I welcome this opportunity to discuss the EU e-evidence package and this legislation, which seeks to transpose it into Irish law. The broad purpose of this package and legislation is evidently worthy. With an estimated up to 80% of court cases involving electronic evidence in some format and relevant companies often being headquartered outside the jurisdictions where the crime is alleged to have been committed, we sh…
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
I acknowledge the work that Senator Black has done on this Bill over the past number of years. I commend her on getting it this far because she ran into so many obstacles on the way. In 2022, I was lucky enough to visit Palestine. I spent a fair bit of time there as part of a sports and cultural exchange. There were boxers from Belfast and Dublin taking part in the Shamrock and Olive Tree Boxing Project with the sham…
Do not guillotine it.
I move amendment No. 15:
In page 17, line 33, to delete “paragraph” where it firstly occurs and substitute “paragraphs”.
I will again be brief because I want to get to the next section, which is really important. This section is also important. Amendments Nos. 15 and 16 were proposed by a group of academic researchers and experts in probation services. Most of them gave their time to the joint committee as witnesse…
It is ironic that the Minister is talking about merging Acts. He has merged a whole panoply of issues into one Bill here. I listened to the previous debate, and he wanted to squash everything in. I am sure there was a way to get this done. I will bring something forward on this again in my own time, probably as Private Members' business.
I move amendment No. 16:
In page 18, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following:
“(ab) Where a court, by or before which an offender stands convicted, is of opinion that the appropriate sentence in respect of the offence of which the offender is convicted would, but for this Act, be one of imprisonment for a period of 24 months or less, and where, having considered in accordance with subsection (3) whether to m…
33. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on disability will next meet. [43624/26]
I want to raise the waiting times for therapies for children’s disability network teams. A couple of weeks ago, I raised the unacceptable waiting time for children in Lucan for speech and language therapy. The average is a two-year wait. I thought that was bad until I received a response yesterday about a four-year-old boy from Clondalkin who will be waiting five years before he gets speech and language therapy. Ever…
I raised the issue of stopping the game two weeks ago and I said at the time that the Minister of State’s response was a cop-out. His response tonight is again an absolute cop-out. The amendment he tabled is another cop-out.
I am a season ticket holder for the Irish national team and for a League of Ireland team. I love football. My missus will tell the Minister of State I love it too much. However, I hate the idea …
That is what the Minister of State is standing over. He is complicit in this. The Minister of State can shake his head all he wants. Does he know what else is a cop-out? It is not having the balls to go to the Aviva or wherever the match is going to be on and backing the Irish players. The Minister of State is afraid to go to the match but he will send the young men out in the green to go and play it without any back…
The 2021 Act introduced a change in the law to allow for the sale and consumption of alcohol in relevant outdoor seating areas where the use of those areas has been permitted by local authorities on public land or private land next to a licensed premise. This was emergency legislation that was brought in during Covid. Five years later, we are still dealing with six-month extensions of that legislation. I am a member …
We all do.
12. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will meet next. [37494/26]
DART+ South West will bring DART services through Clondalkin, Lucan and Adamstown. Construction was expected to start in 2025, but it has been delayed to 2030 at the earliest. This project would enable 20,000 passengers from Clondalkin, Lucan and Adamstown to go each way every hour. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, said the delay was interlinked with another project. I do not believe that is the case. It is ultimately d…
I am going to keep this local as well. I want to talk about the 13 bus route. It is planned to be replaced with the D3 route under BusConnects. After Watery Lane, the D3 route will now go down the New Nangor Road and up the Long Mile Road towards Cork Street. Clondalkin, and Bawnoges in particular, will now lose a valuable connection to Bluebell, Inchicore, St. James’s Hospital and the Liberties. There is a strong hi…
I move amendment No. 1:
In page 3, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following:
“Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act
2.Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following new definitions:
“ ‘crime against humanity’ means any of the acts specified in Article 7 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court;
‘genocide’ means any of the acts specified in Article 6 of the Statute…
The Minister was right in saying at the very start that, right now, I was speaking about the IDF but I also did say that these amendments would stop future situations arising where another country could be inflicting genocide and war crimes on other people. They would stop people from Ireland being recruited into such organisations and training on these lands so it is not just about now with the IDF.
It is about fut…
I move amendment No. 2:
In page 3, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following:
" 'organising or facilitating travel for the purpose of serving in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide' shall be construed in accordance with section 4F;".
I move amendment No. 3:
In page 3, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following:
" 'providing training in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide' shall be construed in accordance with section 4F;".
I move amendment No. 4:
In page 3, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following:
" 'receiving training in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide' shall be construed in accordance with section 4F;".
I move amendment No. 5:
In page 3, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following:
" 'recruitment for purpose of serving in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide' shall be construed in accordance with section 4F;"
I move amendment No. 6:
In page 3, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following:
" 'travel for purpose of serving in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide' shall be construed in accordance with section 4F;".
I accept that amendment Nos. 7 and 8 are connected to the amendments I spoke about previously but I will speak on amendment No. 8 and possibly come back in on amendment No. 7. We have to remind ourselves of what we are dealing with and why we cannot allow citizens of our State to serve in the IDF or any other armed force engaged in war crimes. In addition to the destruction of Gaza and the killing of tens of thousand…
I have some concerns that the definitions in the Minister's amendment are overly expansive. They risk capturing non-terrorist activity and blur distinctions between intent and action, potentially granting disproportionate State power without sufficient safeguarding or clarity. Does the Minister have any concerns that the amendment's vague definitions could risk capturing lawful protest, activism, research or humanita…
I move amendment No. 8:
In page 4, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following:
"(f) organising or facilitating travel for the purpose of serving in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide,
(g) providing training in the armed forces of a state engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide,
(h) receiving training in the armed forces of a state engaged …