Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 17 Nov 1993

Vol. 435 No. 10

Written Answers. - Cost of Parliamentary Questions.

Pat Upton

Question:

137 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the number of parliamentary questions for oral and written answer, respectively, tabled to his Department since the formation of the present Government; and the total cost of dealing with these questions.

Minister for Tourism and Trade (Mr. McCreevy)

A total of 283 oral and 133 written parliamentary questions have been tabled to my Department since the formation of the Government.

It is not possible to give the total cost involved in answering these questions without carrying out detailed research which would demand an inordinate amount of time. I would, however, draw the Deputy's attention to information given by the Minister for Finance in reply to a question on 13 February 1992, when he indicated that the average cost of answering a parliamentary question was in the region of £64.