On prevailing side: this member voted with the winning side in 509 of 516 decisive votes (0 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FF | Fianna Fáil | 19,180 | 2020-02-20 – 2026-09-30 |
Membership spells on record: FF 1989-06-15–1992-11-05 · FF 1992-11-25–1997-05-15 · FF 1997-06-06–2002-04-25 · FF 2002-05-17–2007-04-30 · FF 2007-05-24–2011-02-01 · FF 2011-02-25–2016-03-09 · FF 2016-03-10–2020-01-14 · FF 2020-02-08–2024-11-08 · FF 2024-11-29–present
The details of that and the consultations will follow, and I am sure the Taoiseach will be in a position to apprise the Deputy of the detailed-----
I would not accept those descriptions of the EU asylum pact. We do need a stronger system across the European Union in terms of those seeking asylum in respect of the efficiency of the system in terms of those who may not be entitled to asylum such that the cases are dealt with more quickly and, if people are not entitled to asylum, they are returned to where they came from and that there are stronger measures in respect of secondary transfers from within the Union, where people are moving about and so on. All of t…
The role will be very similar, the same as for the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, now and the Minister of State, Jack Chambers. For years, I think people wanted a senior Minister in the Department of Defence. I am the senior Minister in the Department of Defence as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs because for years people felt that having just a Minister of State dealing with defence matters was somehow undermining of the Defence Forces. That is the way it has been ordained since the commencement of the …
I share the concern of the farming community at the incessant rain we have experienced now since last July. Bar maybe a few weeks in August, it has been raining. Our food production system is being undermined as a result of that weather - there is no doubt about that - which, on another day, we should also reflect on in terms of broader debates about the changing weather patterns. As regards the immediate issue, especially in terms of horticulture and tillage, the Minister will engage with the sector as to what can…
There is a context to all this. I will always recall, when I was leaving Kyiv, that there is an exhibition in the train station which recalls the horror facing the population of Ukraine at the time. There were desperate photographs of mothers with their children looking out the windows at their husbands, in-laws, grandparents - frightened children. That was the scene.
We all responded in a humanitarian way at the time. No one believed the war would go on for two years.
I did not believe it would go on for two years.
Fine; Deputy McNamara is an expert.
I have to come back to the essential response we made at the time, which was a humane response. The Deputy may now, two and a half years on, instance one aspect of that response and-----
-----create a lot of angst about it.
There was a context at the time in which this country responded. We can be overly negative about ourselves all the time. I think it was a decent response.
No. I think it was a decent response that reflected the best of what we are as a people.
Normally, when a special class is sanctioned, accommodation has to follow. I will ask the Minister for Education and the Minister of State with responsibility for special education in particular to examine the situation urgently and to bring clarity. If the class has been sanctioned, it means a need has been determined. Children are entitled to be accommodated. I am sure we can get this resolved.
Deputies Niamh Smyth and Brendan Smith have consistently made the same point in respect of the roads in Cavan and Monaghan and the need for additionality.
The fundamental problem is that even though the funding has increased, inflation has been quite dramatic in terms of the input costs. Senator Gallagher pointed this out to me last evening. Having consulted road engineers in the area, he went through the input costs involved in getting a road repaired today compared with two years ago, which is quite dramatic for bitumen and other materials. That inflation has eaten away-----
-----at the effectiveness of the allocation. I am keeping it under review.
Is the Deputy saying there has been absolutely no consultation at all?
The NTA has been consulting communities across the country. I have been involved in some of the consultations in respect of BusConnects in Cork, for example. We managed to get many issues resolved but not all of them. I will talk to the Minister. I am sure the NTA will engage if there are specific items, like those raised by the Deputy in her presentation. I will ask the NTA to consider them and to engage with the local community.
The Government did not lack any ambition during the Covid period.
There are international assessments of that. On the specific issue of an evaluation of how this country did during Covid-19, that is nearing completion. There has been a change, as the Deputy referenced, with Deputy Varadkar retiring as Taoiseach and Deputy Harris coming in as the new Taoiseach. The three party leaders will bring this to a conclusion very quickly.