Vol. 435 No. 10
101 Dr. Upton asked the Taoiseach 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.
There have been 773 questions tabled for answer by the Taoiseach since the formation of the Government. Of these, 642 were oral and 131 written.
Of the total, some 344 questions have been answered by the Taoiseach or his Ministers of State. In accordance with Parliamentary procedure, some 258 questions have been transferred to other Departments and 171 disallowed. It does not follow that all questions put down to the Taoiseach are appropriate for reply by him and accordingly, questions are transferred to relevant Ministers. The pattern of transfers is set out in the table below.
The cost of preparing replies is determined periodically by the Department of Finance. The most recent estimate is that the average cost of preparing a reply is £65.
|
Department |
Number of Questions Transferred |
|
Finance |
93 |
|
Foreign Affairs |
46 |
|
Enterprise and Employment |
26 |
|
Environment |
23 |
|
Justice |
16 |
|
Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht |
13 |
|
Agriculture, Food and Forestry |
10 |
|
Tourism and Trade |
9 |
|
Health |
8 |
|
Transport, Energy and Communications |
5 |
|
Education |
3 |
|
Social Welfare |
3 |
|
Equality and Law Reform |
2 |
|
Defence |
1 |
