I echo my colleague's comments about Deputy Geoghegan. I think he must have been under sponsorship to see how many times he could mention Sinn Féin in his three-minute speech. I think he made a few bob on that.
On all the talk we had about backbenchers demanding speaking time in the next while, not all the Government backbenchers turned up for this important debate. It is a case of the Government speaking out of bot…
TDs / Mark Ward
Mark Ward
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
635
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
86,854
words spoken in the chamber
Across 347 contributions
429
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
148
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 635 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 347 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 21 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 40 | 10 |
| March 2025 | 26 | 10 |
| April 2025 | 29 | 13 |
| May 2025 | 43 | 13 |
| June 2025 | 38 | 27 |
| July 2025 | 37 | 17 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 28 | 10 |
| October 2025 | 30 | 21 |
| November 2025 | 49 | 20 |
| December 2025 | 5 | 9 |
| January 2026 | 24 | 23 |
| February 2026 | 40 | 28 |
| March 2026 | 40 | 9 |
| April 2026 | 44 | 39 |
| May 2026 | 25 | 38 |
| June 2026 | 46 | 25 |
| July 2026 | 32 | 15 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 25 | 10 |
| October 2026 | 13 | 10 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 142 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 Mid-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
We are discussing diverting young people away from criminal activity today. The best way to do that is to offer our young people hope. It is the hope that, if they fulfil their social contract, then the Government will do the same. Imagine being a young person in Ireland today and having the ambition to have a safe and secure home. It is almost impossible due to Government failings in housing. Imagine being a young p…
Yesterday, we witnessed the Government ramming through legislation about Dáil speaking rights without going through the proper due process. The public are rightly concerned that it will do the same with Irish neutrality. Any changes to the triple lock and Irish neutrality must be put to the people to decide. Is the Government afraid of a referendum on Irish neutrality? The Tánaiste's proposal to abandon the triple lo…
Orlagh Aylward was stillborn in 2004. Her parents, Mildred and James Aylward, have tirelessly fought for recognition that her medical care in the lead-up to Orlagh's birth could have been different and if steps had been taken earlier, Orlagh would be here today to celebrate her 21st birthday. Mildred and James would like to move forward and to grieve their daughter. They received individual apologies from the staff i…
Have a chat with your Whip. Fuck's sake.
I wish to speak about the ongoing genocide in Palestine. The headline in the minutes of the European Council meeting read: "The European Council has been following the situation in the Middle East very closely since Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel of 7 October 2023." For a layman reading this headline, you would think that Israel carried out no atrocities prior to 7 October. Palestine has been subjected to an…
Get your time back, Cian.
It has been well documented in this House that you cannot call a person a liar in the Dáil, so I will refrain from doing so in what I have to say. Micheál Martin misled the people of Ireland in the recent election campaign, Simon Harris spoofed them and Jack Chambers simply told big, fat porky pies to them. They misled the electorate in saying they would build 40,000 homes. They knew this was not going to happen, yet…
If I had said them as Gaeilge, would they have been all right?
The Government needs to simply stop wasting public money. It is as simple as that. What hurts people the most is that they know that money could be spent on things that would really benefit them. For example, the €9 million spent on mobile phone pouches, which were spun as being a mental health support, could have been spent in schools on face-to-face mental health supports that children really need. There is a lack …
A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I am just checking to see whether we have got a quorum.
I congratulate the Minister and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle on their new roles. I wish them all the best.
We are living with the legacy of serious Government failures and the neglect of policing and community safety. These are failures of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. There have been fewer gardaí on the streets of Dublin since Fine Gael came into government. We are now getting mixed messages. The former Minister for Just…
What about Doncaster?
We must have a zero-tolerance approach to gender-based violence. This issue is compounded by a judicial system, political system and society that fail to confront the problem.
I have seen at first hand the incredible work done by Saoirse women's refuge in my area. Those involved informed me of the stress a woman has to go through in the legal system. The process of obtaining a safety order can be difficult logistica…
45. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence regarding the new proposed legislation to scrap the triple lock system, if this will undermine Ireland's military neutrality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6121/25]
I want to take this opportunity to wish the Minister and the Minister of State really well in their briefs. There is a belief out there that the health service is broken and cannot be fixed, but I genuinely believe that with the right political will it can be, especially in respect of health reform. If the Minister gets it right, she will get support on this side of the House. It is not about politics or throwing stu…
Yesterday, we heard the news that the Airport Hopper bus service is ceasing operations. This means that people in Clondalkin, Lucan, Palmerstown and Tallaght have no option but to get a taxi or drive to the airport. What was a €10 journey will now cost passengers €60. The 14 drivers who were employed by the Airport Hopper received an email to say their jobs had gone. They arrived at the yard and all the buses had dis…
On a personal level, I congratulate the Minister of State on her appointment as Chief Whip. I welcome that the issue of mental health will have a seat at the Cabinet table but, to be honest, I do not have any confidence that things will improve. The past five years are evidence of that.
In 2020, since the Minister of State took over the role, there has been an 81% increase in the number of young people who are waiti…
I take the opportunity to wish the Ceann Comhairle and the Minister of State all the best in their respective roles going forward. I wish them every success.
We are discussing road safety today. One of the most efficient ways of reducing road accidents is to reduce the number of cars on the road but to do this you have to have an adequate, properly-funded and reliable public transport system in place. I have had man…
There is only one mention of public health nurses in the whole programme of Government. Many parents have contacted me in recent weeks to say their children are not getting the vital developmental checks they need from public health nurses. When a baby is born, developmental checks are carried out at regular intervals. During the baby's first week, a public health nurse visits the home and typically checks the baby's…
That is the build-up.
There has been much public discourse about our political system. We saw it in the context of the low turnout in the general election. I recently met a group of young people who informed me there is a mistrust on the part of the electorate. They accused politicians of not sticking by their word and of talking out of both sides of their mouths. We have another example of this today with the Government not supporting th…