Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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268. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of parliamentary questions his Department has processed in the past three years to date; the number of questions answered directly; the number of questions referred to bodies or agencies under the aegis of his Department for direct reply; the number of staff who are assigned to his parliamentary questions section; and if non-departmental staff, advisers and-or public affairs and relations companies have composed parliamentary question replies or had an act or hand in forming parliamentary question replies in the timeframe specified. [52237/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I am advised that the number of Parliamentary Questions (total of Oral + Written) my Department has processed for each of the last three years are as follows; 904 in 2016, 1,567 in 2017 and 1,332 up to the end of November for the current year.  No Parliamentary Questions have been referred to bodies or agencies under the aegis of my Department for direct reply during this period. 

As the Deputy will be aware, the processing of Parliamentary Questions including the preparation of replies, forms part of the normal workload of civil servants.  Accordingly questions are assigned for answer to and addressed by the relevant section of my Department as they arise.  Public affairs companies are not involved in the preparation of parliamentary replies. From time to time, non-Departmental staff, including relevant bodies under the aegis of the Department, contracted specialists and advisers may have an input into the drafting process of replies where necessary or appropriate.