I have been looking for statements in relation to the fishing industry for quite some time. I know the Government will say we have had them but the bottom line is that a task force was set up nearly two months ago. We have not heard whether it has met? What are the terms of reference? What is it doing? I was at a funeral the other day and I met a fisherman. He said that one day fishing and the quota is filled. They a…
TDs / Michael Collins
Michael Collins
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
326
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
214,846
words spoken in the chamber
Across 610 contributions
370
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
93
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 326 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 610 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 7 | 5 |
| February 2025 | 16 | 31 |
| March 2025 | 9 | 37 |
| April 2025 | 3 | 28 |
| May 2025 | 27 | 36 |
| June 2025 | 6 | 29 |
| July 2025 | 12 | 25 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 18 | 23 |
| October 2025 | 10 | 28 |
| November 2025 | 5 | 44 |
| December 2025 | 18 | 33 |
| January 2026 | 35 | 54 |
| February 2026 | 25 | 37 |
| March 2026 | 2 | 33 |
| April 2026 | 76 | 54 |
| May 2026 | 29 | 29 |
| June 2026 | 12 | 31 |
| July 2026 | 3 | 15 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| September 2026 | 3 | 14 |
| October 2026 | 10 | 21 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 264 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 Cork South-West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Independent Ireland 29 November 2024 to now
Independent Ireland tabled a motion on Uisce Éireann two weeks ago. All we asked for was accountability and timelines. Nothing more and nothing unreasonable, yet the Government opposed it. It was shameful to oppose a motion that simply asked a semi-State body to answer to the people they are supposed to serve.
Uisce Éireann will receive €2.2 billion from the Exchequer in 2026 and a staggering €13.6 billion between 2…
As the Tánaiste said, answers and engagement from Uisce Éireann to Oireachtas Members is a non-goer. Any improvements there would be greatly welcomed because we are pulling the hair out of our heads to get responses for our communities. I do agree with the developer-led scheme he referred to because that is the only way we are going to deliver.
I do, however, believe that people deserve pay increases too. I am not s…
This country has been washed out by flooding the length and breadth of Ireland. It was Wexford last week, Bantry a couple of months ago and Midleton over a year ago. It is scandalous that it can take a couple of decades to get flood defences to the point of being ready. It must be explained because it seems that no one has control. There is one thing we can do, however, and that is the cleaning of our rivers. I have …
There is no doubt the roads in my constituency are in an atrocious condition. I would dearly welcome the Minister of State coming down to see some of them. I spend most of my time travelling, but during the weekend when I am in my constituency, I spend most of my time trying to go around potholes. It is not good enough. It is the height of danger. We have verges that are not cut and there are trees hanging over onto …
Like Deputy Smith, I believe we need a debate on flooding and the flood preventative works that should have been done in many towns and villages that are flooded, and certainly with regard to the rivers. I heard on the radio the other day with regard to Enniscorthy that the river has not been cleaned. We need to have a debate on this.
We are again being told that these are only technical amendments and that nothing is changing. However, in places like west Cork and in Killarney, County Kerry, next door to us, that reassurance rings hollow. These sections lock in a planning regime that was never designed with coastal rural communities in mind. They copper-fasten restrictions on short-term letting that hit family homes, small operators and tourism-d…
It is Waterford. Waterford depends on tourism so the Minister of State will know all about it. It is a lovely place. Many people depend on the little bit of income from Airbnb, operating bed and breakfast accommodation or letting out a second home or whatever for the short term. They have very serious concerns. They will now have to fill out a form and be registered. They have no problem with registering. They are no…
I will send it on to him so that he can have a look. If I am wrong, I will stand up and thank the Minister of State very much.
I am not saying it for the camera. I am saying it for the people of west Cork. How dare you insult the people of west Cork? You should not dare open your mouth like that. If you do not know what you are doing, you should not be there at all. How dare you say that? The people of west Cork are going to lose their income. They are crying in my offices. They are crying without a house because the Government cannot supply…
I welcome all the farmers in the Gallery. They have been out protesting for the past week. It is thanks to democracy in this country that they can do so in very difficult circumstances for quite a lot of those farmers. I welcome that they are here tonight. They are carrying out their basic human rights to put food on the table - good clean Irish food - as they have done for the past decades. That is being challenged …
15. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the urgent actions he is taking, at EU and Council level, to reverse or challenge the severe loss of approximately 57,000 tonnes of Irish fishing quota for 2026, representing an estimated €94 million blow to the Irish fishing sector; whether he plans to initiate or support legal action at the European Court of Justice to defend Ireland…
We know of the 70% losses that were announced in early December in the EU for Ireland's fishing quota. This 70% loss in our fishing quota means that 57,000 tonnes will be lost.
What has been happening in Europe to turn matters around since this dreadful announcement was made? Are we taking legal action in the European courts in the context of the Hague preferences, which are a guarantee and safeguard and which appea…
It appears that there was scientific advice available, but the nature of that advice was to destroy the Irish fisheries, and it worked. They used that weapon to beat Irish fishermen out of Irish waters. It did not affect the quota of other countries that are taking fish from of Irish waters. I have often stated that between 16 and 18 articulated truckloads of Irish fish leave Castletownbere and head off through west …
The Minister of State indicated that there have been quota reductions across the board, but Irish fishermen have been hit with a 70% cut - the greatest of all. Basically, that is sending them home. People have massive debts having paid for trawlers. They are paying back bank loans they got in order that they might have the best trawlers available to allow them to compete. I am not referring to competing with super-tr…
Will the Tánaiste outline how proposed planning guidelines will take full account of the vital role short-term lets play in the Irish economy, supporting tourism, regional employment and supplementary housing needs? In many parts of the country, especially rural and seasonal areas, short-term letting provides essential accommodation for tourists, contract workers, students and families. These lets sustain local pubs,…
Since 2019, almost 1,000 early years childcare services have closed their doors. The Minister has said that 579 new services have opened but she failed to say that most of these only cater for school-age children. There are currently 40,000 children on waiting lists for childcare across the country. The services that have closed could potentially have provided for 30,000 of those children. Childcare facilities are cl…
I thank the Social Democrats for tabling the motion. We fully support it. People with disabilities face extra costs every day. These are costs they cannot avoid. When winter hits, the pressure becomes even greater, especially with heating and energy bills rising again. Right now, households across the country are under serious strain. Energy costs are still one of the biggest drivers of hardship. For disabled people,…
We are talking about infrastructure here today. We brought forward a motion two weeks ago in relation to Uisce Éireann, and the Government voted against it. It really stood for accountability and timelines. When the Government is not willing to stand up to something like Uisce Éireann in terms of accountability and timelines, that says enough. It sends a clear message to me.
There is a wastewater crisis all over wes…
On 19 June 2024, I spoke in the House against Ireland opting in to the EU migration and asylum pact. I made it clear then that this pact represented a serious erosion of Ireland's ability to control its own immigration policy and that its implications had not been honestly confronted. Just over a week later on 27 June 2024, I joined my Independent colleagues in voting against the pact. We did so because we believe th…
That is what I have been told. Will I keep going?
The man is now stuck outside the country because the document was not processed in time. The relevant company was forced to send another highly skilled employee back to their home country due to red-tape issues that should never have arisen.
These situations disrupt businesses, damage productivity and place avoidable burdens on employers.
Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. We had a 70% cut on the mackerel fishing quota and the whitefish - haddock - close to the beginning of December, I think. A task force was meant to be set up but from that day until now, we do not seem to have heard anything. The fishing industry has very serious concerns that it is going to be forgotten yet again.
We need a debate on the Dáil this week on where we are at in relation to compensation for fishermen.