I am aware of the Deputy's knowledge and experience in this area, and I take that on board. She is right to identify sprat as an important feeder stock for mammals, birds and other fish species in those areas she has identified. I will continue to engage with the Marine Institute with regard to the information it has and data it is capturing as part of its overall assessment of stocks in the region generally. The Dep…
TDs / Timmy Dooley
Timmy Dooley
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
102
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
78,869
words spoken in the chamber
73,967 as a minister, 4,902 as a TD
290
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
33
topics asked about
Across 15 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 102 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 266 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 75 | 12 |
| March 2025 | 2 | 1 |
| April 2025 | 3 | 5 |
| May 2025 | 0 | 14 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 3 |
| July 2025 | 0 | 9 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 | 31 |
| October 2025 | 0 | 12 |
| November 2025 | 0 | 2 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 27 |
| January 2026 | 2 | 24 |
| February 2026 | 5 | 24 |
| March 2026 | 4 | 10 |
| April 2026 | 5 | 30 |
| May 2026 | 2 | 16 |
| June 2026 | 3 | 22 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 5 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 11 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 7 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 168 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 Clare 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications 25 February 2025 to 1 June 2025
- office Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment 2 June 2025 to now
The overall catch of stock has grown significantly in recent years. That indicates that there is not a major threat in the short term to the supply of sprat. However, it is my view that to continue to fish at those levels would certainly lead to a significant negative impact. I will get into the process that is under way a little later. I have to be mindful, in whatever decision is ultimately taken, that it is a prop…
I thank the Deputy for the question. As he knows, the operation of the fish assist scheme is a matter for the Department of Social Protection. The primary source of funding for the Irish commercial seafood sector, including inshore and island fishermen and fisherwomen, is Ireland's seafood development programme, which is co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Commission under the European Maritime, Fisher…
As I outlined in my initial response to the Deputy, it is not possible to apportion any of the funding available to our Department through EMFAF to the income support he talks about. As he knows, and as is the case with farm assist, income support comes through the Department of Social Protection. While that does not fall within my responsibility, I am happy to have a conversation with the Minister, Deputy Calleary, …
I recognise that. When I was before the committee chaired by Deputy McGuinness recently, I informed it that I have asked an outside interlocutor to work with the sector generally. Mr. Kieran Mulvey has accepted the role of working with all stakeholders in the sector to identify areas where we can assist and develop a way forward or pathway as part of a strategy that the Department will develop under the programme for…
Deputy McDonald has none.
I thank the Deputies for seeking the opportunity for statements on fisheries. I am pleased to discuss the important issues concerned affecting the fisheries sector.
I wish to reassure the House that as Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries and the marine, I recognise the importance of maintaining a vibrant fishing sector, both for the communities that rely on it and, indeed, the wider economy. The Prog…
I thank all the Deputies who contributed for their insights and helpful suggestions. I want to correct one matter. I indicated, I think, that I am to meet my UK counterpart on 5 July. I am reliably informed it is 9 July. I do not want anything to be missed on the record on that.
To the Sinn Féin Members who talked about their survey, that is a useful piece of work, and I can understand the sentiment many of the peop…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. He will be aware of the engagement I have had with the industry in recent weeks and my commitment to continued engagement with him on the issue. I am looking forward to an opportunity for the committee to address various matters that arise, and I intend to work with the Deputy on that. I will put a few facts on the record first.
The fisheries control regulation pr…
The principal objective of the review, which was carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, was to contribute to the ongoing and future development of the organisation. The areas covered by the review were the organisational capabilities of the SFPA to deliver on its mission for the effective and fair regulation - and I emphasise fair regulation - of the sea-fishing and seafood sectors that fall within its mandate. I hav…
I thank the Deputy for his intervention. He is raising concerns and issues that have been shared with him and with me. I met the SFPA. The people I met and the various sections of the organisation are fulfilling their mandate to the best of their ability. We have to recognise that the authority's role is prescribed in legislation. We are precluded from involving ourselves directly in any decisions it takes. The Deput…
I welcome the opportunity to wrap up this debate. I recognise, as others have done, the presence of the president of the IFA, Mr. Francie Gorman. I also recognise all farming organisations that act in a very upfront and straightforward manner with us in the Oireachtas. They keep us and the Opposition guided on an ongoing basis about the complexities that exist in the farming sector generally. I thank all Deputies for…
I will take this matter on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for disability, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton. I thank Deputy Ellis for raising this important issue and offering the opportunity to respond. I know of the Deputy's personal interest in the matter. He has been a long-time campaigner on these issues in his time in the House.
Organisations such as An Saol Foundation are invaluable to the disab…
The Minister is very aware of this and there is a commitment relating to the planning and the initial acquisition of the site that shows clear intent. Notwithstanding the other aspects I identified, once the Government has committed money in the first instance, the natural expectation is that the project will be built. The Deputy has, in a very direct and open way based on his intimate knowledge and understanding of …
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Water supply in the greater Dublin area is dependent on large abstractions, as he knows, from the River Liffey and the River Vartry. To address this, Uisce Éireann is progressing long-term projects to secure our water supply for the future, including two major projects for Dublin and the eastern and midlands region. The water supply project eastern and midlands reg…
The Deputy's interest in this matter is very clear. His desire to address issues in his area on behalf of his constituents is commendable and is noted.
As I said, our water and wastewater infrastructure requires substantial and sustained investment over a number of investment cycles to bring the systems up to the standard required of a modern service, to provide for population growth and to build resilience in the f…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I can tell that she has a very personal interest in this, and that speaks to the person she is. I thank her for tabling the matter. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for housing.
The response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a cross-departmental and multi-agency issue, with overall policy co-ordinated by the Department of Justice. Responsib…
I have known the Deputy for a long time. I am aware of the sincerity she brings to the issue. This is not the usual banter that goes on in here. I will meet the woman in question with the Deputy at a time to be decided next week, if we can. I will talk to the officials in the Department to see if a signal can be sent that these are exceptional circumstances. The reply provided to me indicates that there is flexibilit…
I know the Deputy has a long-term interest in this area. She has been extremely supportive of the scheme. The basic income for the arts pilot research scheme was the number one recommendation by the arts and culture recovery task force during the Covid-19 pandemic. The task force unanimously agreed that a basic income for artists was the best way to help the to sector recover after the pandemic and prevent a loss of …
The Minister has advised me that he will meet shortly with the National Campaign For the Arts, NCFA, to hear its views on the scheme in detail. Department officials met the NCFA on 25 April last. It is important to note that the pilot is a research programme and that no decision has been taken as to the continuation of the basic income for the arts. The research evaluating the impact of the pilot scheme is ongoing. A…
I, too, thank the Deputies for the imaginative legislation they have tabled. The Government recognises the importance of progressing legislation in respect of the right to repair and information on the repairability of certain products. The Deputies have outlined many examples I am well familiar with, in the sense that, when I started out in life, white goods lasted a greater length of time than they do now. The Depa…
I appreciate the need for progressing legislation in this area. I thank the speakers who have contributed. We are all at one in terms of its importance and we all share the same objective here. There is a significant recognition of that, particularly on planned obsolesce which all the Deputies have identified, and it is something we need to address. Developments at EU level are already addressing these issues and as …
I thank the Deputy. He has always been consistent in his interest in this matter.
As the Deputy is aware, Ireland has never made any claims to Rockall nor has Ireland ever recognised UK sovereignty claims over Rockall. Accordingly, Ireland has not recognised a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea around it. This remains the position of the Government, and that is well understood in this House.
The Government continues …
-----on what the value of the fishery since 2021 has been or could have been.
I am committed to finding a way forward if at all possible. I will continue to work closely with the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Harris. The Deputy is right in saying that the trade and co-operation agreement has implications. It needs to be looked at again for the impact it will have in 2026. I am happy to engage on that basis and to try to involve the matter insofar as is possible in …