It seems the Taoiseach stole my line, because I was going to say I would find out. I thank Deputy O'Gorman for raising a very important issue. I will answer the questions directly, but I join with him in talking about the importance of a science-led, evidence-based approach to vaccination.
I am very proud that largely, but not exclusively, in this House we have taken an approach across party lines, where we follow t…
TDs / Simon Harris
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questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
566,209
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566,201 as a minister, 8 as a TD
140
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Contributions to debates 2,972 in all
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| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
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| January 2025 | 4 |
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| April 2025 | 83 |
| May 2025 | 249 |
| June 2025 | 175 |
| July 2025 | 144 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
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| April 2026 | 226 |
| May 2026 | 119 |
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| 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 give that commitment. We will come back in three weeks with a definitive plan on that. While I am on my feet, I suggest, as this relatively new Dáil commences, that every Member of this House would publicly commit to supporting the vaccination programme. There is no room for pseudoscience or wannabe doctors who are not doctors. I want to know if every single elected representative in every single political party is…
I hate to burst the Deputy's gotcha moment but I suggest he might wish to interrogate his numbers. I am not sure whether we should do a show of hands, but I imagine there is not a Member of Dáil Éireann, other than himself perhaps, who is not aware of the fact that there can be duplications.
There can, of course, be people involved with more than one local authority. There can be people in my constituency who can li…
The Deputy said homeless.
He said homeless lists.
Who is incompetent?
There was not as much pirouetting and spinning at my daughter's ballet recital compared to what I just saw there. The reality is this is far too serious to engage in conspiracy theories.
The Deputy suggested I went around counting people. The reality is we have robust, politically independent, impartial structures in our State-----
Sorry, no. The Deputy can wave his sheets of paper but I want to know who in the public service he is calling incompetent?
It is our public service. It is ours, we live in a Republic. It is our public service and it does a bloody good job and I want to know-----
Just wait a second now, Mr. Angry. Wait.
I want to know who in our public service or what agency Deputy Tóibín believes is wrong in relation to our housing figures. I made the point about duplication and how you can report homelessness in more than one area. That did not suit the Deputy so he switched his argument for the next stage. The Deputy is right. We are coming from a very low base after a very difficult, deep financial recession in this country. We …
I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this issue. I join with him in sending best wishes to the local gardaí he referenced who experienced assault. An attack on a member of An Garda Síochána is an attack on our democracy and should rightly be condemned. Indeed, in this House in recent years and under the leadership of the then Minister, Deputy McEntee, we significantly increased the maximum penalties for those who assau…
I am definitely not directing my remarks at the people of Dundrum – far from it. I met some of them when in Clonmel, but we have seen that huge pressure and challenges have been imposed on the gardaí in dealing with extremist elements in certain places. They visit my constituency as well. I thank the gardaí, who often must operate in the face of considerable abuse, which includes people sticking phones in their faces…
However, I am taking the Deputy’s broader point and on this occasion I am agreeing with him in that we obviously need to do more to increase the Garda presence. I assure him that the programme for Government, and also the pipeline we are now seeing from Templemore, will see us on a more positive trajectory as a result of the foundations we have put in place over the past several years.
I also assure the Deputy that …
I thank Deputy Cullinane for raising this issue again. I acknowledge he has raised it frequently. I would make the point that when we have worked together, across parties in this House, on issues relating to Waterford and the rest of the south east, including the university in recent years, we have managed to make progress together. This is a similar issue. Genuinely across the House, there is support for what is req…
I extend my sympathy to the family of the young man, Evan Fitzgerald. He was a countyman of mine. The incident was a great shock in the local community and County Wicklow. I understand this is a complex case. Obviously, I am not privy, nor should I be, to when the Garda Commissioner does or does not use the provision in the Act. That is a matter between the Commissioner and the Minister, but I understand the Minister…
We are treating this as an emergency. It is a housing emergency and that is why we are taking big decisions each and every week to try to increase housing supply. We have increased housing supply from the floor to around 30,000 homes each year. We need to increase that significantly to deliver 300,000 more homes by the end of 2030. We have been following the evidence base of the Housing Agency in decisions we have ma…
I thank Deputy Ward for the constructive way in which he has been engaging on this issue on behalf of his constituents in Donegal. I am pleased with some of the progress that we have been able to make together after the Minister, Deputy Browne, worked intensively with Deputy Ward's constituents and the advocacy groups in Donegal. I will ask the Minister to reflect on the Deputy's point regarding the cut-off date. I w…
I thank Deputy Collins for raising this issue. I am not in any way doubting the accuracy of what he says or his bona fides on it, but if true, that lack of communication would be quite extraordinary. I must say without knowing all the details that the idea of moving people 100 km is extraordinary at any stage in a person's life, least not in the latter stages. I know the Department of Health has engaged with the HSE …
I thank Deputy Brennan for raising this issue. This Government is keen to support small and medium enterprises. They make up the backbone of our economy and every community that we proudly represent in Dáil Éireann. We have taken two measures already. The SME test makes sure that all proposals that come to the Government are put through the prism of what their impact on our small and medium businesses will be. We hav…
I thank Deputy Clendennen. I, too, am very proud of the progress we have made on public health. We have much more work to do. There is a legitimate issue of timing when it comes to labelling. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy Heydon, has shared economic concerns relating to the policy due to the uncertain trading environment, which has been raised with him by many colleagues trying to do their business international…
I thank Deputy Ó Cearúil for raising this issue. He is right. Sometimes, means tests can just be mean. We have to make sure that they are fit for purpose. That is why the programme for Government specifically makes this commitment. We want to do a thorough deep dive on means tests, particularly where there are anomalies or poverty traps or they do not align with other parts of Government and societal policy and direc…
I thank Deputy Crowe for his very constructive suggestion. Tomorrow, we will have a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council, which will be an opportunity for colleagues across the island of Ireland to get together. I will raise the issue of DMD on the meeting's margins. If it is possible for professionals throughout the island to work together in the interests of patients with a rare disease, I am sure that is…
I agree with a lot of what the Deputy said. The idea that any parent has to watch his or her young child in such a fragile state when the parent knows there is medication available that could significantly improve the child's quality of life and health is not right. The HSE is engaging on this matter. In light of it being raised in the House today by a number of Deputies, I will seek an urgent update as well.
On the…