Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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244. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the average costs associated with processing and answering written and oral parliamentary questions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49125/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Parliamentary Questions, priority, oral and written, are dealt with by the staff of the Divisions within my Department with responsibility for the issues raised in individual Questions as part of their typical day to day work. The number and level of staff, and the time allocated to preparing individual replies depends on the complexity and urgency of the issues raised, the ease of access to the required information, and the degree of cross-Divisional coordination required in preparing the reply. The cost of answering Parliamentary Questions can vary considerably, therefore, and it would be challenging to isolate the administrative costs associated with the processing of individual Questions. My Department has developed an electronic system to expedite the processing of Parliamentary Questions which has greatly improved the administration process and has reduced the time and cost involved in replying to Parliamentary Questions generally.