James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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447. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if he will detail how many physical letters the Minister’s offices and the customer service team in the Department received from the public in 2024; whether those letters are digitised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18460/25]

James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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448. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if he will detail how many emails the Minister’s offices and the customer service mailbox the Department received from the public in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18477/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 447 and 448 together.

My Department utilises a build to share e-correspondence system to manage all correspondence received by the Department. In general, physical letters are digitised so that the relevant unit within the Department can draft responses on the system. Where, for example, large reports are included, these may not be digitised. The system does not report whether those correspondence were by way of physical letter or by electronic communications.

During 2024 over 1,640 pieces of legitimate correspondence were recorded by the relevant offices within the Department. While, as noted, the system does not report between the original correspondence type, the vast majority of correspondence are by electronic communication.