Vol. 435 No. 10
139 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications 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.
Since the formation of the Government the number of parliamentary questions for oral and written answers tabled to my Department is 254 and 426, respectively.
It is not possible to calculate accurately the costs involved and even to provide an approximation would demand an inordinate amount of my Department's time. I would draw the Deputy's attention, however, to the information given by the Department of Finance on behalf of all Departments in reply to a question by Deputy McDaid on 13 February, 1992 which indicated an average cost of £64 per question answered. This would indicate the cost of dealing with 680 parliamentary questions received by my Department as £43,520.
