It is important to say that there are around 6,000 children in our care system, living with foster parents and in registered centres. The vast majority are in education and training. It is also true, in fairness to the Minister, Deputy Foley, who is working hard on this matter, that she secured an increase in the Tusla budget of €177 million this year on top of an additional €53 million in additional capital funding.…
TDs / Simon Harris
0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
566,209
words spoken in the chamber
566,201 as a minister, 8 as a TD
140
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
Members of the Government answer parliamentary questions rather than ask them, so this page lists none of theirs.
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Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 2,972 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
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| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 4 |
| January 2025 | 4 |
| February 2025 | 255 |
| March 2025 | 42 |
| April 2025 | 83 |
| May 2025 | 249 |
| June 2025 | 175 |
| July 2025 | 144 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 79 |
| October 2025 | 214 |
| November 2025 | 347 |
| December 2025 | 192 |
| January 2026 | 97 |
| February 2026 | 197 |
| March 2026 | 187 |
| April 2026 | 226 |
| May 2026 | 119 |
| June 2026 | 127 |
| July 2026 | 93 |
| August 2026 | 2 |
| September 2026 | 83 |
| October 2026 | 53 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 2,685 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Wicklow 29 November 2024 to now
- office Taoiseach 29 November 2024 to 22 January 2025
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Defence 23 January 2025 to 25 March 2025
- office Minister for Foreign Affairs 23 January 2025 to 25 March 2025
- office Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 26 March 2025 to 18 November 2025
- office Minister for Defence 26 March 2025 to 18 November 2025
- office Minister for Finance 18 November 2025 to now
I thank the Deputy very much for raising this important matter. I acknowledge that, as he rightly reminded the House, this is not the first time he has raised this issue here, and directly with the Minister for Health as well. There has been a welcome and renewed policy focus in this House and from the Government on the importance of HRT treatment and accessibility to the free HRT programme. I thank my colleague the …
The Deputy is right. It is always a milestone moment in relation to the consideration of any new medicine for Irish patients when the NCPE produces its report and that has obviously happened. The next step is for the HSE to invite the company to initiate commercial negotiations. Following that step, clinical submissions are considered and so too are patient submissions. That is important so that the voices of the wom…
I agree with a lot of what the Deputy said in the sense of these being extraordinarily harrowing cases involving extraordinarily vulnerable children. I want to answer his question. I know all of us in this House would say that these children do matter. Their voices do matter. All of us need to be their voice. I did have a good conversation with the CEO of Tusla earlier, with whom I have regular engagements. Tusla is …
Last year alone, more than 106,000 referrals were received by Tusla. There are over 6,000 children in foster care with foster parents or in registered centres doing well. The vast majority of children in care are thriving and are being well looked after. The vast majority of them are in education or training. That is not to take away from the harrowing failures.
The Government will of course want to receive a full r…
I thank Deputy Cummins for bringing up the issue and I will have a look at that report. The question she is raising is a broader one that arises from time to time, where there is a model that works well in parts of the city or of our country and there are other communities saying that they too could benefit from that model. I am going from my memory now, but I know there was work to be undertaken towards the end of t…
I thank Deputy Healy and acknowledge this is not the first time he has raised it in this House. It does seem to have been going on for a very long time. Truthfully, I do not know the factual reason, whether it is regarding an inability to recruit or not. I know it often can be. The Deputy also raised the issue in relation to the transfer of services. On foot of him raising it again, I will ask that the Minister, Depu…
I thank Deputy O'Flynn for raising this issue. On foot of him specifically raising that area, I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, who has responsibility for this area, to come back to him directly. The broader point as to how we make sure we can retrofit and make homes warm for people to live in and to have a higher standard more quickly is absolutely at the core of what we need to be doing now. We have so much …
I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this issue. I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Burke, on this matter today. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, has told me he has spoken to him as well today. Pfizer is a great company and has been a great employer in the Deputy's own community but also in this country. I would like to have a better and deeper understanding of this and I am obviously very eager to support wor…
I thank Deputy O'Shea for raising this issue with me and with the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, here who has responsibility for rural transport as well. I am pleased to see the investment in rural transport in Cork increased by 46% between 2024 and 2025 to more than €7.2 million. To the Deputy's point about Cork, passenger numbers on the rural routes are increasing by 95% so there is clear demand for this as we…
I thank Deputy Donnelly. I am very proud to be a member of the Government that has introduced the DEIS plus programme. For the first time ever in the history of the State, we now have DEIS plus and I thank the Minister, Deputy Naughton, for her work on that. The Deputy and I have discussed this before. It is a start. The schools have been chosen on the basis of need, with criteria that are above and beyond politics i…
I thank Deputy Maxwell for raising this. It is not the first time he has raised it with me. I know his constituency in Cavan and Monaghan has been significantly impacted by Storm Chandra. While we have increased the funding for roads in Cavan and Monaghan, which is important - there is an increase in the funding in 2026 versus 2025 - I want to see that money, and more importantly the Deputy wants to see that money, i…
I acknowledge that this is certainly not the first time Deputy Heneghan has raised this issue in the House. The Deputy raises it almost every time we meet, either formally or informally, around this building. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta for all the work he is doing in relation to it.
It is now one of the 105 large-scale school building projects that will go to tender and-or construction during 2026 and 2027. In…
I take Deputy Kenny fully at his word and do not doubt in any way the accuracy or bona fides of what he has shared with the House. I also accept the HSE is often very busy and under pressure. There are very many fine people who work in our health service and we thank them for that. There is, however, no excuse for anybody, no matter how busy they are, to discharge somebody without making sure there is an appropriate …
As I was listening to what the Deputy was saying, I also had colleagues here saying to me that they are not unfamiliar with the significant inconvenience, anxiety and practical issues it can cause for constituents, including the constituents the Deputy referred to. On foot of the issue being raised by Deputy Murphy, I will ask the Minister and the chief executive of An Post to examine the specifics of the issue the D…
I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for raising the issue in relation to the need for a new emergency department for Beaumont Hospital. I accept that the Deputy is accurate. This is something that has been long discussed and much needed in Beaumont. I do not have the specifics in front of me here, so I do not want to give the Deputy or his constituents false information but it is my understanding that it is part of the HSE's …
I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this issue on his own behalf and on behalf of Councillor Rasmussen. They represent a beautiful part of this country. I know so many people who live there and who visit there from home and abroad. I take seriously the points the Deputy makes in relation to garda numbers in Cobh, in Carrigtwohill and in the area more widely, and in relation to the operating hours of the Garda station. I…
I thank Deputy Roche for raising this matter. I know he has been engaging with the Minister for agriculture on this issue also and I thank him for it. We all know a TB breakdown can cause significant emotional and financial impacts on farms, and the recent changes are necessary to help drive down the levels and prevent more farmers experiencing these very difficult impacts. The changes are targeted to ensure they foc…
I thank Deputy Guirke for raising this issue in relation to Shannen and her children. I am pleased to hear that Evie is thriving but I very much take the point about people wanting their child to be able to thrive in their own community and not be isolated from that community. I take the point. There is also anxiety as to whether Fionn will have an appropriate place. The budget we are working through for 2026 allocat…
I want to be really clear that the Government does not give any direction to An Garda Síochána in terms of implementation of the laws of the land. Anybody who participates in peaceful protest is entirely in accordance with the laws of the land. Peaceful protest is an important part of our democracy. I have participated in protests and I have been protested at. Protest is a good thing in our democracy. What is not a g…
I have looked at this issue in terms of both access and cash flow in relation to the diesel rebate scheme. As the Deputy knows, the diesel rebate scheme is a state aid that provides qualifying road haulage and passenger transport operators with a partial repayment of mineral oil tax paid on auto diesel. The scheme operates in accordance with the EU's energy tax directive, as it must, and with the general block exempt…
I am trying not to.
I will make a couple of points. We are not refusing to listen and we are certainly not refusing to act. We have brought in one of the largest packages of support in the European Union. That is a statement of fact. That is the right thing to do because our economy enables us to.
Second, I do not say this to be argumentative but, on diesel, the advice available to me is that we have actually gone further than the ener…
Is the Deputy asking about excise duty on petrol or on diesel?
We really are not. Significant lessons have been learned from the past number of weeks. The Deputy and I might agree on some and completely and utterly disagree on others. I was disappointed to see his support for blockades. I was not disappointed to see him joining protests. In fact, I would expect him to do so. That is fine in a democracy.