On prevailing side: this member voted with the winning side in 1,044 of 1,051 decisive votes (3 abstentions excluded). Read it as a government-or-opposition indicator rather than a measure of influence — the figure is near 100% for members supporting the government of the day and near 0% for those opposing it.
This is the point of the site: contributions keep the party held on the day, not the one held now.
| Party | Recorded as | Contributions | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| CC | Ceann Comhairle / Chair | 417 | 2020-02-20 – 2025-03-26 |
| FF | Fianna Fáil | 415 | 2020-05-14 – 2026-10-01 |
Membership spells on record: FF 2016-03-10–2020-01-14 · FF 2020-02-08–2024-11-08 · FF 2024-11-29–present
I thank the Deputy and call the next speaker on the Government side, Deputy Hourigan, who is sharing with Deputy Cathal Crowe. The final speaker before Leaders' Questions will be Deputy Bríd Smith.
Based on some of the criticisms that have been voiced during the week, I want to talk for a moment on what motivates us in politics. I can only talk personally about that. There is the kind of thing we hear when the public says we are all in it for the money, or the lifestyle, whatever that is. Today has been a useful occasion for me, in advance of this speech, to reflect on what motivates me in politics. Obviously, a number of those motivations are constituency-based, or they are probably all constituency-based, a…
I understand that Deputy Alan Farrell is sharing time.
Yes, Deputy Hourigan.
I have a specific question that I am willing to accept a written answer on. It is on .ie domain names and the abuse of them by overseas operators. They are masquerading as Irish suppliers and then a person discovers that this business is operating from outside the jurisdiction. That has an impact on genuine .ie traders. I will make some points that will allow the Tánaiste some degree of stream of consciousness on the issue. I saw that the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, was suggesting an additional tax…
The Minister and Ministers of State might correspond with the Deputy.
The Tánaiste has no time. I call Deputy Durkan, who is sharing time.
The Deputy is out of order.
The Deputy will finish it now.
The Deputy is finished now on that topic as this is not relevant to the debate. I ask the Deputy to respect the Chair. If the Deputy is finished his contribution, I will go now to Deputy Mattie McGrath-----
This has nothing to do with the Counterfeiting Bill, as the Deputy knows well. I call now Deputy Mattie McGrath.
This is now about the Counterfeiting Bill and I ask the Deputy not to try my patience.
I have not indulged the Deputy.
I am not denying that point, but this has nothing to do with this Bill.
The Deputy's point is nothing to do with the topic of counterfeiting and this Bill.
I am struggling to see the relevance of the Deputy's contribution to the Counterfeiting Bill.
A great book by the author Dr. Ida Milne is a treatise on the Spanish flu. Dr. Milne tells the story of a battalion of US soldiers who arrived at the Western Front in France in September 1918, who fought on the front in October, with the war ending in November. Some 440 of that battalion succumbed to the Spanish flu and only a small fraction succumbed in action. The metaphor is not lost in our time now. I think of those constituents such as the kidney dialysis patients in particular. One driver, who brings this par…
What if the person is at home now but availing of a home care package?
Is that chronological also? Is it according to the age of the person? Must a person aged 62 with a home care package wait his or her turn? It will not be up to the GP to say a patient is more in need because his or her situation is particularly fragile.
I call Deputy Buckley. Does he have questions or a statement?