Said and Done

Insights / Trends

Trends

The Dáil, month by month

How busy the Dáil has been, when it sits and breaks, and what it has been talking about. Tap or hover over any bar to see its value. To follow a single word over time, use the term explorer.

The sitting calendar

One square per day, darker when the record holds more for that day. The long pale stretches are recesses.

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The monthly tables below are this chart's text equivalent.

Month by month

Counts from the official record. Low months are usually recesses, not missing data. Questions start on 22 January 2025, the earliest in the record for this Dáil.

Votes 443

Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
MonthCount
Dec 20242
Jan 20253
Feb 202518
Mar 202514
Apr 202519
May 202516
Jun 202527
Jul 202534
Sep 20259
Oct 202516
Nov 202529
Dec 202522
Jan 202619
Feb 202637
Mar 202618
Apr 202622
May 202632
Jun 202639
Jul 202622
Aug 20263
Sep 202621
Oct 202621

Contributions to debates 75,575

Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
MonthCount
Dec 2024119
Jan 2025357
Feb 20254,411
Mar 20253,934
Apr 20253,546
May 20255,115
Jun 20254,281
Jul 20254,296
Sep 20252,449
Oct 20254,162
Nov 20255,073
Dec 20253,723
Jan 20263,924
Feb 20265,159
Mar 20263,211
Apr 20264,329
May 20264,587
Jun 20264,133
Jul 20262,988
Aug 202645
Sep 20262,493
Oct 20263,240

Parliamentary questions 126,437

Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
MonthCount
Jan 20251,764
Feb 20256,197
Mar 20255,404
Apr 20256,150
May 20256,782
Jun 20255,710
Jul 20258,658
Sep 20256,821
Oct 20254,987
Nov 20258,574
Dec 20255,963
Jan 20267,066
Feb 20267,947
Mar 20266,631
Apr 20267,599
May 20268,623
Jun 20267,568
Jul 20265,567
Sep 20264,726
Oct 20263,700

By party

Monthly counts for TDs of each party, using the party each TD belonged to on the day. Panels are alphabetical and share one scale, so a smaller party's panel is simply smaller. Parties differ a lot in size, so each panel gives its TDs today as a separate fact. Items the record does not attribute to a TD are left out.

Questions asked

Every panel is drawn to the same scale: the busiest party-month had 2,830.

100% RDR 1 TD today
Aontú 2 TDs today
Fianna Fáil 48 TDs today
Fine Gael 38 TDs today
Green Party 1 TD today
Independent 15 TDs today
Independent Ireland 4 TDs today
Labour Party 11 TDs today
People Before Profit-Solidarity 3 TDs today
Sinn Féin 39 TDs today
Social Democrats 12 TDs today
Show as a table
Month100% RDRAontúFianna FáilFine GaelGreen PartyIndependentIndependent IrelandLabour PartyPeople Before Profit-SolidaritySinn FéinSocial Democrats
Dec 2024 00000000000
Jan 2025 15140220601156513994525166
Feb 2025 291681,42759670491526662431,850605
Mar 2025 141281,18469967384536241831,540528
Apr 2025 161851,31288570420515282741,548861
May 2025 101861,392992804802704512482,156517
Jun 2025 171611,22389755339954772181,661567
Jul 2025 211991,7951,280122496617642672,830823
Aug 2025 00000000000
Sep 2025 52201,6131,2111153017035032031,470477
Oct 2025 311331,101897683253203831261,178425
Nov 2025 472352,1101,3961234741,0845302471,826502
Dec 2025 81951,4401,088682836583731461,359345
Jan 2026 252761,5751,4481313712405712651,602562
Feb 2026 93181,4131,3111195449656842601,856468
Mar 2026 303231,4459651152994375932131,700511
Apr 2026 383401,5071,3791843827994882121,650620
May 2026 254561,4811,3681035792,1674231611,372488
Jun 2026 213471,7479721584126844521822,057536
Jul 2026 91511,459824832583232542241,505477
Aug 2026 00000000000
Sep 2026 12227986969652503633181801,059297
Oct 2026 2415972861067278443237102757295

Contributions to debates

Every panel is drawn to the same scale: the busiest party-month had 1,438.

100% RDR 1 TD today
Aontú 2 TDs today
Fianna Fáil 48 TDs today
Fine Gael 38 TDs today
Green Party 1 TD today
Independent 15 TDs today
Independent Ireland 4 TDs today
Labour Party 11 TDs today
People Before Profit-Solidarity 3 TDs today
Sinn Féin 39 TDs today
Social Democrats 12 TDs today
Show as a table
Month100% RDRAontúFianna FáilFine GaelGreen PartyIndependentIndependent IrelandLabour PartyPeople Before Profit-SolidaritySinn FéinSocial Democrats
Dec 2024 11185144438197
Jan 2025 15381501091327231058
Feb 2025 20821,1576372678892244272875195
Mar 2025 10861,2414081653378221197915172
Apr 2025 783961580852583144182776172
May 2025 15861,4381,009256711112281671,125223
Jun 2025 13701,3766282755955205139923265
Jul 2025 8911,3446302557563212115928286
Aug 2025 00000000000
Sep 2025 1159747426162958014286453122
Oct 2025 81031,0927761454276242161855251
Nov 2025 121121,2501,05623631992801771,079327
Dec 2025 29761,04463415419107181191790218
Jan 2026 16791,20060726438120192222765246
Feb 2026 101001,435778176201052922601,142372
Mar 2026 13488696261629685165135720226
Apr 2026 15771,26466341564121202155944233
May 2026 9651,3687282657666260204968299
Jun 2026 10791,3045963449885220208811274
Jul 2026 8438525611931337195103585253
Aug 2026 123411351463
Sep 2026 5507753802031347156105479148
Oct 2026 11589125712444967149120650199

Votes cast

Every panel is drawn to the same scale: the busiest party-month had 1,631.

100% RDR 1 TD today
Aontú 2 TDs today
Fianna Fáil 48 TDs today
Fine Gael 38 TDs today
Green Party 1 TD today
Independent 15 TDs today
Independent Ireland 4 TDs today
Labour Party 11 TDs today
People Before Profit-Solidarity 3 TDs today
Sinn Féin 39 TDs today
Social Democrats 12 TDs today
Show as a table
Month100% RDRAontúFianna FáilFine GaelGreen PartyIndependentIndependent IrelandLabour PartyPeople Before Profit-SolidaritySinn FéinSocial Democrats
Dec 2024 24897322682257719
Jan 2025 361441133481233711726
Feb 2025 1333787656172706518239656161
Mar 2025 1427615497122075413627500109
Apr 2025 1938850635182695717538700157
May 2025 93169354771934816530566145
Jun 2025 20521,143928223218428244974234
Jul 2025 31521,4611,1541841781363611,203330
Aug 2025 00000000000
Sep 2025 8937228216917791631892
Oct 2025 1430682535141714515224548153
Nov 2025 25301,148912282707728659993220
Dec 2025 2138839651222266119849730200
Jan 2026 1928784624171935917243657180
Feb 2026 12621,4031,2202640080362881,311334
Mar 2026 733756550162005117648666166
Apr 2026 1344958765182275221150789208
May 2026 12551,3141,0082631784287771,018324
Jun 2026 22541,6311,25528422101368921,347452
Jul 2026 342923694191943720044815230
Aug 2026 361191023331127911133
Sep 2026 2041842691202366019962730221
Oct 2026 1832881685212446619758731224

Words that surged

Words and phrases the Dáil used far more in each period than in the months before it: what surged, not what is always said. A term has to be used at least one and a half times as often as before to appear. Counted across the whole chamber, never for any one TD. Worked out daily.

September 2026 1 month

citizenship 153
garvaghy road 66
windfall tax 66
protected disclosures 60
slapp 54
public services card 49
hvo 40
public transport fares 39
carriages 33
psc 31
nigeria 29
motor tax 27
parades commission 27
readmission 27
manifestly unfounded 26
stop and search 26
excess profits 24
corcoran 21
fare hikes 20
windfall profits 20

Compared with Jun 2026 to Aug 2026.

Jul 2026 to Sep 2026 3 months

fares 201
pharmacists 173
citizenship 158
e-scooters 133
contraception 110
kenneally 95
hare coursing 77
garvaghy road 66
slapp 54
digital devices 53
public services card 50
laptops 43
bord bia 30
pnr data 28
parades commission 27
development exempted development 26
manifestly unfounded 26
planning and development exempted 26
stop and search 26
living with dementia 22

Compared with Apr 2026 to Jun 2026.

Apr 2026 to Sep 2026 6 months

three-day wait 123
kenneally 105
skyclarys 104
windfall tax 98
passenger cap 89
friedreich's ataxia 81
oliver bond 81
hare coursing 79
summer programme 77
garvaghy road 66
agricultural contractors 56
terrorist activity 55
public services card 54
carlow college 52
fuel protests 47
stop the game 45
emergency budget 43
international nurses day 35
projects or programmes 35
nicotine consumption products 34

Compared with Oct 2025 to Mar 2026.

Oct 2025 to Sep 2026 12 months

home heating oil 690
bessborough 193
green diesel 177
uefa 164
blister packs 153
cent per litre 140
plug-in solar 140
grok 135
delivering homes building communities 134
three-day wait 128
legal counselling 113
brazilian beef 109
national planning statement 102
biometric analysis 95
fuel crisis 87
friedreich's ataxia 85
phased dispensing 84
hare coursing 80
nora levy 80
diesel rebate scheme 79

Compared with Dec 2024 to Sep 2025.