I thank the Minister for his reply. Many of those payments and changes are welcome but there is a question, in the context of the growing hardship on families, the cost of energy and the cost-of-living crisis, that people are being left behind. Potential talent, in particular, is being left behind at a young age if we do not reverse the trend of consistent child poverty. The Government's target is about 3%; 7.8% is s…
TDs / Eoin Hayes
Eoin Hayes
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
539
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
46,272
words spoken in the chamber
Across 176 contributions
420
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
163
topics asked about
Across 20 departments
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
What they ask about
The subject headings the Oireachtas filed their questions under.
Who they ask
The departments their questions were addressed to.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Questions asked 539 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 176 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| March 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| April 2025 | 44 | 0 |
| May 2025 | 61 | 2 |
| June 2025 | 7 | 1 |
| July 2025 | 21 | 4 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 8 | 13 |
| October 2025 | 64 | 6 |
| November 2025 | 35 | 10 |
| December 2025 | 16 | 14 |
| January 2026 | 38 | 11 |
| February 2026 | 26 | 35 |
| March 2026 | 9 | 15 |
| April 2026 | 33 | 17 |
| May 2026 | 7 | 13 |
| June 2026 | 78 | 10 |
| July 2026 | 72 | 7 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 15 | 10 |
| October 2026 | 5 | 8 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 118 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Worked out by computer from the subject headings of each TD's questions, giving more weight to headings few TDs use. It shows shared subjects, not shared views.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Dublin Bay South 29 November 2024 to now
- party Social Democrats 29 November 2024 to 10 January 2025
- party Independent 10 January 2025 to 10 April 2025
- party Social Democrats 10 April 2025 to now
It is worthwhile to read into the record some of the harrowing stories presented by St. Vincent de Paul and the reality faced by lone parents. One parent said: "I can't get control, we can't make plans, it's like being in a deep hole, no matter what we do we can’t get out of it. We climb up and fall back in." Another single mother told the organisation: "I find life very hard, not being able to pay all my bills and a…
The CSO recently released data on rising levels of poverty among our older population. The consistent poverty rate for those living alone aged 65 years and over and was 9.6%, which is nearly one out of every ten, compared with 5.2% in 2024. This is a staggering near doubling in just one year. More than 30% are now at risk of poverty. I know the Taoiseach was in Stoneybatter yesterday evening and I was not so far away…
Not for energy.
This is a targeted measure.
There is no question that Ireland and the world have experienced one of the most significant energy shocks in decades. As discussed earlier, there are no fully operational offshore wind farms in Ireland, one of the windiest countries in the world, after decades of underinvestment and deprioritisation by successive Governments, including those the Taoiseach has been involved with. It has been a gross dereliction of du…
Fianna Fáil has been in government for a very long time.
I start by thanking Deputies Ó Snodaigh, Nash, Rice, Murphy and O'Gorman and former Deputy and now Uachtarán Catherine Connolly for sponsoring this important Bill. I thank the LGBT Restorative Justice Campaign, in particular my dear friend, Brian Sheehan, for its incredible campaigning on this over many years. I also want to acknowledge the Minister and Department's commitment and urgency to pass legislation that wil…
The stories on the front pages of the newspapers this morning were not about ordinary people dealing with the cost-of-living crisis. No, there are no front pages given to the pensioner at home struggling to keep their home warm, the disabled person taking the now hours-long trip to a hospital for dialysis because they can no longer afford to do it at home, the single mother skipping meals to feed her children or the …
Let me express my deep gratitude and support for An Garda Síochána for clearing the disruption and blockades last week. On 17 December, the Taoiseach told me in this Chamber that it was "not fiscally sustainable" that the Government change any of its spending plans in order to accommodate basic, targeted measures to help with winter fuel costs. Now, we see a raft of measures costing way above the meagre ask I was mak…
Less than 10%.
It is.
That is not going to pay the energy bills.
It is often said that in the past century the global economy has lifted billions of people out of poverty. China's economic prosperity was responsible for more than 60% of that figure and it has been based on very different models to the ones we have here in Europe. While, of course, we must condemn human rights abuses in China, it is also true that China now has more renewable energy than Europe, is a leader in elec…
It should be lost on no one, today of all days, that climate change and the associated issues in energy security, water infrastructure and transportation infrastructure are of paramount importance for the future of our country. I welcome the Government focusing on the acceleration of the delivery of such infrastructure so we can meet this climate century and navigate it more securely for the shared prosperity of our …
As the Minister said, we are lucky to live in a country where our police force, An Garda Síochána, is lauded by the vast majority of society. I want to pay particular tribute to the excellent gardaí in our constituency of Dublin Bay South and here in Leinster House and, in particular, to the incredible work of community gardaí which I see first hand in my work as a constituency TD. They do great work with vulnerable …
Politics, for better or worse, has made me occasionally suspicious of things. When things happen suddenly or without warning, I wonder what exactly is happening. I am a bit of a nerd, I have to admit. I like maths, numbers and researching things I am interested in. After a few hours of researching this amendment and looking at the Bill, I find what the Government is doing deeply troubling. I want to be really clear h…
It is not, but it is a very significant provision that the Government has put into it. Let me take Deputies through how I came across it. The Government has deliberately obfuscated this from the Dáil and it is a very serious matter for Government backbenchers, in particular.
On the face of it, the change to the Order of Business to add to the agenda an amendment to the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 does not …
Can you tell me the answer, Minister?
The National Oil Reserves Agency gave €100 million, or more than 80% of the levy, to the climate action fund that was set up by an amendment to the legislation in 2020. It turns out that is virtually the entirety of all funding for the climate action fund. The fund was set up to support a few really important things, as detailed in its 2024 annual report. In that year, it gave €8 million to a community climate action…
I move amendment No. 2:
In page 3, to delete lines 24 to 31 and in page 4, to delete lines 1 to 3.
As we discussed earlier, the substance of this amendment is to remove section 1(b) from the amendment Bill. The Minister should take that under consideration. In contrast to every other energy measure announced by the Government this week, all of which had a time limit of two months, this Bill authorises another 18 mo…
I am not withdrawing it. The Minister was not transparent on it.
We have put forward this amendment, which would require the Minister to at least seek further approval from the Oireachtas, as he would be required to do in the case of any other emergency energy measure. That is only reasonable. It is only in keeping with the Government's commitments on excise taxes and haulier rebates, which were authorised last nigh…
I thank the Minister for committing to bringing it to Cabinet. He did not have to do that so I appreciate it. Bringing any other oversight to it involving the Dáil or committees is laudable and I am glad to see the Minister engage on a good faith basis on that.
I also acknowledge the climate action that is ongoing. Retrofitting, solar panels and the rehabilitation of bogs are very positive and the Social Democrats a…
Yes, and then 80% of it goes to the Climate Action Fund. The entirety of the Climate Action Fund, or 99% of it, is funded by this levy so the Minister cannot tell me he is being transparent. The Minister cannot tell me that he was totally upfront with the Dáil here; he was not. The Minister did not mention it in his opening remarks. It is not in the Bill. It is not in the explanatory memorandum from the Department. I…
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation under Vladimir Putin began four years and one month ago. I remember when Zelenskyy was here in the Chamber late last year. It seemed as if the whole world was upon his shoulders. It is something I will never forget. In the context of the recent geopolitical events and spreading of warfare, it is clear that tougher sanctions will be required to counter Putin…