Vol. 435 No. 10
111 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of parliamentary questions for oral and written answers, respectively, tabled to his Department since the formation of the present Government; and the total cost of dealing with these questions.
A total of 2,819 parliamentary questions has been tabled for my Department since the formation of the Government. Of these, 2,200 (78 per cent) were withdrawn by the Deputies and the remaining 619 (22 per cent) were answered. The bulk of the 2,200 questions withdrawn related to problems that claimants were experiencing which could be resolved immediately or where the problem had already been resolved. In these cases a letter confirming the position was issued to the Deputy.
Of the questions answered, 467 received a written reply and 152 were answered orally.
The costs associated with answering a question can vary considerably depending on the nature of the inquiry and the level of detail that needs to be obtained from local offices of the Department around the country. Based on a recent survey carried out in my Department, the total cost of dealing with the 2,819 parliamentary questions received was £193,000 approximately.
