Did that child have an intellectual disability as well?
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
The Deputy is saying "There is no CAMHS service", but that is factually incorrect. There were 223,000 appointments last year for children-----
No, no. To be fair, there were 223,000 appointments for young people with CAMHS last year.
Some people who are receiving the support of CAMHS can be in CAMHS for up to four years, for example, and can be seen on a two-weekly basis. I cannot comment on that individual case but we are investing €160 million this year in CAMHS. There are over 80 consultant psychiatrists working across CAMHS. I am not saying there are n…
The Deputy should realise that the clinical lead position is funded and the HSE is currently trying to recruit into it. It is not the case that it is not being funded. The Deputy should not give the impression that we are just leaving one particular area of the country without any support because we are not.
I acknowledge the Deputy's role, and that of Deputy Lowry and other colleagues, in raising the issues regarding Jigsaw. We established Jigsaw in Thurles and a commitment was given to extend a kind of hub-and-spoke model. The mental health budget last year supported Jigsaw to the tune of €14.5 million. It has 70% physical coverage in the country but has 100% online coverage. It has also made some changes to its model …
I met the head of estates for Dublin south east which covers our particular area during the week on all things related to estates in that area. We discussed three primary care centres and Gorey was one, as well as another in Lismore in my area. It is going out to tender in the first quarter of this year. The Deputy is right about the model that is being used to do this. With the previous tender that was in place, the…
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be Statements on Policing and Community Safety (to adjourn after 2 hours).
Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Guaranteeing Right to Education in Irish to All, selected by Sinn Féin.
Wednesday's business shall be:
- Statements on Policing and Community Safety (resumed) (not to exceed 1 hour and 32 minutes)
- Statements on the Irish Language to mark Seachtai…
As Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, I will respond. I met with members of SOSAD Ireland before the election, when they expressed their concerns about keeping the doors open. I acknowledged that the organisation does a huge amount of very good counselling work in the different regions Deputies represent. There has been constant engagement with SOSAD Ireland following the election and since I ha…
I accept the organisation has challenges.
It was already done.
Yes.
The exact information requested by the Deputy is not available. The labour force survey, LFS, carried out by the CSO, is the official source of estimates of employment in the State. The most recent figures available are for the fourth quarter of 2024. The figures for this response use the second quarter as the reference period for the year. Due to the methodology and sample size of the survey, it is not possible to p…
Go raibh maith agat.
The local enterprise office, LEO, supports the creation of many jobs in County Meath. The 2024 annual employment survey of LEO clients once again shows positive job creation across most LEOs. In 2024, the local enterprise office in County Meath provided grant assistance to 259 small businesses, thereby helping them to support 1,455 jobs and to create 255 new jobs. The plan the Deputy mentioned has five clear strategi…
The Central Statistics Office, CSO, has responsibility for collating information on the number of enterprises that close each year as part of its work in developing and maintaining the CSO's central business register, CBR. The CBR is developed using data provided by the Companies Registration Office, CRO, and the Revenue Commissioners. The most recent data available on enterprise closures from the central business re…
The reason information is not available is that European business statistics regulation requires data to be transmitted with a two-year time lag. For example, 2022 data were transmitted in June 2024. The CSO is always trying to enhance the timelines of its publications. It is examining new products relating to signs of life for businesses, which it is hoped will provide a timelier picture of enterprise activity.
The…
The Government's legislation programme, which was published on 18 February 2025, sets out the Government's legislative priorities for the current parliamentary session. We all understand that it is a shorter session than usual, but we will have a new programme again just after Easter.
This is the first legislative programme of the new Government, which includes 50 Bills for priority publication and drafting during t…
I thank the Deputies very much. The Government, and me as Chief Whip, believe the best way to address changes to Standing Orders is within the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform. This process should be respected. A meeting of the committee will take place this evening. It is imperative that the Dáil can function and that Oireachtas committees can be established as soon as possible. I am sure we will have a …
One would assume pre-legislative scrutiny will take place in committee, when we get the committees up and running.
I am very anxious to progress the Mental Health (Amendment) Bill. A lot of work has been done on it in the past six months.
With the help of the Ceann Comhairle and the House, I hope we can take Committee Stage on the floor of the Dáil in a couple of weeks, given that we currently do not have the option to do it in committee.
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be Statements on Disability (not to exceed 2 hrs 25 mins).
Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Driving Test Waiting Times, selected by Sinn Féin.
Wednesday's business shall be:
- Statements on the Third Anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine (not to exceed 2 hrs 25 mins)
- Statements on the Future of Healthcare for Longer, Healthier Lives (n…
The Government remains firmly committed to enhancing specialist mental health services, including those relating to eating disorders. It is factually incorrect to say that nothing has happened. When I came into this role in 2020, we had three eating disorder teams - one in place. By the end of this year, 14 of the 16 eating disorder teams will be in place across the country-----
That is by the end of the year. Would the Deputy like me to answer or does she want to heckle me?
We have 14 teams funded. It takes a year and a half to set up a team. They are multidisciplinary teams. We have 100 clinicians and ten consultant psychiatrists working on eating disorder teams across the country. The Deputy is right in that we have not made progress in relation to the bed capacity, but 90% of those with an eating disorder are treated in the community. That is what we priorities in the first instance.…
I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and from the outset I congratulate him on his recent election to Leas-Cheann Comhairle. It is great to see him in the Chair.
I thank the Deputy for her forbearance. Last Thursday I was not in a position to take the question. I thank her for agreeing to have the debate tonight.
I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter in the House this evening. While I cannot discuss the…