It is rare the Deputy commends me.
I thank Deputy Ó Murchú for raising, obviously, a very serious issue. The issue in relation to Garvaghy is receiving, as it rightly should, attention at all levels of government, right up to the most senior levels, and at all levels across officialdom as well, including the engagement of Irish officials on the ground, including engagement with the Deputy's party and others.
I woul…
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 Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this issue in relation to how we support plant hire operators, quarry workers and others in that kind of construction sector space with fuel costs. We have been clear as a Government that we want to do this. There is work going on across a few Departments to work out the best modality, but both I and the Taoiseach have been clear that we want to get this done and have a proposal …
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The word "front-line" is very important here. As the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, in working closely with Minister, Deputy Chambers, prepares for the health budget 2027, we need to make sure we grow our front-line health professionals. The Deputy makes a valid point about the people going through our own universities and colleges who want to be able to work here and ar…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. More broadly regarding energy prices and the like, I am conscious of the pressures people are feeling in relation to energy bills. They are real, not just in Ireland but across the European Union and large parts of the world. In an Irish context, we will have our budget next Tuesday, when we will endeavour to assist people with those bills, particularly through the winter period. The…
My position is extraordinarily clear. I heard that individual Commissioner's comments today. I met with Commissioner Hoekstra yesterday, who is the Commissioner with responsibility for taxation. He is due to report and engage with EU finance Ministers in Luxembourg next Friday.
It is not only my view but the view of the German finance Minister, the Italian finance Minister and four other finance Ministers, expressed…
The Deputy keeps asking me the same questions. I have the back of ordinary workers. We tested that electorally in Galway West not that long ago when the Deputy's party put its proposition and I put mine. We won the by-election and his party did not. We have tested these propositions with the people because the people of Ireland know that, of course, it is more nuanced than the Deputy outlined. We are in the European …
Tracker mortgage failings by lenders have caused significant distress. That phrase probably does not quite capture the level of distress. In some cases, it has had devastating consequences for the affected customers. The Central Bank of Ireland launched the tracker mortgage examination in 2015. This followed engagement and intervention with a number of lenders when it became clear that tracker-related issues could be…
Obviously, I will not comment on an individual mortgage situation, and the Deputy is not asking me to comment on it. I appreciate that is not the point he is raising in the Dáil tonight. "Yes" is the short answer to his question. I will ask the Central Bank of Ireland to specifically look at the issue the Deputy has raised. If he wishes to either copy me on that correspondence or send me other correspondence outlinin…
I certainly will. For the record of the House, I do not have any information at my disposal in relation to that wider issue or the potential for a wider issue. However, considering that the Deputy has raised the matter on the floor of the Dáil, I will send a transcript of this exchange to the Central Bank. If I or the Central Bank requires any further information, I will ask it to come back to the Deputy. I will repo…
Until December 2016, income and gains arising on Irish real estate and distributed by certain Irish regulated funds to non-resident investors were outside the scope of Irish taxation. The Irish real estate fund, or IREF, regime was introduced in the Finance Act 2016 to address concerns that non-resident investors who were making investments in collective investment funds were not taxed on income and gains from Irish …
I will come back on this.
Let the record of the House show that it was a government led by my party in 2016 that introduced the legislation and legislated in relation to these issues. Just to be clear. I know the Deputy does this thing about Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for the social media clips, but let the record of the House show that it was a Fine Gael Minister for Finance who actually legislated in relation to the IREF legislation. The rea…
Again, it was Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in government that introduced the renters' tax credit. It was Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil-----
No, sorry. You get to say your thing and I do not say "Oh my God", so just sit there and allow me answer these-----
Just to be very clear-----
I just do not understand. If the Deputy is so effective at his job-----
-----I do not understand why he is sitting over there as the longest-serving Opposition spokesperson on finance in the history of the European Union. Maybe reflect on that for a moment. We introduced the renters' tax-----
We are here and you are there-----
-----and that is for a reason called democracy.
We introduced the renters' tax credit. We increased the renters' tax credit. The programme for Government commits to further increasing the renters' tax credit. It is now worth more than €300 million to renters in this country. We also introduced rent pressure zones, including providing protections to renters in Donegal, that did not exist until we brought in those ren…
That is why we will publish this year a consultation on a simplified IREF regime.
That is a slur.
I thank Deputy Nash. The introduction of the investment account is a key step in fostering a stronger culture of long-term investment in our country and supporting greater financial resilience over time for individuals and families. We want to provide a simple, accessible and attractive framework for investment. The investment account will help individuals to put their savings to work, strengthen their economic resil…
These are very fair questions. I am very happy to engage with them and we should engage with them in detail through the Finance Bill piece.
While we have seen a significant uptake in these accounts in a number of member states that have introduced them, I do not see this as a kind of light bulb or light switch moment. I see this more as a cultural change in terms of finance and investment that we will be on over a n…
Sorry, my apologies.
I very much agree that time will tell is a fair analysis of the situation, and I appreciate that the Deputy does not have an ideological or principled objection to it. I also appreciate that this House will want to get the detail right and will want to tease through that.
I fully accept that we are living through a cost-of-living crisis and I fully accept that that it is real, but alongside that there is data from t…