Over the past four weeks, I have been looking for a debate on short-term lets. I have also been asking the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, to come here for a question-and-answer session. People from that sector are meeting today in a packed room across the road in Buswells. They know that what is proposed is going to lead to the ruination of short-term tourism in this country. The Taoiseach keeps nodding and saying "No…
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
I would like a debate on this issue here today.
I welcome members of Kinsale Men's Shed who are with us today. I also welcome those in the Gallery involved in short-term lets who are fighting for their very survival and were in Buswells Hotel earlier today. The people of Ireland, mainly in coastal communities, are genuinely worried about what the Government is about to do with these short-term letting proposals. In places like west Cork, from Kinsale to Castletown…
They are what keeps rural Ireland going. Rural Ireland has taken enough hits. Will the Government step back from this?
The Minister said different today.
In two years, it will be game over.
I was at a funeral recently. What happened there kind of summed matters up very easily. I was going along the queue and shaking hands with people. There was a fishermen at the end of the queue. What we said to me - even though I knew it, it shocked me to the core - was, "Thanks very much. Can I just say one thing to you? One day out - quota caught. Jesus, it's over." There was no point in me saying anything different…
If Deputy Tóibín does not arrive, Deputy Flynn will probably take his time.
What has happened over the past few weeks with regard to special needs assistants has been nothing short of disgraceful. Families, schools and SNAs were thrown into turmoil because the National Council for Special Education sent out letters telling up to 200 schools that they would lose SNA support next year. In some cases, schools were star…
Many people, especially those in rural Ireland, stand to benefit greatly from fair, balanced and practical remote working arrangements. Reduced commuting, more time with family, lower carbon emissions and the ability to work closer to home are meaningful gains that improve quality of life and support regional development. However, we must also ensure balance. Employers need clarity, practicality and safeguards and wo…
My constituents are deeply concerned about the imminent closure of Perrott House, a mental health care facility in Skibbereen. This residential care facility, which was staffed 24 hours, had been home to many long-term residents and provided them with essential programmes like horticulture, music, poetry and art as well as access to the local library, church and shops in Skibbereen. The HSE continues to deny Perrott …
Yes, and they are being moved.
We need the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to come to the Dáil for statements on the short-term lets legislation which will come before the Dáil. At last week's committee meeting, which was held in private, officials from the Departments of tourism and of planning would not answer in public as to what is happening. They were all over the place in relation to the planning aspect of this legislation. T…
Whatever you-----
At the end of January, the first home-bred case of bluetongue was found in a cow in County Wexford through routine checks in a slaughterhouse. That was the first time we saw it in an Irish-born animal, and it has, rightly, put farmers on edge. Now we are told, and it is important to repeat, that bluetongue does not affect people or the safety of our milk or meat and does not jump from animal to animal.
The problem i…
We support this motion because behind every statistic is a family like the one I met last week. They were parents who missed repayments after illness and a job loss. They begged their bank for help and tried to restructure. Instead, they had their mortgage sold off in a bundle to a vulture fund. The house they built a life in is gone but the letters keep coming, telling them they still owe every cent. The fund, havin…
In west Cork, we are extremely lucky to have not one but two outstanding outdoor sailing and training centres, namely, the Fastnet marine and outdoor education centre in Schull and the Kinsale outdoor education centre. These centres are a lifeline for our young people, schools and local economy. In recent weeks, we have learned that the future of both centres is at risk because of a lack of funding. I ask the Tánaist…
I thank Aontú for tabling this motion which important for the whole country. This has been a hobby horse of mine since I came into the Dáil in 2016 because I saw, in my short two years in the council, the damage in my constituency mainly caused by blocked rivers. I genuinely want to have this addressed. What is blocking people from going in, perhaps putting in an application for a river to be cleaned out and for it t…
Deputy Stanley said we should not force through this Bill tonight, and I echo that sentiment, for many reasons. I agree with the amendments that are before us. Let us be honest. I hear a lot of comments about landlords. Landlords, unfortunately, include people who just have one extra house, yet they are still classified as landlords. I think it is very unfair for such people to be called a landlord.
At the same time…
The Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, in spite of its intentions, raises concerns as it could have unintended consequences for many people in this country. The part that raises most concerns for the tourism sector is the short-term letting planning part. It is being proposed as part of this new legislation that Airbnb, bed and breakfast and short-term lets will require registration and planning p…
I will.
The Taoiseach may say that I am putting forward a doomsday scenario. It is doomsday for these people who have been doing Airbnb for the past five, ten, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years if planning regulations have to come into place. I welcome the statement from the Minister, Deputy Burke, but the planning requirement is still going ahead. That is the very serious concern we all have. That is the part that will ruin existing s…
I am not.
We have done research on this.
It has.
There will be no room for poor Brad Pitt or anybody else if the Government does not wake up. We have to have a debate in the Chamber on short-term lets. The Taoiseach can ignore me all he likes.