I am glad to have an opportunity to comment on this report from the justice committee. In a week when we have spoken a great deal about criminal legal aid, it is important we do not lose sight of the fact there is reform needed in the civil legal aid system. Reading the report, it is obvious that reform of the civil legal aid system is more urgent than it is for the criminal legal aid system. I say that in circumstan…
TDs / Barry Ward
Barry Ward
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
3,718
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
143,980
words spoken in the chamber
Across 316 contributions
364
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
380
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 3,718 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 316 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 62 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 74 | 18 |
| March 2025 | 62 | 19 |
| April 2025 | 107 | 7 |
| May 2025 | 69 | 20 |
| June 2025 | 88 | 12 |
| July 2025 | 201 | 20 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 177 | 15 |
| October 2025 | 114 | 22 |
| November 2025 | 199 | 23 |
| December 2025 | 259 | 30 |
| January 2026 | 315 | 14 |
| February 2026 | 364 | 12 |
| March 2026 | 271 | 24 |
| April 2026 | 457 | 13 |
| May 2026 | 294 | 12 |
| June 2026 | 156 | 12 |
| July 2026 | 95 | 5 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 258 | 12 |
| October 2026 | 96 | 26 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 193 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 Dún Laoghaire 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
The reality is there are certainly lawyers and barristers who make a lot of money, but they are not doing this work. They are not doing civil legal aid or family and domestic violence work; these are not the people who make lots of money. If you want to look at other areas of the law that is fine, but the people who engage in this work, which is so much more than legal advice, are dealing with extremely vulnerable pe…
I actually agree with Frank Aiken, which is not necessarily a comfortable position for me to be in, but I do not think we are neutral either. I am glad we are not neutral. We are not neutral on Gaza. We are not neutral on Ukraine.
We are not neutral on human rights abuses or breaches of international law and I am glad that we are not.
I am much prouder of a country that is willing to stand up and speak for what is right and lawful than anything else.
I do, however, believe in our military non-alignment. That is a principle close to the hearts of the Irish people. The notion that young Irish men and women would be sent off to fight in foreign…
Deputy Healy is the one who said that.
Let Deputy Healy tell me this. I ask him to identify the party in this Chamber that is proposing to be involved in wars abroad. I ask him to identify the group in this Chamber that is telling us we want to get rid of this policy of military non-alignment. There is no such group. There is no such party. How can the Deputy have a fear that is well-founded that we are somehow going to trample on that policy of military …
I dtús báire, cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille. Nuair atá muid ag féachaint ar an mbuiséad, cé go raibh fadhbanna ann agus go raibh daoine ag gearán faoi, is buiséad iontach é. Is buiséad den scoth é. Rinne muid a lán rudaí do mhuintir na hÉireann sa bhuiséad seo. Caithfidh muid féachaint air agus a rá go soiléir go bhfuil sárobair déanta ag an Rialtas, cé go bhfuil fadhbanna fós ann agus nach bhfuil gach rud déanta aga…
125. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the position regarding any engagement he has had with his EU counterparts to push for an EU-wide ban on social media use for under-16s. [73604/26]
94. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health if she has considered the impact that a withdrawal of private maternity care services will have on women's choice in maternity care; and if she can offer reassurances to women that have genuine concerns about this proposal and particularly those that have experienced or are likely to experience difficult or high risk pregnancies. [71452/26]
The principle of not along private healthcare to piggyback on or profit from public healthcare infrastructure provided by the taxpayer is a totally sound and important principle. I admire the work the Minister for Health has done in furthering that principle but in relation to maternity care where there is no private option available to women now, what assurances can we give to women who want to choose private matern…
I acknowledge what the Minister said and the importance of the need-based approach. Anybody would acknowledge that women who are having children must get the care they need and that is appropriate for them.
However, there is a value to being able to choose private maternity care. Some of the benefits that come with that, for example, are: having the same consultant throughout the process, through the antenatal proce…
I do not disagree with the Minister. I see that. However, as the Minister pointed out, maternity is different in that regard because the private option is not available. If somebody wants to get their hip done, there are multiple private and public options available to do that. Is there not room for a derogation in relation to maternity? I met with the Our Maternity Choice campaign. They have a petition signed by nea…
I would like to respond to the question that was asked. It is important to note the service was already being provided and I understand the Minister has a job to do in balancing finances in her Department more than most but there is an issue of choice here that it is not being made available to women. Rather than putting it back on me to come up with the figures for how it is provided, we need to provide the choice t…
I acknowledge the amount of work the Minister of State has done in this area. I know it is an area which is close to her heart and in which she has made an awful lot of progress. We should acknowledge that. As we talk about mental health, we know the stresses, the strains and the shortcomings of the system that affect people across the scale. I will particularly talk about young people. In my office today we have bee…
I will start off by saying it is great we are having these statements. For far too long we have not talked about these issues. When I say “we”, I particularly include men. Not nearly enough men are supporting breastfeeding and access to breastfeeding and removing the pressure that is so often associated with it. Last Friday I had the opportunity to be involved in the organisation of an event in Leopardstown called Br…
I welcome the budget. There is an awful lot of really good stuff in it. We are in an incredibly lucky position compared with our European neighbours in that we are able to deliver an expansionary budget. I particularly acknowledge the provision for the shingles vaccine, the programme relating to which will start with immunocompromised patients. There is a lot of progress to be made there, and I have called for that.
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-----whom we represent-----
-----and the people who are represented in this Chamber, with the very best offices of every TD.
I would never single out a Deputy in the way that Deputy McGuinness has singled out the Government.
The language used in the course of this debate by the Deputy and his colleagues is deplorable and reprehensible. The Deputy is perfectly entitled to disagree and to criticise, but words like “betrayal” are beneath even him.
I support that call for the change on Chesterfield Avenue. As convener of the Ireland-France Parliamentary Friendship Group, I support any move we can make to solidify that historic and cordial relationship we have with France. I acknowledge the increase in our diplomatic footprint in France that the Minister outlined. We have a great team on the ground, and that is yielding results in its own way.
It is a stated ai…
8. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her views on the merits of establishing embassies in all EU accession countries with a view to increasing diplomatic relations as negotiations on their prospective membership continue. [68253/26]
85. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her plans to support the establishment of embassies in all EU accession countries with a view to increasing diplomatic relations as negotiations on their prospective memberships continue. [68254/26]
I support the increase of Ireland's diplomatic footprint generally. In the European Union it is hugely important that we invest in those relationships. There is no EU country that does not have an embassy here and there is no EU country in which we do not have an embassy. In relation to accession states to the European Union, an issue that, as part of our Presidency, is hugely important, there are at least three that…
I entirely agree with what the Minister of State has said about the importance and I also recognise the number of new embassies that have been opened. I was in Moldova last September during the parliamentary elections and I met the ambassador who was setting up the embassy there. Just this week, I attended an EU enlargement conference in Tirana in Albania and I met our Greek ambassador, Ciara O'Floinn, who was not ju…