I will update him at the Business Committee meeting on Thursday.
On legislation, next week we will have Second Stage of the Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. We will also have Order for Report, Report and Final Stages of the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Bill 2024. I remind all Deputies that any Opposition Depu…
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
It is the Ceann Comhairle who puts the question to me, not the Deputy.
The Minister for housing was in the House twice last week answering questions about housing. If anybody looks at the agenda, they can see that he has been in the House almost every week since the Dáil formed 16 weeks ago.
The programme for Government is open and transparent.
It is not opposed. I congratulate Deputy Farrelly on bringing his first piece of legislation to the House.
No.
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be:
- Motion re Withdrawal of Bills (to be taken without debate)
- Motion re Appointment of Cathaoirleach of Working Group of Committee Cathaoirligh (to be taken without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Statements on Power of Higher Education, Research and Skills as an Economic Enabler in a Changing World (not to exceed 2 hrs 25 mins)
Tuesday's private m…
I thank all the Deputies for their suggestion. I am happy to engage with the Opposition and we can discuss the motion in advance of the business meeting on Thursday morning and look at speaking times for next week.
I move:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 130(9), Deputy Seán Fleming be appointed as the Cathaoirleach of the Working Group of Committee Cathaoirligh.
I thank the Deputy for the question. I was expecting Deputy Clarke.
Eating disorders are complex and individual and can be one of the most serious mental health issues. The national clinical programme on eating disorders is progressing well with 14 of the 16 teams envisaged by the model of care now funded and approximately 100 dedicated eating disorder clinicians working in teams across the country. Approximately 90…
To be clear, since this model of care came in, no child under 18 has had to go abroad for treatment. Since 2019, 14 people have gone abroad for treatment under the auspices of the HSE. Other people may have gone under the cover of private healthcare, but we know that 14 people went abroad for very specialised treatment.
Turning back to the Deputy's initial question, there were two phases to the clinical model of car…
I thank the Deputy for his question. We saw eating disorders grow exponentially during Covid, for example. This was especially the case among younger girls aged 14, 15 and 16. Last year, for example, the eating disorder clinical team worked with approximately 520 young people. Many of those were transferred back to a GP for further support. It is possible to recover from an eating disorder but it is a very difficult …
I thank the Deputy for this important question. Eating disorders are complex and individual. They are the mental health illness with the highest mortality rate. The first model of care was devised around 2018. At the time, it was expected that approximately 50 people would present with an eating disorder. In 2024, 562 people were treated through HSE services.
The national clinical programme on eating disorders has p…
I thank the Deputy. He is right that eating orders are complex and individual. They are the mental health illness with the highest mortality rate. Every case is different. I acknowledge the advocacy groups, including Bodywhys and Cared Ireland. They provide enormous support to people with eating disorders and I acknowledge that.
There are currently only three adult eating disorder beds in St. Vincent's University Ho…
I hope, with the support of the Minister and Cabinet, to look for funding in the Estimates process when I have the report at the end of June. These premises exist. We will also consider any new approved centres. Five will be rebuilt and we will potentially look at putting some beds in there. We will have to grow this incrementally. Everything we do is incremental because we need dedicated staff. They are dedicated an…
I move:
Wednesday’s business shall be:
- Motion re First Report of the Committee of Selection and appointment of Cathaoirligh (any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Motion re Appointment of Ordinary Members to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Motion re Dissolution of Select Committee on Subsidiarity (European Union Legislative Scrutiny)
- Statemen…
I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I note the requests from the Opposition Whips. They can be discussed at the Business Committee tomorrow morning. I informed Deputy Collins last Thursday that the debate on agriculture will take place next week. That has not changed. In regard to the amendment, the Government will not accept it.
I move:
That Dáil Éireann:
(a) approves the First Report of the Standing Committee of Selection in accordance with Standing Order 33, copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 6th May, 2025, and appoints members to Committees accordingly; and
(b) pursuant to Standing Order 113(2), appoints the following members as Chairs of Committees:
Deputy Aindrias Moynihan – Chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Fo…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann, in accordance with section 8(3)(a) of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Acts 2003 to 2024, appoints the ordinary members of the Commission as follows:
Deputies Catherine Ardagh, Frank Feighan, Pearse Doherty and Jennifer Whitmore.
I move:
That the Order of the Dáil of 23rd January, 2025, in relation to the Select Committee on Subsidiarity (European Union Legislative Scrutiny) is hereby rescinded and the Committee is accordingly dissolved for the remainder of the 34th Dáil.
As Chief Whip, I am taking this question on behalf of the Taoiseach. I thank the Deputy for the question. The standard classification of industrial activity used by the CSO in Ireland is NACE. This is the statistical classification used, since 1970, for a wide variety of European statistics in the economic, social, environmental, and agricultural domains. Since the last version, NACE Revision 2, was published in 2006…
The Department of Rural and Community Development has the policy responsibility for the Control of Dogs Act and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010. The Dog Breeding Establishments Act provides a regulatory framework for the licensing, monitoring and inspection of dog breeding establishments by local authorities and, where a serious and an immediate threat exists to public health or animal health and welfare, fo…
I will bring the Deputy’s concerns back to the Minister. As she said, there were calls for other dogs to be banned. The dog control stakeholder group is currently reviewing that. As the group has said itself, it is quite complex. The most important thing is that, when the legislation is in place, it is implementable and enforceable.
I thank the Deputy and I acknowledge his constant advocacy with regard to new cancer drugs and drugs in general. I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill.
As the Deputy knows, the HSE has statutory responsibility for medicine pricing and reimbursement decisions under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013. Reimbursement is for licensed indications that have been…
I thank the Deputy. The level of investment in recent years is unprecedented in supporting patients through the availability of the latest and wide-ranging medicines. Since 2020, €128 million has been made available to fund access to 217 new medicines, including 74 for treating cancer and 57 for treating rare diseases. For 2025, an additional €30 million will be made available to enable access to new medicines. This …