I want to raise a critical issue affecting the people of Castletownbere, Eyeries and Ardgroom. These communities are effectively frozen, unable to grow and develop because of a water infrastructure crisis that has gone unresolved for far too long. Planning applications are being refused or withdrawn due to the concerns over water abstraction from Glenbeg Lough, which lies within a special area of conservation. As a r…
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
Today, we are presented with the Health (Amendment) Bill 2025. On the surface, the Bill promises reform, but let us be clear - this is not reform, but bureaucracy dressed up as progress. The Bill does not fix our broken health system. It merely rearranges the furniture in a house that is already on fire. It tinkers with the governance structures while ignoring the real crisis, which is the daily struggle of patients …
We need a debate this week in the Dáil on the leaked draft of the Common Agricultural Policy, which shows zero ambition to protect food security going forward. It looks like there will be no increase in funding for the LEADER programme and no increase in funding for agriculture. With rural pubs and post offices closing in the country, this is a terrible time for this leaked document to come out. As Independent Irelan…
This issue has shaken public confidence and raised serious concerns about transparency and accountability in our institutions. As public representatives, we have a duty to respond not with words alone, but with action. I speak from personal experience. My aunt was severely physically abused by a teacher simply because she was considered at that time as a bit slow. That was the language used at the time. We must do be…
I thank the Social Democrats and will support this very important motion.
Since 2021, grocery costs have surged nearly 40%, adding €3,000 to annual family expenses and pushing more than 100,000 children into consistent poverty. These are some examples. Brennan's white bread, 800 g, increased from €1.87 in 2022 to €1.99 in 2025. Avonmore milk, 2 l, rose from €1.99 to €2.69. Denny sausages, 454 g, went from €2.69 to €…
The all-island strategic rail review, published in July 2024, outlines a comprehensive vision for enhancing the rail system across Ireland and Northern Ireland up to 2050. Recommended in it are additional capacity, faster services, higher frequency, electrification and new routes. These are great except if you live in rural Ireland, where I happen to live. Light rail is to come to Cork city but, for the whole of 128 …
Reducing the length of time with regard to a planning permission might be okay with the large developments but I would be very concerned about the one-off housing. A lot of people might apply for planning but may not have the money to get started, especially with the price of materials at the moment. I refer to one-off housing in rural Ireland. I have often met people, as we all do in our constituencies, who ask for …
This is the fifth week in a row I have asked that the Minister for education come to the Dáil to talk about the capitation grant and class sizes. It is hugely important now. We are facing into the summer break, almost immediately after which we will have the budget. It is a huge concern in the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, INTO, especially with regard to the capitation grant where some schools are facing clo…
Independent Ireland will not be opposing this Bill going through the Dáil. That might be an example to the Minister as to how we are open to doing business. When we put forward a motion two or three weeks ago we put forward about 20 proposals, the Government put forward 24 or 25 amendments to make sure it did not go through the Dáil. It might have resolved the situation around housing and the situation we keep talkin…
I have attended most of the debates on college fees in the past week and the one thing I found was that nobody got clarity. This is a terribly unfair situation for parents to find themselves in. They are very concerned. There is no point in saying something here that is not true. Every politician, including the Ministers, must surely realise from emails the concerns of parents. In a message I received one morning las…
Heads down the whole time, looking at your phones when you should be listening to the speeches.
No respect for the young people up there.
I speak to the Minister today not just as leader of Independent Ireland or on behalf of my constituents, but on behalf of the tens of thousands of people across this country who feel ultimately betrayed by a Government that has wilfully ceded Irish sovereignty, ignored countless opinion polls and placed the interest of Brussels and bureaucracy above the basic needs of its own citizens. The Government had the option -…
I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this very important motion today. I am sure there is not one person in the Dáil who saw the documentary who was not disgusted by the way our elderly were being treated. If big businesses are treating our elderly in such a terrible way, we must ensure we do all we can so that this does not continue.
That said, we cannot tar everybody with the one brush because there are s…
As so many speakers have said, the war and the scenes taking place out there are horrific. Nothing hits an Irish person more than to see millions of young people, or any person, facing starvation. It could not hit a deeper note in the mind of any Irish person because we have had this in our own history. It is something that will never be forgotten in the history of this country and what is happening to the Palestinia…
We need to have statements today on higher education, especially on the confusion regarding fees. Since the announcement, a lot of parents have told me that they are having discussions around their tables about whether their child will go to college and whether they can afford to send the child to college or not. That is not a discussion that families should have. Our children and young people want to educate themsel…
Island funding is crucial for many of our islands but its distribution needs closer scrutiny. The Bere Island Projects Group, which covers Bere Island, Whiddy Island and Dursey Island, has three full-time staff and must manage office, utilities and running costs from a budget that saw only a 2.1% increase. This is insufficient for standard cost-of-living requirements, in comparison to smaller islands like Inishturk a…
We in Independent Ireland stand firmly behind the implementation of the EPSEN review report recommendations. The time has come for long overdue justice for our children with additional needs. We have seen two decades of delay since the EPSEN Act was passed in 2004, yet here we are with the core rights promised in law, like individual education plans and proper assessments, still unfulfilled. This is not just a legal …
It is disappointing that the Minister of State seems to be putting in amendments opposing the proposal. If this proposal was worked on, it would create a strong solution in relation to housing. Sometimes I wonder what the reasoning is behind the Government trying to block any good proposal being put forward. I thank Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice, John Campbell and Mark Nolan for putting this motion together.
Housing is…
Laya Healthcare provides many different levels of private health insurance. One of my constituents purchased one of its plans at a substantial cost of €1,470 per year. Regarding cancer care, the policy clearly stated that it covers treatment to stop the spread of cancer and, where possible, to remove it entirely. All of the company's schemes have comprehensive cancer cover and best in class approach advertised. Despi…
We need a discussion about education, school size, class sizes and the capitation grant. Many schools are under immense pressure. I have been requesting statements in the Dáil. We also need a discussion about immigration and migration with regard to Citywest. I would appreciate it if we could find time this week to discuss those issues.
Jennifer Marley is 88 years of age and has been living in rented accommodation-----
In fairness, I never interfere in anybody else's time for questions. I would appreciate if all Deputies would pay the same respect.
Jennifer Marley is 88 years of age and has been living in rented accommodation in Bantry for the past six years. She has received a notice to quit her rented home as the landlord wants to sell. We are frantically trying to get Jennifer a house she can call her own as she is not suited to sheltered accommodation at 88 years of age.
Tomorrow, Independent Ireland will put forward a motion in the House calling for legis…
The recent "RTÉ Investigates" documentary "Inside Ireland's Nursing Homes", which aired on 4 June, showed us all the terrible conditions in some nursing homes in the midlands and Dublin. We were all horrified and shocked by the programme and the way the most vulnerable in our society are being treated - by some. I do not want to tar everybody with the same brush. When we hear what is said in this House sometimes, and…