new DART+ carriages that the Governmen…
I thank the Minister of State.
I begin by sending my solidarity to the global flotilla. A number of boats in the fleet have already suffered attacks as Israeli aggression tries to derail the flotilla's journey. I condemn these attacks and hope that all the crew and passengers will remain safe.
I highlight a petition by one of my constituents, Holly Caffrey, calling for action on Gaza. It is one of many actions by the people of Kildare South to ca…
You learn something new about your colleagues every day in this House. Every euro spent on sports funding is money well spent. At a time when there is a housing emergency, the Government must concentrate on the provision of the largest number of houses possible, but as I have said before in the House, this cannot be done without the proper social infrastructure, including sport. By investing in sport as one of the pi…
83. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide the number of requests for an oral hearing over the past four years; the number of oral hearings that have been held virtually, in-person and over the phone, in the past four years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50021/25]
I think we can all agree on the importance of oral hearings as part of the social welfare appeals process. To that end, I ask the Minister to set out the number of requests for oral hearings over the past four years, and the number of oral hearings held virtually, in person and over the phone.
I thank the Minister for the reply. My concern is that a reply to a parliamentary question from my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, stated that social welfare held 5,397 oral hearings in 2018 and the Minister has confirmed that the 2024 figure was down to 432. I am sure the Minister gets many requests for appeals. I know my office does. One of the mechanisms my office has used is the appeals process, in particular the…
I have to disagree on the importance of oral hearings. Much as virtual contact is good and modern, I deal with many people who cannot come to terms with that new technology. I used to attend 30 to 40 oral hearings. I am sure other Members of the House used to attend them as well. I have hardly attended one in the past two years because of the lack of oral hearings being held. When you are sitting beside somebody and …
I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth, for coming to the House. I want to talk to her about childcare, particularly in Kilcullen, County Kildare, in my constituency. It was the end of July when I was contacted via email and phone by a number of families in Kilcullen about the lack of childcare in that growing town.
I met with a large number of mothers on a very sunny day outside a local community centre.…
I thank the Minister of State for her reply. She is right; it is a problem in County Kildare and a problem throughout the State, but it is particularly bad in the town of Kilcullen. Nowhere else that I know of has 110 families facing childcare difficulties in the one town. The population of Kilcullen is just over 4,000, so one can imagine the percentage of families seeking childcare.
I have given the Minister of Sta…
In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 1 October 2025.
I move:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes that:
— the number of children in consistent poverty nearly doubled in 2024 to 8.5 per cent, rising by over 45,000 in one year to 104,780, up from 4.7 per cent in 2023;
— the research by Economic and Social Research Institute shows one in five children, over 225,000, live in families below the poverty line when housing costs are accounted for;
— the cost-of-living crisis is deepe…
I hope that is something we can all agree on in this House. An eviction ban on cases where children are involved should help to provide some respite for the many households that are struggling. We can help to protect future generations and that would lead to a long-lasting, positive outcome for Ireland's young people. The eviction ban during the Covid-19 pandemic prevented people entering homelessness at a time of en…
I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I appreciate the promotion. I raise the importance of the housing aid and housing adaption grants that are administered by the local authorities. In particular, I refer to a letter recently received by all public representatives in County Kildare stating that the grants have been paused. My office is aware of more than 20 applicants who have been told to apply again next year. Those appli…
I am glad to get the chance to speak on auto-enrolment which is a very important topic for workers in this country, as has been said by colleagues throughout the House. The Labour Party broadly welcomes the introduction of the auto-enrolment scheme which is very much needed. It will and should provide an uplift to the basic standard of living in the future for workers in this country who cannot afford to pay into a p…
I thank Deputy Eoghan Kenny for affording me the opportunity to raise a number of matters. I welcome that the Minister of State is before us this evening. Like many Deputies here today, I have been inundated with queries from worried parents who are struggling to get answers from Bus Éireann on their children's school bus places. In many cases, parents were contacted a week or two before the start of the school term,…
2. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans for introducing a right to respite for family carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50022/25]
I think everyone in this House can agree that family carers right across the State do an outstanding job 24-7. I would, as I am sure the family carers would, love to hear the Minister's plans to introduce respite for those family carers.
I appreciate the Minister's reply. As I said in my introduction, we are all aware of the great work of family carers, what they do for the State and the €20 billion they save the State every year. However, as the Minister said in her reply, they need a break, something we all can agree on. Today I attended the family carers' pre-budget presentation. One of the issues for the people they represent is that respite care…
One of the areas I want to concentrate on tonight is emergency care. I have come across a number of cases recently where family carers need that respite care in an emergency situation. I know that Family Carers Ireland has been providing such a service for a number of years and it tells us that that service is underfunded. I ask the Minister tonight to consider through the budget proposals, through her Department and…
13. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality her plans for introducing a reimbursement scheme for families who have had to pay for private therapies for their child due to long waiting lists for public services. [50027/25]
We are all aware - and it has been discussed already tonight - of the length of waiting lists of families waiting for therapies in this country. I ask the Minister of State to address the House tonight on any plans she may have for a reimbursement scheme for families who have had to pay privately for their child due to these long waiting lists.