TDs / Mary Butler

Official portrait of Mary Butler

Mary Butler

Fianna Fáil Waterford TD in this Dáil since 29 November 2024
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

Official Oireachtas profile

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
MonthQuestionsContributions
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

  1. constituency Waterford 29 November 2024 to now
  2. party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
  3. 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 move amendment No. 143: In page 58, after line 40, to insert the following: “Application to High Court for treatment order in certain circumstances* 50.(1) Where treatment cannot be administered to an involuntarily admitted person because the person— (a) has capacity to make decisions about his or her treatment but refuses to consent to the treatment concerned, or (b) has a relevant decision-making representat…
I move amendment No. 144: In page 58, after line 40, to insert the following: “Electro-convulsive therapy 51. (1) Subject to subsection (2), electro-convulsive therapy shall not be administered to a person unless he or she gives consent in writing to the administration of the therapy. (2) Where the person has been found to lack capacity to give consent to a proposed treatment under Section 45, then the provisions…
I move amendment No. 147: In page 63, line 29, after “after” to insert “the initiation of”. I do not intend to support amendment No. 148. I believe it is unnecessary because section 56 already states that a restrictive practice cannot be applied except in accordance with that section and regulations made under section 57. Just for that reason; it is already there. I cannot accept amendment No. 149 following discus…
We looked carefully at amendment No. 149. I had to take advice from the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. Initially I thought that we would be able to accept it but "in the care of" is used 11 times in the Bill already. Seclusion and restraint, as the Deputy said, are some of the most serious infringements on bodily rights. Under careful consideration, the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and the Attorney Gener…
I move amendment No. 152: In page 65, line 18, to delete “registered acute mental health centre or designated centre” and substitute “registered proprietor of a registered acute mental health centre or designated centre”.
I move amendment No. 154: In page 65, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: “(5) A registered proprietor of a registered acute mental health centre or designated centre shall ensure that the Commission is notified, in the form and manner specified by the Commission and within the period specified by the Commission, of each application of a restrictive practice in respect of a person in that registered a…
I move amendment No. 156: In page 66, to delete lines 4 to 6 and substitute the following: “(c) the interaction of the application of a restrictive practice and the guiding principles;”.
I inform the Deputies present that section 59 provides for the application of the relevant provisions of the Child Care Act 1991 to proceedings involving the courts in this Bill. I will move further amendments in this regard on Report Stage. I just wanted to flag this point.
We did speak about this aspect last week. I explained to Deputy Clarke, and she took on board, that that amendment was ruled out of order not by me but by the Bills Office. It is important to state that good progress has been made over many years. Last year, for example, five young people aged 17 plus were admitted, with the consent of their parents, to adult psychiatric wards for a short time. We are in June now, an…
I move amendment No. 168: In page 77, after line 42, to insert the following: “(8) The Executive shall notify the Commission, in the form and manner specified by the Commission, of the decision to involuntarily admit or the decision not to involuntarily admit a child under this section.”.
I move amendment No. 171: In page 78, line 12, to delete “a Superintendent or Chief Superintendent” and substitute “a member of An Garda Síochána not below the rank of Inspector”.
I move amendment No. 172: In page 78, to delete lines 20 to 25 and substitute the following: “(4) Where a member of An Garda Síochána takes a child into custody under subsection (1) and the parents of the child, or either of them, or guardian, or, in the case of a child the subject of a care order, the Child and Family Agency are contacted, the child shall be released into the care of that person or persons, unless…
I move amendment No. 176: In page 78, lines 39 and 40, to delete “it is unsafe or not in the best interests of the child to release the child into the care of that person or persons” and substitute the following: “there is an immediate and serious risk to the health or welfare of the child by releasing the child into the care of that person or persons”.
I move amendment No. 178: In page 79, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: “(7) Where the member or members of An Garda Síochána make a request to the Executive under subsection (6), the Executive shall comply with the request as soon as practicable.”.