Independent Ireland believes we must give all people on the island of Ireland the right to vote in presidential elections. It makes no sense that people who live on the island of Ireland - North and South - cannot vote for the President of Ireland. It would ensure that all Irish citizens, regardless of their residence, have a say in electing the Head of State, fostering a sense of inclusion and representation. Voting…
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
My constituents are deeply concerned about the proposed closure of Perrott House mental health care facility in Skibbereen, County Cork. This residential care facility, which is staffed for 24 hours, has been home to many long-term residents, providing them with essential programmes like horticulture, music, poetry and art, as well as access to the local library, church and shop in Skibbereen. The HSE plans to move t…
Connecting Ireland is disconnecting quite a number of places, but I do not want to start with a major criticism. There have been great successes in my constituency, Cork South-West, in relation to Ardgroom, Bantry to Sheep's Head, Crookhaven, Goleen, Lowertown, Schull to Skibbereen, and Baltimore to Skibbereen, where a second bus has been put on the route is so popular. These are the routes that nobody was either int…
The Government yesterday announced the purchase of Citywest, the main hotel and conference centre, at a cost of €148 million. What are the projected running costs? Will the State still be renting the CityArk complex, which has 400-plus rooms, from Tetrarch? The cost per person per night is €84. How much is that per year? Doubling the capacity of the site would mean the population of the IPAS centre was equal to the p…
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the Bill. The Minister will know I am not a man who is interested in theatrics or Government back-pats, but a Deputy elected by the people of west Cork to speak truthfully and plainly about the reality we face in the absolute failure this emergency RPZ Bill represents. This legislation is not a solution. It is a symptom of a Government chasing headlines and running away f…
I will do my best. I cannot do any more.
We need statements on education. Primary schools are going through a serious crisis. I met with representatives of the INTO last week, as others probably did too. We need to look at class sizes, but the capitation grant was the big issue. Basically, schools cannot pay the electricity bill. If we cannot at least give them proper funding to allow them to continue their proper functions as primary schools, then the Stat…
Local property tax was set out to be tax for local authorities. I am not totally opposed to any tax as long as it delivers on exactly what it was meant to be. I will outline to the Minister exactly where it did not deliver in County Cork in recent years. A road at Allihies collapsed and there is no longer a lead road into that community. The council does not have money and has basically walked away from repairing the…
During the election, Independent Ireland said a housing emergency needed to be declared and everyone ran away. Now it seems as though we are rushing through legislation in the Dáil this week in a frantic bid to try to overturn the emergency that is there. There are 15,000 people without homes, which is a huge emergency for those in that dire situation. I am inundated every weekend when I hold clinics with people who …
This country is crying out for accountability from regulatory bodies as we stumble from one scandal to another. Last week, I attended a public meeting in Oranmore, Galway, with Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice and Councillor Declan Kelly and met with parents whose children had been scammed by a local orthodontist and neglected by the Dental Council of Ireland. These parents paid large sums upfront in 2022 for their childre…
I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. He speaks about dental regulation, the Dentists Act and developments in 2024 or 2025. These people were hit hard in 2022. They have lost €2 million. How can any of them have confidence when we see the regulatory bodies fail the very people they are paid to protect? What does the Tánaiste say to the parents and children in their hundreds who are scammed out of their hard-earned mone…
Wellman International in Mullagh, County Cavan, a pioneer in fibre manufacturing since 1973, faces an uncertain future. The company was placed in examinership on 3 June. It has just 100 days to find an investor or buyer to save 217 highly skilled jobs that are vital to the communities of east Cavan and north Meath.
Local Independent Ireland councillor Shane P. O'Reilly, a strong advocate for the workers, has raised …
I welcome the Minister of State. This may be the first time we have been face to face. I appreciate his recent invitation to Castletownbere. Unfortunately, I was at another meeting and could not get there, but I will certainly meet him soon.
I listened to some of the Deputies speaking in the Chamber earlier. I do not like talking about Deputies when they are not present, but Deputy Ward - not in a bad sense - said i…
We will be supporting this motion to end the Central Bank of Ireland's facilitation of Israeli bonds. As a representative of the people of west Cork, which was profoundly impacted by the Great Famine, I have a personal connection to the suffering of the Gazans today. I repeat myself when I say we are here to protect life and dignity without taking sides. Ireland is trusted because we do not serve geopolitical interes…
I support the motion for Ireland to become an associate member of CERN, the European organisation for nuclear research. I do so on behalf of Independent Ireland with a clear sense of what this should mean for the Irish people. Let me be straight. My party is no cheerleader for big, wasteful public spending or for projects that line the pockets of consultants while ordinary people get no benefits. Neither are we in th…
About two weeks ago, the Government announced plans to buy Citywest hotel. That is a huge concern to the constituents in the surrounding area. A debate has to happen in the House. Before the purchase of any hotel, a debate should happen in the House, regardless of what it is needed for. This is a huge issue and concern for the public.
On Sunday, in Kinsale, hundreds of people turned up in opposition to the granting of a 62-acre mussel farm licence, equivalent to 36 soccer pitches, off Kinsale Harbour. This was first proposed in 2019, when I raised concerns with the then Taoiseach and the relevant Minister. The new licence granted leaves many unanswered questions on the planning process for this specific licence. First, there was no transparency wi…
This Government has been saying - as did the previous one and the previous two before that - that housing is its number one priority. If so, I cannot understand why it did not take up Independent Ireland's strong advice and policy that this should be declared a housing emergency. This is an emergency. A recent poll in the Irish Independent found 65% or 67% of people said housing is the biggest issue to be dealt with …
That is another thing that is coming down the road. People are calling me now. I want to see the legislation.
Is it there today?
This is the problem. Everything is about kicking the can down the road.
I would appreciate it if something were announced today and dealt with in a week or two rather than dragging on down the road. That legislation could have been put in place. We were advising it should be introduced years ago but nobody would listen to us.
We must consider the building of houses in cities. We are building out but what about building up? When I am in Dublin and places such as that, I meet people who s…
I may not have welcomed the Minister of State to his position yet; we certainly have not spoken one to one yet. I wish him the best of luck. It is a serious area in which he was previously actively involved. A lot of issues were improved but many are left to improve. Unfortunately, I have a public meeting for Independent Ireland to attend so I will have to leave straight away. I will listen to his response on the way…
Ireland's voice is neutral, trusted and morally urgent. Our neutrality is not passive; it is active, credible and principled. We are here to protect life and dignity without taking sides. Ireland is trusted because we do not serve geopolitical interests. Starvation as a weapon is a breach of international law. Deliberate denial of food and aid is collective punishment. It is a war crime we know from our history durin…
The Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2025 is crucial legislation that aims to safeguard workers in the event their employer goes under.
Independent Ireland firmly supports the principle that no worker should be left unpaid if a business ceases trading. The Bill addresses a significant gap in our law, highlighted by the 2018 Supreme Court ruling, and ensures that employees of small and…