I have a certain amount of sympathy for the Minister of State. Clearly, the senior Minister could not be bothered to be here to participate in this debate, despite having had three weeks' notice. Not only did he send the Minister of State in but he sent him in to deliver a speech that completely misses the point, as does the Government's amendment. The amendment states that the objectives of the Bill have been compre…
TDs / Matt Carthy
Matt Carthy
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,949
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
191,198
words spoken in the chamber
Across 883 contributions
389
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
252
topics asked about
Across 20 departments
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 1,949 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 883 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 17 | 27 |
| February 2025 | 205 | 39 |
| March 2025 | 172 | 56 |
| April 2025 | 111 | 43 |
| May 2025 | 119 | 40 |
| June 2025 | 67 | 39 |
| July 2025 | 104 | 45 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 122 | 11 |
| October 2025 | 99 | 70 |
| November 2025 | 109 | 25 |
| December 2025 | 50 | 58 |
| January 2026 | 200 | 49 |
| February 2026 | 119 | 90 |
| March 2026 | 101 | 48 |
| April 2026 | 66 | 45 |
| May 2026 | 41 | 46 |
| June 2026 | 48 | 46 |
| July 2026 | 86 | 52 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| September 2026 | 84 | 33 |
| October 2026 | 29 | 19 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 471 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Worked out by computer from the subject headings of each TD's questions, giving more weight to headings few TDs use. It shows shared subjects, not shared views.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Cavan-Monaghan 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
Can I speak to the section?
We have a long track ahead of us. I want to put on the record that this is not how we should be dealing with this legislation. The Minister has described it as the most substantial piece of immigration legislation this House has dealt with in many years. The truth is that it is being rushed. It is being rushed not because it is emergency legislation. If it is an emergency, it is no more an emergency today than it was…
We have no way of scrutinising a number of the amendments, particularly the amendment I tabled on section 1, which we are discussing now. I would have thought that amendment No. 1 was eminently sensible. I would have hoped that the Minister was willing to put forward a stipulation that would have stated the Bill would not come into operation until he can assure the House that the Department has the capacity to bring …
We are dealing with section 1 and it is important. It should not be in some respects, because section 1 includes in many respects standard clauses that state that the Act shall come into operation on the day or days as the Minister may appoint by order, and deals with the power to introduce sanctions. It is important in respect of this legislation because I have serious concerns about us passing a piece of legislatio…
I am not suggesting the Minister does but the difficult is that the Bills Office was under so much time pressure that by the time it informed me of that, there was not any time for me to ask any questions or seek any clarifications, as should have been the case.
I mentioned on Second Stage that I fully believe this Bill will not be enacted a full year before provisions of it are challenged legally on the basis that …
Is the Minister not answering the questions I put in respect of the resources he will put in place to implement the legislation? It is a fundamental question. I do not know how we can even proceed without those questions being answered.
Just to say-----
On section 1, this is fundamental to the discussion that we had. I do not think there is any suggestion that Members should be rushed to dealing with a section as important as dealing with individual amendments. The legislation will give the Minister the power to appoint by order the day on which this will come into place in terms of schedules. Can the Minister give this House any indication as to when he expects to …
They are to section 2. We are dealing with section 1.
No.
I move amendment No. 2:
In page 16, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following:
“Sovereignty of the State in Matters of International Protection
2. (1) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting the sovereign authority of the State, exercised through the Oireachtas, to determine policy in respect of immigration and international protection.
(2) No provision of this Act shall be interpreted as delega…
Earlier, the Minister spoke about the democratic process and how the EU migration and asylum pact was democratically voted through by the Houses of the Oireachtas and, therefore, there should be no question of it or the implications for Irish sovereignty. To be clear, when I say, “Irish sovereignty”, I mean the ability of the Irish Government to enact legislation relating to immigration, particularly international pr…
I do not know if people do not hear, do not understand or refuse to recognise what has been said. I would argue that Sinn Féin is probably the only party represented in this House that has accepted the will of the people in every referendum. The parties of Government did not accept the will of the people in respect of the first Nice and Lisbon treaty referendums and held a second vote in each case. Sinn Féin campaign…
The Minister of State says there is ongoing co-operation that is official, political, and operational. For all of that co-operation and official, political, and operational collaboration, what is the current percentage of those in our international protection system who came through the common travel area? What measures have been taken? In terms of the official, political, and operational collaboration, how much has …
I move amendment No. 3:
In page 16, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following:
“Annual report on sovereignty and external obligations
2. (1) The Minister shall, not later than 31 March each year, lay before the Oireachtas a report detailing:
(a) the extent to which the State’s international protection system remains under domestic control;
(b) obligations arising from EU or international agreements during…
I move amendment No. 4:
In page 16, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following:
“Assessment of Common Travel Area impacts
2. (1) The Government shall prepare and publish an assessment of the potential and actual impacts on the Common Travel Area arising from the operation of this Act.
(2) An assessment under subsection (1) shall include—
(a) analysis of any implications for the movement of persons between …
On point of clarification, is the correct placement of the wording of the amendment between lines 34 and 35 on page 16?
It seems to be out of kilter.
It will be the first definition in terms of interpretation.
I understand and I thank the Minister. This goes back to a point I made earlier. I have no objection to the amendment in itself but I ask the Minister for a little bit more clarification on the rationale as to why it is required and why it was not in the original Bill. What are the aspects of the Bill in which the term "absconding" is used and for which this definition is needed? Will the Minister provide a little bi…
Everyone will accept that if we are going to have "absconding" in legislation, then we need to have a definition for it. On the point the Minister has raised, it would not matter if any political party wanted to have checks along the Border. As Theresa May and Boris Johnson found out, it is just not physically possible to do so with 300 Border crossings. Certainly, it would not be practical. That is why we have said …
We have consistently asked that the Minister would prioritise the issue of a bilateral arrangement. Without going through all the critiques of how he has approached the Bill and the huge amount of resources that are being put into bringing us into a EU framework when, by the Minister's admission and according to the statements of a significant number of Ministers, a large proportion of people who seek international p…
It is in respect of the definition of "absconding". Ministers have stated repeatedly the figure is in excess of 80%. Figures of 80%, 85%, 90% and 90%-plus have been cited by different Ministers who have said the people seeking international protection are coming via the common travel area. I asked the previous Minister. Maybe this Minister can answer. What is the proportion? I suspect he does not know and therefore I…
-----the inaction of the EU migration and asylum pact. That point has been repeatedly missed by Government.