No. I congratulate Deputy Cummins on her first Bill.
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 move:
That Dáil Éireann approve the following Regulations in draft:
Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 60(6)) (Scoping Exercise in Response to Requests from Dignity4Patients) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, and
Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 51(3)) (Scoping Exercise in Response to Requests from Dignity4Patients) (Amendment) Regulations 2026,
copies of which were laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 11th Ju…
I move:
That, notwithstanding anything in the Order of the Dáil of 5th February, 2025, or in the Order of the Dáil of 15th April, 2026, setting out the rota in which Questions to members of the Government are to be asked, Questions for oral answer following those next set down to the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration shall be set down to Ministers in the following temporary sequence, without any chang…
I move:
That, notwithstanding anything in the Order of the Dáil of 5th February, 2025, or in the Orders of the Dáil of 15th April, and 19th May, 2026, and today's, setting out the rota in which Questions to members of the Government are to be asked, Questions for oral answer following those next set down to the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality shall be set down to Ministers in the following temporary s…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann, with effect from 17th June, 2026, appoints—
(a) Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil to be Cathaoirleach of the Committee on Artificial Intelligence, and
(b) Deputy Shane Moynihan to be Cathaoirleach of the Committee on the Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking Community.
No.
It is proposed, notwithstanding yesterday's Order of Business, that the motion regarding the Report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform entitled "Rotas and arrangements for Leaders' Questions, Questions nominated for priority and Private Members' Time", shall be taken on the conclusion of proceedings on the Air Pollution (Amendment) Bill 2025, from the Seanad, without debate, and any division demanded…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann adopts the rotas and arrangements recommended in the Report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform entitled "Rotas and arrangements for Leaders' Questions, Questions nominated for priority and Private Members' Time", a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 10th June, 2026.
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be:
- Motion to Instruct the Committee on the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Finance 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 Motion re “Stop the Game” Campaign and FAI partici…
I will start at the beginning in relation to the motion that Sinn Féin and the Independent Technical Group have tabled. I will not accept that motion.
In relation to the International Protection Act, which will be commenced on Friday, we should all note, and the Taoiseach spoke extensively to this, that the only change on Friday is that the balance between the State and the asylum applicant will shift in favour of t…
Stop playing games.
I move:
That it be an instruction to the Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, on the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill 2026, that pursuant to Standing Order 194, the Committee has power to make amendments to the Bill which are outside the scope of the existing provisions of the Bill to provide that:
Part VA of the Child Care Act 1991 is amended for the purposes of providing additional cla…
I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising this really important issue of eye care services in line with emerging trends. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill.
There are measures either in place or being progressed to address the emerging trends in eye care services, such as those due to an ageing demographic or an increase in the prevalence of myopia. The Health Service Executive …
It is great to have the opportunity to discuss the reform of eye care services in line with emerging trends across the country. Deputy Michael Murphy, who is sitting in front of Deputy Moynihan, has discussed with me several times the issue of getting the right clinicians into the job. We have been really challenged, for example, in south Tipperary in getting a consultant optometrist in there to fill that post. That …
I thank Deputy Murphy for raising this very important issue. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for older people and housing, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, who sends his apologies for not being able to be here tonight.
The Deputy is quite right. I was a Minister of State in the previous Dáil for four and a half years, and one of the areas where we made a lot of progress …
I thank the Deputy. Many of the memory clinics evolved organically over many years. I am aware that there is a memory technology resource room in Clonmel, which supports people with technology when, for example, they are living well at home with dementia, but it is important that we get the memory clinic back up and running. These clinics are a vital cog in the wheel. There is an excellent dementia adviser in south T…
That is shocking.
That is a new low. It is a new low.
It is proposed, notwithstanding yesterday's Order of Business, that the motion regarding the report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform entitled arrangements for Leaders' Questions, Questions Nominated for Priority and Private Members' time in respect of Dáil sittings from 9 to 11 June 2026 shall be taken on the conclusion of the motion regarding leave to introduce Supplementary Estimates for Public S…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann adopts the Report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform entitled "Rotas and arrangements for Leaders' Questions, Questions nominated for priority and Private Members' Time in respect of Dáil sittings from 9 to 11 June 2026", copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 27th May, 2026.
I move:
Tuesday's business shall be:
- Motion re Appointment of Ordinary Members of An Coimisiún Toghcháin (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
- Motion re Twelfth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection (without debate)
- Dublin Transport Authority (Amendment) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (if not previously concluded, to adjourn at the end of the first speaking round)
Tuesday's pr…
The occupied territories Bill passed Cabinet this morning. It will be published this week. It will be included in the next Order of Business, which will be finalised on Thursday. There will be a full debate on the Bill with the Minister present.
In relation to the Deputy's issue, we can discuss that on Thursday. The Order of Business stands.
I move:
That Dáil Éireann, pursuant to Standing Order 33, and with effect from 27th May, 2026, approves the Twelfth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection, copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 22nd May, 2026.
I thank Deputy Ó Súilleabháin for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. The Minister is aware of the case the Deputy referred to and acknowledges the very difficult circumstances outlined by him and how difficult the situation described is for this young teacher and her family.
In relation to the EU treatment abroad scheme, the HSE operates the…