PARLY Ireland: What is said in parliament?

The data is taken from official parliamentary websites who publish official transcripts of debates. 

Data Type: Stenographic Protocols of Debates
Temporal Scope: 1919-2025
Data query date: 02 Feb 2026 (The query was re-run following final name adjustments.)
Data source: Houses of the Oireachtas Open Data APIs (link), licensed under the Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence (link).

Data processing overview:
MP data extraction: MP data were retrieved from the relevant API endpoint, including party affiliations for defined periods, with plausibility checks and data cleaning.
Speech extraction: Lower House speeches were extracted with date, text, speaker name, and speaker ID, followed by validation and cleaning.
Data matching: MP and speech data were matched using speaker ID and date to assign party affiliation. Where IDs were unavailable, name–date matching was used if a single unique match existed.
Gender identification: Gender was identified using the Gemini AI model (gemini-3-flash-preview; API key required).

Documentation: Full documentation and reproducibility are provided via get_speech.qmd/html.

Why do some speakers have an asterix *? Extracted statements were systematically matched with information on Members of Parliament as provided by the Irish Parliament. Speaker attribution was conducted by aligning these datasets using speaker ID, and when that was unavailable or ineffective, by referencing dates and names. In instances where this multi-step process produced ambiguity—such as no matches or multiple potential matches—the speaker’s name is recorded as "speaker unclear." This designation was deliberately chosen over potentially inaccurate identification to maintain the integrity and reliability of the parliamentary record presented.

Version 2.0 - February 2026

Contact: michael.jennewein@fes.de