I am very disappointed with the response from the Minister of State and Department. This is a real issue. I have an example of this. Coercive control exists. These people have a right to do what everybody else can, which is to make a complaint to the financial services ombudsman about the conduct of financial institutions. The Minister of State is telling me he will not do anything about the legislation that prevents…
TDs / Pearse Doherty
Pearse Doherty
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
1,436
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
224,644
words spoken in the chamber
Across 1,657 contributions
378
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
236
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 1,436 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 1,657 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 10 | 20 |
| February 2025 | 135 | 57 |
| March 2025 | 93 | 120 |
| April 2025 | 59 | 72 |
| May 2025 | 117 | 111 |
| June 2025 | 79 | 75 |
| July 2025 | 132 | 106 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 89 | 38 |
| October 2025 | 75 | 81 |
| November 2025 | 79 | 163 |
| December 2025 | 51 | 102 |
| January 2026 | 64 | 37 |
| February 2026 | 72 | 98 |
| March 2026 | 53 | 95 |
| April 2026 | 64 | 140 |
| May 2026 | 78 | 75 |
| June 2026 | 67 | 102 |
| July 2026 | 60 | 16 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| September 2026 | 39 | 90 |
| October 2026 | 20 | 56 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 1,142 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 Donegal 29 November 2024 to now
- party Sinn Féin 29 November 2024 to now
I heard what the Minister read from his note, but his note did not say that he could not do it. It stated that he had to be conscious of quasi-judicial procedures and so on. I have not seen legal opinion on this, and I do not have legal opinion on it, but I am certain there are ways in which we can address the matter if we put our heads together. Even if, as I said, we may not be able to do it for those who have ente…
I welcome that. As I said, the FSPO will operate within the rules that we set. It would be worth having that conversation with the Attorney General as well. The original Bill stems from the Zalewski case in the WRC. Any quasi-judicial organ of the State should have fair procedures, but fair procedures do not mean that someone should have to sign the complaint. Fair procedures can be about being notified that a compla…
This relates to SMEs. At present, a dual track or dual process is under way where people can appeal a credit decision by a participating institution to a credit reviewer, while at the same time submitting a complaint regarding the conduct to the FSPO. The section seems to clarify that the complainant may not make a complaint to the FSPO and it may not investigate the complaint in circumstances where the credit review…
I am still not clear, and that may fall on me, on what the Minister of State said about updating and clarifying. People will still have the ability to make a complaint to the FSPO regarding the conduct. What will they not have the ability to make a complaint to the FSPO about as a result of the legislation? This legislation will ensure there is no overlap, which means it will remove the right to make a complaint in c…
That is clear. Why does this arise? The FSPO cannot adjudicate on commercial decisions of banks that operate in line with the codes of conduct and all the rest. Can the Minister of State explain to us why there is some confusion in the legislation because what he has described seems to be clear regarding the existing practice? Why is this section needed? Why is an amendment to the original Act needed?
I mentioned this section earlier when talking about amendment No. 5. This obviously clarifies that the ombudsman may require witnesses to attend before him or her to be examined or cross-examined on oath or affirmation. This comes from the judgment we referred to in the case that involved the Workplace Relations Act 2015. It was found that the procedures were unsatisfactory in that cross-examination of witnesses of t…
On section 15, which we touched on in terms of internal dispute resolution and the power of the Minister to make the regulations, will it now be the case that all financial services firms and pension providers will have to have internal dispute resolution procedures? Will this amendment ensure this is the case? Is it a factor that there are many that do not have such procedures in place?
While the amendment is technical, is it correct that section 19 deals with the publication of information relating to complaints?
The issue I have, although the Minister of State will probably refer to fair procedure and all the rest, is that there is a huge difference between not naming Mrs. Doherty or whoever is taking a case that may not be upheld or is partially upheld and not naming the financial institution, such as Mars Capital. A David-and-Goliath battle that is being fought on this. I do not like the idea that the same privacy given to…
I hear that and it is to be welcomed, but does the section not deal with the power of the FSPO to publish the decisions and, therefore, give privacy or protection to the financial institutions under the guise of providing privacy to the individual making the complaint, whether he or she wants the hearing in public or not? None of us, or very few of us, will rock up to the hearing, but it is the publication that I am …
Will the Ombudsman be able to name the financial institution if the case against it was partially upheld?
Is that possible without the consent of the financial institution?
It is only known to people who attend the public hearing. There is a publication thereafter of the findings. There is also then a second thing.
I will go back to a point and finish on it. It is a David and Goliath scenario. People come to me all the time and I tell them the FSPO is a great system because people do not have to get lawyers or barristers. They can take out a pen and paper and write their story. They do…
I thank the Minister of State.
I agree with the question. I thank the Minister of State and his predecessor for engaging to deal with the loophole in this legislation. I also thank the officials from the Department and the FSPO for their input.
Tá sé iontach contúirteach agus gearr-radharcach deireadh a chur leis an nglas triarach, an triple lock. Is é seo an chéad chéim ag Fianna Fáil agus ag Fine Gael chun deireadh a chur le neodracht mhíleata na tíre seo. Beartas fadbhunaithe agus rathúil le blianta fada don tír seo é agus ní hé seo an t-am le dul leis an slua agus leis an slua a leanúint. Is é seo an t-am le fanacht lenár bprionsabail.
This morning, th…
At least Fine Gael is honest about its intentions. It has been for over 20 years. When it produced its document, Beyond Neutrality, in its effort to dismantle neutrality, the Taoiseach described it as an out-of-touch ideological obsession. Fine Gael, in that policy document, described the Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil's approach as the nod-and-wink approach of signing up to initiatives and telling the Irish people that i…
That is not true.
The Taoiseach would not allow a free vote.
Not agreed.
At the end of January the Government gave its word on the floor of the Dáil that it would work with the Opposition to find a resolution to the impasse relating to the status of the Michael Lowry group of Independent TDs that would be acceptable to both Government and Opposition. It has gone back on its word now and has proposed to put a motion before the Dáil that puts Michael Lowry and his group in the centre of Opp…
Will the Taoiseach do what the combined Opposition leaders have asked of him? They have written to him and asked him to sit down to let us find a solution to this that is sensible, practical and common sense. The Government needs to show a bit of common sense on this issue.
Hear, hear.
So why are you doing this?