IT’S THE END of an eventful 2024 Dáil term, and as TDs now turn their attention to the upcoming general election, there’s still some reflecting to be done on the year that was.
As part of our reflections in The Journal, we’ve taken a look back over the parliamentary questions asked by TDs this year – specifically, who has asked the most and who has asked the fewest.
Parliamentary questions (PQs) are a key component of the toolkit given to TDs in Ireland, allowing them to ask the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and ministers questions on matters of public interest, policy and services.
They are used as a way of putting important and useful information into the public domain, in a manner that is usually much quicker than if journalists have to go through press offices and freedom of information officers.
Before we get into it though, a bit of a disclaimer – it should be said that PQs can’t really be used as a way to determine how much work a TD is doing.
Some TDs see them as invaluable, but others focus more on other work.
So they shouldn’t really be used as a measure of how good a TD is. Instead, it just shows how often they use this particular tool to get answers to questions that they have.
It’s also worth noting that given Ministers and Ministers of State are the ones with responsibility for answering PQs, it’s not unsurprising that they would submit fewer – or no – questions.
Now that that’s out of the way…
Every year tens of thousands of PQs are submitted – some orally in the Dáil, but most in writing to government departments.
In 2024, a total of 28,869 questions were submitted and answered - This equates to an average of 466 for each sitting day of the Dáil.
The Oireachtas has very usefully published data on all the PQs asked this year and those who asked them. So without further ado, here were the most (and least) inquisitive TDs in the Dáil this year.
Bernard Durkan
Ding Ding Ding! In first place we have Fine Gael TD for Kildare North Bernard Durkan with 1,433 questions asked this year. Durkan is yards ahead of any other TD having asked twice as many questions as the deputy in second place.
Most of Durkan’s questions were for the Departments of Social Protection, Justice and Health.
They largely involved questions relating to social welfare queries for constituents and citizenship queries for constituents.
Catherine Murphy
Kildare North is really representing in this list. Up next to Durkan was Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy with 710 questions.
Murphy, a constituency colleague of Durkan in Kildare North, largely focused her questions on justice and health.
The deputy submitted 62 questions relating to An Garda Síochána.
Paul Murphy
In third place is People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy, just behind Catherine Murphy with 708 questions.
Of all his questions, this Murphy, a TD for Dublin South West, most frequently asked questions about gender recognition – with 47 questions falling under this topic category.
Another big focus for Murphy was the Greyhound industry, with 30 questions submitted or asked orally on this subject.
Peadar Tóibín
In forth place, with 657 questions this year is Aontú TD Peadar Tóibín.
Tóibín, a TD for Meath West, was most interested in departmental expenditure asking 40 question that fall under this category.
He mostly requested information from the Department of Health, Justice, and Children and Equality.
Matt Carthy
Not far behind Tóibín is Sinn Féin’s Matt Carthy with 631 questions.
The Cavan-Monaghan TD, who is his party’s spokesperson on foreign affairs and defence largely focused his questions on (you guess it!) foreign affairs and defence.
Carthy asked 87 questions this year relating to the Defence Forces and 33 questions relating to the Middle East.
Now we turn to the bottom of the list.
It’s worth pointing out at this point that no members of Cabinet have asked any PQs this year, apart from those who were promoted mid-year, which makes sense.
Indeed, although he was Taoiseach for over half the period, Leo Varadkar has since submitted 36 PQs since he stepped down in March.
Similarly, former Finance Minister Micheal McGrath has asked nine since he stepped down from Cabinet at the end of June when he was announced as Ireland’s European Commissioner nominee.
At the very bottom of the list are six TDs with zero questions.
Among them is former Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney, who stepped down from Cabinet in early April.
The other five who did not submit any questions are all junior ministers: Fine Gael’s Neale Richmond, Kieran O’Donnell and Martin Heydon, and the Green Party’s Ossian Smyth and Malcolm Noonan.
After these six, Fine Gael TD Damien English and the Green Party minister of state Joe O’Brien both just asked two questions each.
Fine Gael TD for Dún Laoighaire and Junior Minister in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked just three PQs this year.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin TD for Dublin North West Dessie Ellis asked just four questions this year.
These were mainly about hospital waiting lists, and one about a wage increase for staff in Citizens Information.
Likewise, junior minister in the Department of Justice and Fine Gael TD for Wexford James Browne, also asked just four questions this year.
As did Fianna Fáil ministers of state Thomas Byrne (Department of Tourism) and Mary Butler (Department of Health).
The person with the next fewest questions asked this year was Fine Gael backbencher Colm Brophy, with ten questions.
Speaking to The Journal, Bernard Durkan was unsurprised to hear that he was the TD with the most questions submitted this year.
Durkan said it is a “hugely important part of the job” and that it is an important avenue for public representatives to access information on behave of their constituents.
In his view, the Department of Foreign Affairs is the best, the “crème de la crème”, when it comes to responding promptly and accurately to PQs.
The Department of Justice came in a close second for Durkan, although he said in recent years has become “swamped” with work and as a result, the responses are not as thorough.
“You have to put in a certain amount of time on PQs and on legislation, and you have to balance all of it. If one balances it carefully and properly the system will work from the point of view of the public representatives and the members of public,” Durkan said.
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