I thank Deputy Lawlor for highlighting this issue. Anecdotally, I have come across this as well. We are asking people who have accrued significant experience and expertise to come back and help out with a specific project, maybe when there are particular times of pressure, such as during Covid and many other occasions. Often, it can be quite a challenge to get people to come back, not necessarily because they do not …
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
Show as a table
| 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 for his constructive contribution and the idea of an accelerator project for the IFSC. If the Deputy sends me on the details of it, I will be very happy to engage with him on it. I suggest that my colleague in the Department of Finance, the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, who has responsibility for international services, and I could have a discussion in relation to that. I would be happy to facili…
As is often the case, Deputy Burke is correct on this. There is a real blockage here, which is that it cannot all be left to the market. I meet people in my constituency and around the country, often young professional people, who they want to open a childcare facility. They are well up for it, ready and qualified but they gave to face upfront costs, startup costs, rents and capital costs. I will ask the Minister, De…
I try to stop myself doing it as well, because I can stand here and point to there being X number of more places. That might be true, but it is also only a cause of frustration for a parent who does not have a place. I take that point, which is a fair one.
In relation to the three specific cases the Deputy raised, I will notify the Minister for education and the NCSE of her intention to follow up on those. On the br…
I thank Deputy Murphy for raising this matter. These are always sensitive and important issues to try to get right. I know local councillors try to grapple with what the right approach is on this. I note that different parties, including some Opposition parties, have voted in different ways on this on different councils. I think the lead Opposition party voted one way on South Dublin County Council and voted a differ…
In the first place, this amendment has nothing whatsoever to do with indexation. It is a proposal from the Sinn Féin Party that we should carry out a report on removing people from the universal social charge. We do not need any reports in relation to this. We need to follow very carefully the advice and analysis available to those of us in government and to those in this House about the volatile economic situation i…
It is.
It is a viability measure.
Reducing the cost of building.
I did not say that.
Deputy Doherty has decided to continue to ignore the reality with his fanciful economic ideology of the fact that there are at least 42,000 apartments in this capital city that have planning permission today that have been deemed not viable to build. I want to build them while Deputy Doherty wants to continue to call people names. It makes sense to try to ensure those apartments are built because where are the young …
You see-----
The Deputy is wrong. When you run the economy well, wage growth counts-----
It is going to be a long night if the Deputy is going to be so rude the whole time.
I thank Deputy Nash for this proposal. I have heard him talk about this time and time again, and for good reason. I fully accept that budgets are about choices and we will have rigorous debates in this House about whether our choices are right. I contend – the Deputy will have a different view – that the choices we made this year were about trying to boost economic resilience, protect jobs and stimulate housing suppl…
I thank Deputies Nash and Lawlor for tabling this amendment. I acknowledge that Deputy Lawlor had an initial conversation with me on it this week. I appreciate his genuine interest and expertise in this. I also find myself in much agreement with some of the points Deputy O'Callaghan made in terms of how we keep companies that we as a country invest so much in getting to that point in Irish ownership. It is a real pol…
I thank Deputies Doherty, Conway-Walsh and Ward for this amendment. Let me first read out some of the factual answer for the record and then I will try to engage on some of the issues being raised. Two amendments have been grouped and we are discussing amendment No. 4, which calls for tax-based measures to support rental property activation in areas affected by defective concrete blocks. Deputy Doherty referred to am…
That is a point that merits further consideration by us. While I am not in a position to accept the amendments, there is the legislation coming forward next week and there is also the commitment in terms of the planned review of the scheme. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage will, as required by section 51 of the 2022 Act, carry out a review of the operation of that Act. Legally, that has to star…
In truth, this is not about compassion, from our perspective. We feel very seriously and strongly about what people are enduring in relation to this situation. The time available to me is not enough to outline a number of the measures we tried to take to assist.
These include significant changes to the current scheme, more legislation to come forward next week, and the review of the scheme that is to take place next…
I thank Deputy Farrell. The Deputies are requesting a report on the rent tax credit operating in the absence of a cap on rents, and making a direct comparison between the amount of the credit and rent increases. They suggest that the rent tax credit should be complemented by rent caps. There are currently certain limits to rent increases. Rent increases in a rent pressure zone cannot now exceed general inflation. The…
One day, if Deputy Doherty can ever form a Government or can find people in this House who wish to form a Government with him, he will realise that you go out to the people and seek a mandate from the people on your manifesto. You get as many votes and seats as you can in Dáil Éireann. If you do not have enough seats to form a Government, you then seek other parties in the Dáil to work with you. You then sit down tog…
That is the answer.
Deputy Doherty has not done it yet.
He put a question to me but he did not wish me to answer it.
The Acting Chair is grand. I say this just for the people watching at home. I did not have an opportunity to answer the question.