First, if we have not let me join with France in saying I do not believe the vote should take place in the calendar year 2025. I also do not believe it will because unless everybody is saying very different things in different countries, I believe there is currently a blocking minority in relation to Mercosur. I share the French position that there should not be a vote on Mercosur this side of Christmas. I do not see…
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.
Month by month
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
Sure. We have very serious concerns about the Mercosur agreement. Some of what we have seen in the Irish Farmers’ Journal heightens that concern. The Deputy is right. However, to be honest to farmers, we have always said that Ireland on its own cannot stop Mercosur. It is about like-minded countries and whether there is critical mass.
That work is ongoing. The Deputy has a job to do and he does it well, I do not say that critically. However, the Irish Government has to work behind the scenes diplomatically and engage with those like-minded countries. I can absolutely assure the Deputy that work is under way.
I thank Deputy Daly for raising this important matter. I assure him, as he knows, that this Government is absolutely committed to ensuring high-quality regional connectivity in the west. We have demonstrated that by the progression of a number of projects, including the project on the N5 in recent years.
The recently published sectoral investment plan for transport reaffirms the NDP commitment to deliver many new ro…
I thank Deputy Daly. He has outlined to us quite correctly a number of the challenges being faced in terms of the road infrastructure in Roscommon, Boyle and the region, whether the heavy volume of traffic or the safety issues, which are really important. I am struck by how every morning, including today, we wake up, look at our newspapers and news bulletins and see more fatalities and tragedies on Irish roads.
We t…
It has been, but it is important we are honest with fishermen. I would like to know which fishing representative body does not feel that I showed up or that the Taoiseach showed up, considering I met them, and I was in touch directly with the European Commission. The Taoiseach met them, as did the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, a dedicated Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries, and the senior Ministe…
I wish a happy Christmas to the Deputy, her family and her Labour Party colleagues. I too welcome the developments at an EU level this week. I acknowledge the contribution of her party colleague Aodhán Ó Ríordáin. She will also understand why I acknowledge the contribution of Regina Doherty, who is on that committee in the European Parliament. We now have a housing Commissioner and a committee of the Parliament on ho…
The rules of the House are one thing but Deputy Hearne is rightly highlighting a very important issue. As a constituency TD, I absolutely do consider this. I also consider it as the Tánaiste. Everybody in this House considers what more we can and must do in relation to child and family homelessness. We have different policy perspectives that we debate in this House. It is not a question of people ignoring each other.…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Nobody wants to see anybody on hunger strike or to see anybody get ill arising from that. I note he took the opportunity of the presence of the British ambassador in the House today to raise his concerns in relation to this. I will also relay those concerns to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.
I thank the Deputy for making the effort today with his Christmas jumper and for injecting a degree of Christmas cheer into this place. I wish him, his family, colleagues and staff a very happy Christmas too.
The factual answer in relation to a Dublin allowance is that all of these issues are matters for pay agreements. It is for the unions and the Government side to bring proposals to the table. While I tend not to…
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I acknowledge that this is something that has been going on for quite a significant period and it is understandable that people want to a resolution to this as quickly as possible. When I leave the Chamber I will ask the Minister for communications for a direct update on the timeline in relation to that and he will make contact with the Deputy on that later today.
I wish the Deputy a happy Christmas too and thank him for raising this very serious issue. It is very timely because when we turn on our radios at the moment, we all hear the very chilling advertisements from emergency department consultants and ICU consultants in children's hospitals reminding us of the law in relation to e-scooters but also, on a purely human level, of the absolute devastation that children and oth…
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue relating the Navan Road schools. I can hear the frustration in his voice on behalf of those schools. I will certainly speak with the Minister, Deputy Naughton about timelines and next steps and ask her to revert to him directly.
I thank Deputy Butterly for raising this issue. I have seen at first hand the benefit of the work that was done by the Drogheda Implementation Board, which formally came to an end on 31 December 2024, having had its term extended. The board produced a very good report, Drogheda: Creating a Bridge to a Better Future, which had 74 recommendations.
They were really under two headings: the need for improved interagency …
I thank the Deputy and Nollaig shona dó. On the points he made about the Mercosur deal, they are points made by the Taoiseach, myself, the Minister for agriculture and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. Farmers in Ireland have expressed very serious views. The Irish Farmers' Journal has revealed concerning information, as the Deputy said, following its trip to Brazil as well. As the Taoiseach said this morni…
Very respectfully, on three or four occasions in the House today, I have outlined the Government's position as the Taoiseach did this morning as well. The programme for Government is clear. We have significant concerns about the agreement in its current form. We will work with like-minded countries to oppose it in its current form. Those two pieces of work are ongoing. It is not prudent or sensible to have a vote on …
Truthfully, there has not been a change I am aware of but obviously, the Deputy is seeing a reality in the system in terms of the cases he has outlined. I will send a transcript of what Deputy said to the Minister for housing and ask that he looks at it and comes back to the Deputy directly.
If the Deputy could send on those details as well, that would be great.
The Deputy is one of the over 60 TDs who are here for their first Christmas and through their first calendar year as well. I wish her a happy Christmas. Politics aside, I know everybody works very hard in the Oireachtas and it has been a busy first year.
I thank the Deputy for bringing the facility on the South Circular Road to my attention. I will raise that directly with the Minister for housing and the Minister o…
It does.
I thank the Deputy for raising this. As he said, this is an issue I know affects his constituency and my own, the Minister of State's, Deputy Butler, and a lot of the south east. This is an issue that everybody wants to see resolved. I know it is an evolving situation but it is my understanding that further mediation is scheduled to take place today and it is possibly even happening now. It was scheduled to take plac…
I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this serious and important issue. I think we would acknowledge on all sides of the House that this is something that was done for a good reason, which is the idea of trying to get sight of the number of children who would require a special educational needs place earlier because it is not fair, and it is far too stressful to leave it too late. It was the germ of a good idea, and, i…
As is often the case, Deputy Clendennen has made a valid, logical point that would make a real difference to patients, patient care, congestion and life. It works on a lot of levels. I join with him in saying it is a very significant week for the midlands and for Offaly in relation to the news of Offaly County Council's decision regarding the new hospice facility. We often highlight rightly here the challenges we hav…
I thank Deputy McGreehan very much for highlighting this issue as we approach the 50th anniversary. We think of Jack Rooney and Hugh Watters and their families and all those injured and all the families impacted. This is an issue that both the Minister for justice and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade are working on raising at every opportunity, including with the British Government. Indeed, I remember it in my …
I hope it is a good one.