Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to do so. My office does not put in questions on behalf of backbench Deputies, but we tell them when Question Time is coming up and when the deadline is and we invite them to submit their questions on relevant issues, which they do all the time. It is important to bear in mind that everyone in the House is elected and everyone in the House has an equal right to ask questions. As an Opposition spokesperson, Deputy Dooley gets priority over all other Members, as does Deputy Ellis and whoever represents the Technical Group. However, backbenchers, whether from the Labour Party, Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil, are elected on the same basis and have an equal right to put down questions, and it is a good thing that they do so.

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