You have all said that.
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
Not enough questions on record to compare.
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
There is no health without mental health. A Cheann Comhairle, you were a strong advocate when you were sitting on the benches opposite. For many years, you always advocated for mental health. I know you still do in your own way.
I also acknowledge all those who work across mental health in the public, private and voluntary sectors. I am conscious of how hard they work and what a difficult job they have at times. I a…
Hear, hear.
I am pleased to confirm that, in budget 2027 and working with the Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, I have secured an additional €108 million for mental health services, bringing the annual budget to more than €1.657 billion. This represents a 7% increase in funding for this year, for staffing growth equivalent to 285 additional posts, along with a range of new services. However, it is not acceptable to me that ri…
I will be working with the Minister to ensure that there are very tight controls on the 285 new posts and the 300 posts funded for this year. We will be clawing back the funding not spent on the 300 ring-fenced posts for this year, combining it with an additional €15 million for this year, holding it centrally and only distributing it to the regions as posts are actually hired for. It is simply unacceptable to me tha…
I move:
It is proposed, that notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, or the Order of the Dáil of 29th September:
(a) the following arrangements shall apply on the motions for the Financial Resolutions by the Minister for Finance:
- Resolution Nos. 1 - 4 shall each, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 20 minutes;
- Resolution Nos. 5, 6 and 7 shall be grouped together for the purposes…
That scheme costs €300 million.
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be:
- Motion re Statement of Estimates for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (without debate)
- Motion re Sittings and Business of the Dáil (without debate)
- Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to conclude at the end of the first speaking round; not to exceed 3 hours and 34 minutes)
Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Moti…
I thank the Opposition Members for their requests. In relation to the situation in Drumcree in the North, we all understand how sensitive a time this is. The Taoiseach addressed looking for a pathway forward under Leaders' Questions. It is important that everyone involved from the Minister for foreign affairs to the UK Secretary of State and, importantly, the communities are allowed to continue. Statements in relatio…
Not opposed.
I move:
That, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, or in the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders, and unless the Dáil shall otherwise order, the following arrangements shall apply in relation to the sittings of the Dáil on 6th, 7th and 8th October, 2026:
(1) (a) in relation to the times of sittings, the suspension of the sittings and the adjournment of the House—
(i) …
I thank Deputies Bennet and Newsome Drennan for this opportunity to discuss the important matter of breast screening. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I genuinely thank the Deputies for raising it. It is really important. The more awareness we can bring to breast cancer screening, the better. It is not often I get the opportunity. I will be in the Seanad at…
The Deputy certainly does not look old enough. I am going to draw on my own lived experience in relation to this because is really important. If we only take one thing away from today it is that we urge every eligible woman to attend for breast screening when they are called as the numbers are only at 70%. The last time I attended was two years ago in the summer. I remember arriving at about 11.05 a.m., five minutes …
As Deputies will know, I cannot talk about individual cases on the floor of the Dáil.
Sorry, but it is not an over-and-back. The most important thing we can do leaving here today is to encourage women, first and foremost, to avail of screening. Only 70% of BreastCheck screenings are accessed every year. That means two out of every three women avail of the service. We can all agree that we should leave here today trying to encourage people to avail of it.
The second point is that one third of all brea…
I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue and for his persistent advocacy in relation to mental health.
The Mental Health Act 2001 sets out the current legal framework for the involuntary admission and treatment of people in inpatient mental health services, known as approved centres, where a person has a mental disorder within the meaning of the Act.
Even though I passed the Mental Health Act earl…
The Deputy mentioned several cases that I cannot speak to individually. However, I must be crystal clear that there are absolutely no circumstances where, if a consultant psychiatrist determines that a person must be involuntarily detained against their consent for their own safety or the safety of others, there is a resource issue. That is categorically not true. If we do not have enough capacity-----
The Deputy cannot throw out statements like that, saying it is a resource issue in relation to involuntary detention.
I am sorry, but Deputy Ó Murchú must listen to the answer because we cannot just change a whole piece of legislation that has been there since 2001 for individual cases. We have to be very clear that there are huge criteria relating to how people are involuntarily detained, especially when they do not have capacity. We did not mention that today. We also did not mention the fact that, in a lot of these cases, there i…
Perinatal mental healthcare has been transformed over the past ten years. We now have six consultant-led multidisciplinary teams in our major maternity hospitals and specialist perinatal midwives providing targeted supports in a further 13 hospitals. This means that perinatal mental health services are now available in all 19 maternity hospitals. The demand has been huge. Nearly one in five of all pregnant mothers ha…
Not opposed.
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be:
- Motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions (1) (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions (2) (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Motion re Fifteenth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection (without debate and any division claimed to be taken imme…
I have heard from all the whips about the changes they would like on the Order of Business this week. We have important business on the schedule that we need to get through. As everybody watching knows, there is Government time and Opposition time. The Opposition can use its time for anything it wishes to discuss. The Order of Business stands.
No.
No.