I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I was thinking today that it is no wonder the public are losing complete faith in politics considering what the present leader of this country stated in 2013 or 2014 about the triple lock and then he tries to defend something today. That is hypocrisy, in my opinion. You do not do that. People lose faith if you act that way.
We remember the Nice treaty. The medicine we…
TDs / Michael Fitzmaurice
Michael Fitzmaurice
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
429
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
50,404
words spoken in the chamber
Across 171 contributions
293
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
120
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 429 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 171 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 58 | 1 |
| February 2025 | 8 | 22 |
| March 2025 | 17 | 8 |
| April 2025 | 21 | 3 |
| May 2025 | 6 | 8 |
| June 2025 | 36 | 3 |
| July 2025 | 11 | 1 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 21 | 5 |
| October 2025 | 9 | 15 |
| November 2025 | 16 | 7 |
| December 2025 | 16 | 24 |
| January 2026 | 14 | 6 |
| February 2026 | 21 | 22 |
| March 2026 | 45 | 14 |
| April 2026 | 31 | 6 |
| May 2026 | 15 | 1 |
| June 2026 | 34 | 0 |
| July 2026 | 31 | 7 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 13 | 3 |
| October 2026 | 6 | 15 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 79 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 Roscommon-Galway 29 November 2024 to now
- party Independent Ireland 29 November 2024 to now
I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. What politicians always need to do is nip something in the bud before it gets out of hand. In the line of home-heating oil, there was so much speculation before the budget. People had built their hopes up that 16 cent or 18 cent were going to come off it. Unfortunately, what has happened now is that a lot of people can only afford 200 litres. When you are buying 200 l…
5. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the allocation on carbon tax to agriculture from 2020 to 2025 and to date in 2026; and the projected intake until 2030, yearly. [71037/26]
In 2020 to 2025, inclusive, what were the amounts allocated to the Minister's Department annually? Will he also comment on 2026 and the future projected figures?
I did not hear what the figures for 2020 and 2021 were. Will the Minister give me even a rough figure for 2020 to 2025?
One matter needs to be clarified. Before carbon tax ever came in, we had the rural environment protection scheme, REPS. It paid several hundred more euro, on average, to every farmer who was on it. That was true of other schemes before there was a carbon tax, such as the green low-carbon agri-envir…
I thank the Minister. It will be interesting to see the figure when we get it. I did not have the answer when I was coming in. While I am not an admirer of the carbon tax, if it is to be persisted with, I want to see that the commitments that were put into the programme for Government being adhered to and farmers at least getting something out of it. The reality is that if you put a silage outfit out on the road toda…
Around the country and down through the years, mothers and fathers, many now in their 70s and 80s, have cared for loved ones with intellectual disabilities. They have looked after them without any help from the State.
There are 2,300 people with intellectual disabilities whose parents are over 70 years of age. There are 500 whose parents are over 80 years of age. In County Galway, there are 125 and there are 36 in C…
Those two brothers in Roscommon are peg fed and on oxygen, and there is no respite. Will the Minister or the Tánaiste get involved to give their parents some bit of relief?
I welcome the new HSE planning forum or whatever it is. However, this should not be being set up only now. The stats should be there and the forum should know who needs services. Basically, it needs to be done in a managed system. The Minister mentioned 489 places in the budget. I am talking about residential places. I know a new place has been built in Tuam. The people there are being looked after fierce well; it is…
That is some damnation for a politician to say in 2026 in this country.
In relation to the fuel subsidy scheme being reissued and the CBAM, when will the €30 million for fuel and €15 million for fertiliser be paid to farmers and contractors?
That is less than last year.
I learned a rhyme when I was young that goes "There is a hole in the bucket, dear Liza" and over the past few weeks we have heard so many leaks coming out that the briefcases must have holes in them. Unfortunately, the budget did not produce some of the documents that the holes said were in it.
Let us talk about agriculture. The overall budget for agriculture that was passed by our agriculture committee, including t…
As was outlined earlier, every one of us, as public representatives, regardless of party, has been approached in recent years in relation to people who never got married, those who have no family and same-sex couples. There is a frustration out there that they are not being treated equally. There is nothing wrong with trying to give a house or whatever else to a brother or sister. I know that on the land side, having…
I will not take too long, as other people need to talk. The Minister talked about changing a culture. I am a long time at the game of machinery. Will he tell me where I will get a 1,000 horsepower harvester that will cut silage but does not use diesel? Will he tell me where I will get a triple mower that will mow the grass? Will he tell me where I will get a tractor to put in front of a fusion baler and do the work t…
I move:
That Dáil Éireann:
recognises that:
— households, farmers, agricultural contractors, hauliers, tradespeople and businesses are facing renewed and significant increases in the cost of fuel and energy, adding further pressure to an already severe cost-of-living crisis;
— petrol and diesel are essential rather than discretionary expenses for hundreds of thousands of people, particularly in rural Ireland wher…
On behalf of Independent Ireland, whether you agree or disagree with the motion, I want to say thanks to each speaker for making the effort. We respect democracy and we respect different views. People are entitled to their views.
There are a few things that need clarification. We have always put forward an option if people wanted to find the money. Some 340,000 or 350,000 flights come into Ireland, and people have a…
I thank the Minister of State.
A few weeks ago, I brought to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, a problem regarding apprenticeships. In fairness, she rang me last Sunday evening. Over the past few weeks, she has resolved this issue, which had given rise to problems for many apprentices. I thank her for resolving it. It is good that mother who never previously engaged with politicians was able to ring me and say that she was gra…
Basically, there was no Exchequer money at that time but we were still able to keep the bus service going. Unfortunately, there have been reviews, public consultations and various documents since then. I have spoken to Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, about this matter - I want to make it very clear that I am not directing any blame at him - but, despite everything, it is the same old story every year. People appl…
Over the summer, will the Tánaiste crack the whip in order to get someone to try to resolve this matter once and for all, please?
I thank the Tánaiste for that. The number was 120,000 in 2018. Think back, however, and you will see that it was 135,000 or 140,000 in the eighties. That was the base figure at a time when Ireland was awash with money.
To be blunt, parents who are engaging on this matter would say that they would be as well trying to talk to someone in the White House as they would be trying to talk to someone in Bus Éireann or in t…
An awful lot of the children I am talking about have had concessionary tickets for the past two years. When the contracts are being drawn up, I just do not know why they to not reference 23- , 33- or 50-seaters. If this is done and if the population increases, all involved would under the procurement rules, be able to adapt.
Reference was made earlier to Independent Ireland and a vote in the European Parliament. I want to put on the record that Independent Ireland issued a statement to make it very clear that we stand with the people in Limerick and surrounding areas who have large mortgages and young families. The facts are not out yet on the percentages one way or the other. I want that on the record rather than innuendo being spread.
…
I thank the Minister. However, there is one thing we need to know. It is important the Department of Health and indeed the Department of public expenditure engage with the people involved in the National Rehabilitation Hospital. We frequently hear about assessments. As the Minister is aware, the reality that it takes six months for some people to get in the door to get on the road to recovery. While initially they ma…