The building has essentially lain idle for 11 years. I mentioned it was 2019 when we had the fanfare and the Minister’s party taking credit, make no mistake about it, for jobs brought by Fine Gael to Carrickmacross. The jobs never materialised. The question that needs to be answered is whether the Minister will take a hands-on approach.
We met Enterprise Ireland. In fairness to the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, s…
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
If a buyer is found and a new enterprise is established, the Minister will be there to cut the ribbon and get all the glory. That is the benefit of being in government. However, the job of being in government is that one does not get to hide behind a State agency when we are trying to secure reinvestment in an area that has been deprived because of the closure of a substantive factory. People refer to the prima facie…
That means 40% of them are in Dublin.
Cuirim fáilte. I am really worried about the number of families I am meeting who are struggling with their energy bills. We know 315,000 households are currently in arrears but there are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of others who are literally struggling just to pay their bills every month. The Taoiseach has to acknowledge that what his Government has done is not enough to help them. There is a growing divide …
What about electricity costs?
I sometimes wonder if this Government has the ability not to make a mess of everything. This Bill should be the most uncontroversial legislation to come before this House because there is political unanimity that children should not have access to vaping products, that there should be strong penalties for those who allow children access to such products, and that we should completely ban products that are clearly des…
We are discussing another Protocol 21 opt-in but this time it relates to the Council decision that would allow member states to resume the exchange of vehicle registration data with Britain for the prevention and investigation of criminal offences. It is important to note that the State already participates in automated searching and matching of vehicle registration data with EU member states under the Prüm decisions…
As an elected representative, I can think of nothing more frustrating than every single year dealing with parents and families desperately trying to get what most of us take for granted, an adequate school place for their children. Every single year Ministers come to his House to tell us they are making changes and it will be better next year, but every single year, if anything, the situation gets worse. Every spring…
120. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Health the number of instances in 2023 to 2025, inclusive, when ambulances in Cavan and Monaghan did not arrive within the targeted timeframe; and the longest period that a person waited. [28365/26]
I will make a couple of broad remarks that I think have been emphasised by the fact that at this Stage, the last Stage in the Oireachtas, the Minister has to bring forward further, albeit technical, changes to this legislation. The Minister's entire approach to this legislation has verged on the reckless. It is absolutely reckless in terms of his refusal to allow proper scrutiny of a piece of legislation that he has …
This is verging on a charade. There has been no democratic scrutiny of this Bill. It is the Minister’s Bill and his alone. He has been locked into a position by the previous Government to sign us up to a pact with no consideration whatsoever for its implications. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael signed us up to the EU migration and asylum pact not because they thought it would lead to a more efficient system or resolve the …
In respect of the amendments regarding the Data Protection Act, of course, it is imperative that the full information in terms of decision-making in respect of individuals applying for international protection is known to the Department and that there is the ability to fully appraise the history insofar as it matters for an application of the applicant. As the Minister knows, that is why I have supported signing up t…
I am. This is in respect of data. There are a number of amendments there. If the Ceann Comhairle wants to go through them all, she can figure it out while I ramble on. I was coming to an end anyway.
Of course, none of us, nor the public, need to know personal information, but the Department needs to have it comprehensively. In terms of general information and data, the Government needs to be much better at sharing i…
The Minister is missing the point I was making about the collation of data. On one hand, he is saying that when applicants make an application and give their background and history, we take them at face value. The initial assumption is that they are telling the truth. On the other hand, he is saying that we cannot know unless there is control on the Border.
The point I am making is that if we are to have a properly …
I also made a freedom of information, FOI, application after I asked those 15 or 20 different parliamentary questions. I got a response yesterday to my request for the number of IP applicants who had transited through another mechanism. The reply to the freedom of information request stated the Department does not have that information and that it would be too burdensome to collate it. Is that the truth? Does the Min…
It absolutely is. If we are talking about-----
This is not the first time I have asked for the information.
I know, but-----
-----we are not going to get to all the amendments because the Minister has guillotined this Stage, as he has all other Stages. I am asking this at this point. I would like clarification.
Does the Minister agree that information would be helpful for guiding public policy and, if so, will he ensure it is collated and published?
How do you know?
On that point, the Minister said we know it is 90%. We do not know that. I accept that it is probably the case that a large proportion, if not a majority and perhaps even a substantial majority, of people who claim international protection come via the common travel area. It is one of the reasons we tabled amendments in respect of the common travel area, which the Minister rejected. I have been rightly critical - and…
But I want the exact specifics and the Minister should as well.
I know the Minister does not listen to me, but------
-----I would love for him to listen to himself sometimes, because he has just set out a paradox in terms of his position. He said his Department publishes the nationalities of people seeking international protection on a weekly basis and, on the other hand, he said it would be too burdensome for his Department to collate and publish their origin in terms of visa route. The information would be in exactly the same pla…
I wish to speak to amendment No. 1 to Seanad amendment No. 91 in my name. It is important to state very clearly what the Minister is opposing here. This amendment calls on the Minister "to record, and publish in anonymised and aggregate form, annual statistical information on the routes of entry of applicants to whom this section applies, including -
(a) the number of applicants presenting at a port or airport,
(b)…