I have noted all the comments from the various Whips. I will facilitate an urgent debate in relation to CAMHS. I was in Kerry on Thursday and Friday of last week. I felt it was important to respond to the parents first. We will put that on the agenda for next week.
In relation to the other requests for debates, this week we are facilitating statements on fisheries and homelessness, which were sought two or three wee…
TDs / Mary Butler
Mary Butler
Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach with special responsibility as Government Chief Whip; and the Department of Health with responsibility for Mental Health
Portrait: Mary Butler (CC BY 4.0) · source file
1
question asked
Oral and written, to government departments
216,769
words spoken in the chamber
214,650 as a minister, 2,119 as a TD
433
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
1
topic asked about
Across 1 department
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 1 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 946 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 | 37 |
| March 2025 | 0 | 24 |
| April 2025 | 0 | 33 |
| May 2025 | 0 | 46 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 304 |
| July 2025 | 0 | 55 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 | 15 |
| October 2025 | 1 | 29 |
| November 2025 | 0 | 60 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 28 |
| January 2026 | 0 | 38 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 31 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 30 |
| April 2026 | 0 | 75 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 25 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 29 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 24 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 30 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 31 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 386 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
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Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Waterford 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach with special responsibility as Government Chief Whip; and the Department of Health with responsibility for Mental Health 23 January 2025 to now
I responded to that at the Business Committee last Thursday. The Order of Business stands.
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I welcome the opportunity to address the House. The Government recognises that waiting times for many scheduled appointments and procedures are too long, not only in Cork, but in hospitals throughout the country. The multi-annual action plan approach was initiated in September 2021 to substantially reduce and reform hospital waiting lists and waiting times. Since t…
I thank the Deputy for the manner in which he has raised this issue. I can give him a bit of good news. The HSE south-west region employs 12 whole-time equivalent consultant orthopaedic surgeons based at Cork University Hospital and the South Infirmary Hospital. One vacant whole-time equivalent post is due to be filled by March 2026, which should have an impact.
To return to the waiting list, in the last six months,…
I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue and giving me the opportunity to provide an update to the House on paediatric dermatology services in the HSE south west. Those services are provided through primary care services, regional dermatology services and specialist dermatology services based in Children's Health Ireland, CHI, in Dublin. Paediatric dermatology services in the south-west region are p…
I have a briefing note here that states that CHI has a staffing complement of 8.8 whole-time consultant dermatologists. These are 8.8 whole-time equivalent, or funded recurring consultant dermatologists, across three CHI sites but it is currently operating within 6.3 whole-time equivalents. That is the information I have. I also know from my own area, and Deputy Michael Murphy will be aware of this as well, that in t…
On behalf of the Minister for Health, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I acknowledge the number of times he has raised it. I have answered him several times in relation to this. As I go through the answer, for anyone listening in, it will become very clear that every effort has been made to try to recruit staff, but the HSE just has not been able to do so.
As the Deputy knows, the HSE provides o…
I can confirm that the post was upgraded to that of consultant medical ophthalmologist and obviously that may be one of the reasons it was not as sought after as it was. Several recruitment campaigns have been run and to date the HSE has been unable to fill the post. The post is funded as well, so it is not a financial issue. Several eligible candidates have applied in the latest recruitment campaign, which closed on…
I hope I will be able to give the Deputy some clarity. I thank him for asking the question, which I am answering on behalf of the Minister for Health. I acknowledge the Deputy's dedication to the people of Galway and beyond on raising these important health issues. I can assure him that the Government is committed to increasing elective-only day case capacity through the elective ambulatory care programme. This is be…
I thank the Deputy. In relation to the elective treatment centres, known as elective hospitals, the HSE and the Minister remain committed to developing these in Cork, Galway and Dublin. They will take longer to develop. In the short term, as the programme has developed and evolved, the HSE has determined the most appropriate design for the new facilities. The introduction of the surgical hubs was not originally envis…
I thank the Deputy for respecting the fact of the report being published later this evening. We can arrange a briefing for health spokespersons on that. I will brief the Kerry Deputies as well this evening.
There are challenges in CAMHS, but 225,000 appointments were issued last year to people who attend. Some people get a really good response from CAMHS. As regards the point the Deputy made in relation to CAMHS and…
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be:
- Statements on Bluetongue (not to exceed 2 hours and 25 minutes)
Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Ban on Investment Funds Purchasing Family Homes, selected by Sinn Féin.
Wednesday's business shall be:
- International Protection Bill 2026 - Financial Resolution (without debate and to be taken no earlier than 2.12 p.m. and any division claimed to be t…
I thank the various Whips for their comments. We have a request for four additional sets of statements this week but, as Members know, we are dealing with requests that came in two weeks ago, including for statements on bluetongue and on flooding. Notwithstanding they are all extremely important, I will consult with the various Ministers to see if they can be facilitated as soon as possible. The Order of Business sta…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Notwithstanding the fact that we have seen a reduction in suicide numbers between 2001 and 2025 by 28%, we have not seen the same reduction in suicide numbers in the Travelling community. Where once we ranked one of the worst in Europe, we now sit at about 12th. We will have a new strategy in place very soon - the connecting for life strategy. There were over 1,900…
I thank Deputy Cahill and I acknowledge the work he has done regarding the situation with CAMHS services in Kerry when he was a councillor and when he met me as well as the advocacy work he did with the families and the parents. I am happy to be here this morning to take his question and I will answer as best I can.
As the Deputy will be aware, as Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, I was in thi…
Following a national audit of prescribing CAMHS, which we spoke about, where we did a random sample audit of 50 files in the case of every CAMHS team in the country, all 76 of them at the time, concerns were identified in 16 of 50 files reviewed in CAMHS in north Kerry. This prompted a lookback review of all cases open to CAMHS as of 21 November 2022.
My main priority, and this will always remain, is that the childr…
The Deputy kept talking.
It is not opposed. I compliment the Deputy on the timeliness of the Bill, after International Epilepsy Day on 9 February. Well done.
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be:
- International Protection Bill 2026 (Second Stage, resumed) (to adjourn on conclusion of the second speaking round, not to exceed 3 hours and 24 minutes)
Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Second Stage of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences (Amendment) Bill 2026, selected by Sinn Féin.
Wednesday's business shall be:-
- Statements on the …
I thank the Deputies for their suggestions. We will have the debate on the International Protection Bill 2026 this afternoon for several hours. Tomorrow, we will have statements on Operation Kenova. We will have the residential tenancies Bill before the House tomorrow for five hours. On Thursday, we will again have the International Protection Bill. We can discuss different statements at the Business Committee meetin…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and for his constant advocacy on in respect of those who have mental health challenges, disorders and illnesses. As he knows, budget 2026 focused on the provision of a crisis resolution response, especially for those who attend acute hospitals out of hours.
I was able to secure the funding, and I want to thank the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, for her work wit…
It is not opposed.
I move:
Wednesday's business shall be:
- Motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Motion re Ninth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to adjourn after 3 hours and 24 minutes)
Wedne…
I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I have noted the requests for a debate on flooding and on housing. There will be five hours of housing debate on Second Stage of the Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 this week: 204 minutes today and a further 102 minutes tomorrow. It is a two-day sitting. This legislation is really important. We will facilitate discussion on Thursday around further debates. At th…
It is not opposed.