I find the Deputy's negative narrative so disappointing. He called it abysmal. There are 77.6 clinicians working with the most vulnerable children in the country. Is that abysmal? The recommendation is that we would have 16 teams. Since 2023, we have put ten teams in place. They are not fully staffed according to the full definition, but we all know that with a child with a mental health intellectual disability, who …
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
I am sure the ten teams working today with the most vulnerable children in the country and their parents will welcome the Deputy's negative narrative in relation to those 77.6 posts that are in place. There are more posts funded. Recruitment is under way in relation to those, as I secured the funding for 11 additional staff for budget 2026. We will do more next year. How the Deputy can say that funding for CAMHS is n…
Excuse me, Deputy. You will get your opportunity to respond. A total of €190 million has been provided from the mental health budget this year for CAMHS across all definitions. Is the Deputy trying to tell me that he does not want to see a roll-out of ADHD teams, perinatal mental health services or eating disorders services in order to fund mental health services for people with intellectual disabilities? We have six…
Every day in Ireland, 30 new cases of dementia are diagnosed. Yesterday, there were 30 new cases of dementia and tomorrow there will be a further 30 new cases of dementia. That initial diagnosis is absolutely devastating for every family. Having one person with that diagnosis impacts the whole family. That shows the importance of having dementia advisers in place. Between 2016 and 2020, I co-chaired the all-party com…
I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this very important matter and for his continued engagement on urgency and emergency care capacity in Galway and the wider west and north west. I have answered many questions from Deputy Connolly on healthcare and I appreciate the focus he places on it. I will take this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill.
Ensuring that people receive the ri…
I reiterate that the HSE West and North West regional executive officer, Mr. Canavan, is currently working on the development of an investment package, including targeted supports for both the Galway and Roscommon areas. This includes enhancements to acute, community and diagnostic capacity across the region. While this work is at an early stage, consideration is being given to the feasibility of the development of a…
She is.
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be:
- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of EirGrid, Electricity and Turf (Amendment) Act 2022 Section 10 Order 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Motion re Referral to Select Committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the (Taxes on Income and on Capital) (the Principality of Liechtenstein) Order 2026 and the Double Taxation Rel…
There have been five different requests from the Opposition Whips. If we were to take them, we would not be able to bring forward the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Bill 2026, the Postal and Telecommunications Services (Amendment) Bill 2026 to support postmasters, the Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026, the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2026 o…
He just left.
I add my thanks to those of the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, and recognise all Members who have spoken in this debate. No one who sits in this House can be indifferent to the question of our constitutional future or the aspiration in Bunreacht na hÉireann to unite all the people who share this island, recognising the diversity of identities and traditions. The Government is committed to the unity of the Irish p…
I am vice-president of the party, a party born out of a national movement to achieve an independent Republic and unite Ireland. This question is complex and politically sensitive. It requires patience, partnership and enduring consent.
Article 3 of the Constitution, as amended by the Irish people after the Good Friday Agreement, states, “It is the firm will of the Irish nation, in harmony and friendship, to unite al…
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be:
- Supplementary Estimates for Public Services [Votes 30 and 31] (back from Committee) (without debate, to moved together and decided by one question and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Motion re Thirteenth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Motion re Restoration of Seller’s Legal Pac…
I have noted all the comments made. We have a really busy schedule to get through this week. We have a lot of legislation, so the Order of Business stands.
I thank the Deputy for his advocacy in relation to ADHD, for the way he speaks openly about it and also for forming a cross-party committee on ADHD. As he knows, the model of care was launched in 2021 for adults with ADHD. We look after children with ADHD through the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. There was a recommendation to have 14 funded adult teams. All 14 teams have been funded. Eleven are …
I move:
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be:
- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 51(3)) and (Section 60(6)) (Commission of Investigation into the Handling of Historical Child Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools) Regulations 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (t…
In relation to Report Stage amendments, I will have a word with the Minister after this session and we will look at that to see about the timelines. In relation to everything else that was raised, we can discuss it at the Business Committee on Thursday. We had a very solid Business Committee meeting last week. We have a lot of legislation to get through this week so the Order of Business stands.
No.
Hear, hear.
It is not opposed.
No. I congratulate the Deputy because I know he has put a significant amount of work into getting the Bill ready for First Stage.
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be:
- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Data Protection Act 2018 (Sections 51(3) and 60(6)) (Scoping Exercise in response to requests from Dignity4Patients) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions (1) (without debate and any division claimed to be taken i…
I thank all the various Whips for their commentaries. We can discuss all these matters again on Thursday. To clarify, statements will be held on Irish unification, as the Tánaiste has said previously, very shortly. I can confirm it this on Thursday but the Order of Business stands. We have a huge amount of legislation to get through, as everybody can see.
No.
No.