That would be fine if there were also fair play for workers and families, many of whom are also working in essential services. We need fair pay for them. The decision to abolish the pay cap is going to increase wage inequality. There will be a much bigger gap between the CEOs and the people who are doing the work on the ground. In the recent budget, supports to help people with the cost-of-living crisis were ripped a…
TDs / Pa Daly
Pa Daly
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
2,409
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
113,714
words spoken in the chamber
Across 504 contributions
405
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
272
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 2,409 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 504 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 74 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 124 | 40 |
| March 2025 | 118 | 28 |
| April 2025 | 67 | 20 |
| May 2025 | 260 | 31 |
| June 2025 | 125 | 32 |
| July 2025 | 214 | 15 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 77 | 27 |
| October 2025 | 127 | 9 |
| November 2025 | 93 | 42 |
| December 2025 | 210 | 20 |
| January 2026 | 95 | 28 |
| February 2026 | 106 | 38 |
| March 2026 | 94 | 9 |
| April 2026 | 94 | 41 |
| May 2026 | 67 | 10 |
| June 2026 | 93 | 56 |
| July 2026 | 231 | 7 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 91 | 45 |
| October 2026 | 49 | 6 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 337 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 Kerry 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
I think I was meant to have the next question. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, to write to me via email with a response as to whether there is a review into concerns about whether Uber coming into the taxi market complies with the Taxi Regulation Act.
I move:
That Dáil Éireann:
notes that:
— there are 11 toll roads in operation across the State, 10 of which are on the national roads network with two of these being in full public ownership and eight roads across the State are tolled under Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) with the Minister for Transport holding responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the National Roads Programme;
— motor t…
On a point of order, the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, mentioned that there was countermotion. That was not notified to the proposers. We checked with the Whip's office and it does not seem to have it either.
There was none lodged. It was not moved.
If ever anybody in this State needed proof or evidence that the Government does not care about the cost-of-living crisis or the increased costs on motorists, they can see it in the Minister's own speech from earlier on. He said that this House should reject the Sinn Féin Private Members' motion and instead support the Government's countermotion on this matter. The Government did not even bother to lodge a countermoti…
Did we start a bit ahead of schedule?
77. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the reforms he is considering to the energy market in order to reduce high energy costs; the way in which the work of the NEAT task force is different from the energy poverty steering group; the timeline for publication of the interim and final reports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60266/25]
I ask the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment about the reforms to the energy market he is considering to reduce high energy costs. An interim report from the national energy affordability task force was published earlier this week. It was a disappointment to many because it identifies some of the well-known problems in Ireland's dysfunctional energy market but offers no solutions. Households are facing …
One of the frustrating things about the report from the steering group is that it is just an interim report. We have been told there will be a roadmap. If you were to be cynical, you would say that we first had a report and will now have a roadmap that will not be published until some time in 2026. It is really the destination that we are looking for. The report reaffirms what we have been saying for a long time, whi…
I am glad the Minister mentioned the discussion he is having with the energy companies. Many of them say they had to put up prices due to the network charges, but network charges only rose by about €29 this year. At a recent meeting of the climate committee, the justification for the price hikes by, for example, Energia came under scrutiny. There are concerns that these are being used as an excuse but we in Sinn Féin…
79. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the steps he is taking to ensure the 2026 to 2030 retrofitting and heat pump targets are reached; if he anticipates capital allocation for 2026 will be sufficient; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60267/25]
In the last question the Minister mentioned the retrofitting and heat pump targets but the target to retrofit 500,000 homes to B2 standard and install 400,000 heat pumps by 2030 seems to be far behind. The Government has delivered just 12% and 3% of those targets. The Government has often said that investment and delivery will rapidly increase year on year, but the budget for 2026 tells a different story. The Ministe…
I am not sure the priority has been proven to be those who are most in need. It is not just me questioning the Minister of State’s statement that significant progress has been made. Social Justice Ireland has said the retrofitting scheme constitutes little more than a wealth transfer. The programme for Government made a number of promises to focus on lower income homes to have retrofits each year from 2026 to 2030 bu…
I accept there is a need to simplify the process because it seems to me there was a lack of planning in that some news reports said householders were told to roll back or change their retrofitting efforts on the basis that they were in breach of planning permission. Only 355 loans have been approved over the last year. If the average loan is about €48,000 that is only €17 million which is far from the game-changing r…
83. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the engagements he has had with the regulator and energy suppliers to ensure that the determination of PR6 and the renewable heat obligation do not place upward pressure on household energy bills; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60288/25]
The amount that can be raised through network charges to fund grid upgrades and the renewable heat obligation will come up soon. The Minister mentioned he has spoken to energy suppliers, but has he spoken to them as well as the regulator on the pressures these will put on household energy bills? While we accept that investment in the grid and transition to renewable heat are essential, what safeguards will be put in …
Most people will know, and the people in the Gallery will know, that the need for the grid upgrades is driven in part by the growing energy demands of data centres, whose usage has increased by 400% since 2015. Therefore, all the extra energy we are creating in renewables is being gobbled up by the data centres. The Government's own officials last November, in a memo issued by the Department of public expenditure, po…
I think we all agree that the equity investment we were discussing last night is necessary. Unfortunately, however, there does not seem to be anything there to safeguard against repeating past mistakes to ensure that the investment is directed towards the social good and to prioritising energy affordability. One company, Energia, justified its recent price hikes based on the network charge increases. On its website i…
I am standing in for Deputy Carthy. I ask the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his proposals to increase the amount of polyethylene terephthalate, PET, plastic recycled in Ireland. The EU is discussing collating data. We have to export a huge proportion of it. Since the deposit return scheme was introduced, the recycling rate has risen from 49% to 91%, 76% of which is from the deposit return scheme an…
What measures are being taken to ensure a greater proportion of the plastic is recycled? When will they be put in place? Schemes like the deposit return scheme can only be successful with public support. Of course it is, in effect, based on taxpayers' money via the rebate. With the most households already stretched, every additional cent has to be justified.
We need transparency. I know that Re-Turn produced its ann…
I thank the Minister of State for that part of the reply, but the question about what happens to the Re-Turn money and the money made from the scheme requires a bit more clarity. The unredeemed deposits are worth over €100 million. Income generated from producer fees and recycled material is €50 million and although the report mentions unreturned deposits of €66 million, it was actually €103.2 million, so Re-Turn ded…
Unfortunately, we have turned a corner in this State. During the past week, we have had convictions for racially motivated murders and the lives of babies put in danger in Drogheda, where there was no way out of a burning building except down a stairs. Some of the online commentary in response to the attack in Drogheda were: "the person who did it must be staying there", "it was an inside job", "they did it themselve…
I move amendment No. 1:
In page 3, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following:
“(2) To insert new subsections after subsection (4):
“(4A) The Board shall borrow to invest in projects on the basis of a prioritisation framework which encompasses—
(a) congestion softeners in areas of high congestion,
(b) security encompassing hospitals, Garda stations, water safety and wastewater treatment,
(c) basic needs e…
I will come back in regarding a number of matters. One relates to what the Minister said about PR 6. While I appreciate that what was published during the summer is a draft decision, that is all we have to go on at the moment. We do not fully know what will be there but under the CRU's draft decision, households and SMEs will see their electricity network charges increase, while large energy users, such as data centr…