Who's asking, who's speaking, and about what
Counts from the Dáil record for the 34th Dáil so far. They show what the record holds, not how well anyone is doing their job: the notes beside each list explain why the numbers differ.
- Questions
- Speaking
- Range and focus
- Across the parties
- One party or one TD
- Big debates
- Close votes
- Records
Who asks the most questions
How questions workParliamentary questions are how TDs put things on the record and get answers from government departments. These are the ten TDs who have asked the most.
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9,2219,216 written · 5 oral
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3,7393,701 written · 38 oral
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3,2623,242 written · 20 oral
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2,9482,905 written · 43 oral
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2,4942,420 written · 74 oral
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2,4212,342 written · 79 oral
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2,2472,151 written · 96 oral
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2,0642,011 written · 53 oral
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1,9711,907 written · 64 oral
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1,9431,884 written · 59 oral
Why these numbers differ so much. The Taoiseach and the senior ministers in the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so they do not appear here, and the Ceann Comhairle chairs question time rather than asking. Ministers of State can ask written questions, and some do. Most questions are written ones, and some TDs use them far more than others: it is one way of working among several, alongside speaking in debates, committee work and constituency work, none of which a question count measures.
TDs who were elected partway through the term have had less time. Each question counts once, however long it is.
Counted from every question in the record attributed to a TD. 128,306 questions in all.
Who speaks the most
Browse debatesWords spoken in debate in the Dáil chamber, from the Official Report. Speech from the chair is left out. Speaking as a minister and speaking as a TD are counted separately, because answering for a department is a different job.
Speaking as a TD
Everything a TD said that the record does not mark as said in a government office.
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226,076words · 1,660 contributions
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219,540words · 627 contributions
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207,250words · 1,323 contributions
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181,714words · 546 contributions
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178,644words · 913 contributions
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168,604words · 388 contributions
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166,344words · 1,028 contributions
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158,024words · 896 contributions
Speaking as a minister
What the record marks as said as Taoiseach, Tánaiste, a Minister or a Minister of State.
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703,329words · 6,666 contributions
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570,389words · 2,984 contributions
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307,232words · 996 contributions
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254,111words · 845 contributions
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238,164words · 894 contributions
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218,048words · 948 contributions
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186,466words · 725 contributions
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170,255words · 664 contributions
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146,472words · 664 contributions
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145,131words · 659 contributions
Reading these lists. Party leaders ask Leaders' Questions, and the Taoiseach or Tánaiste answers them, so they speak more by design. Spokespeople usually lead for their party in debates on their subject. A contribution can be a two-word interruption or a half-hour speech, which is why words are counted rather than contributions. The chair's words (the Ceann Comhairle and whoever is in the chair) are not counted at all.
Only debates in the Dáil chamber are counted. Committee meetings, where most bills are examined line by line, are not in this archive. TDs who were elected partway through the term have had less time.
Range and focus
All topicsEvery question is filed by the Oireachtas under a subject heading. These lists use those headings, not any reading of the questions themselves.
The widest range of topics
Different subject headings a TD's questions were filed under.
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358headings · 1,900 questions
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325headings · 1,682 questions
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More questions usually means more topics, so this list overlaps with the one above.
Most focused on one subject
The share of all a TD's questions filed under their single most-used heading, for TDs with at least 100 questions.
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33%132 of 401
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26%27 of 102
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19%307 of 1,636
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19%19 of 102
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18%188 of 1,037
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17%298 of 1,746
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16%80 of 503
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14%61 of 440
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14%129 of 950
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13%76 of 584
Catch-all headings about how a department is run, such as "Departmental Data" or "Ministerial Staff", describe the form of a question rather than its subject, so they are not counted as headings in the first list or as anyone's most-used heading in the second. Those questions still count towards each TD's total, and are on the Topics page.
What every party asks about
59 subject headings have drawn questions from TDs of every party and from independents. These are the ones the most TDs have asked under.
Special Educational Needs
146 TDs · 2,960 questions
Health Services
142 TDs · 2,870 questions
Disability Services
140 TDs · 2,076 questions
Schools Building Projects
137 TDs · 1,773 questions
Health Services Staff
136 TDs · 2,147 questions
An Garda Síochána
135 TDs · 1,908 questions
Medicinal Products
132 TDs · 1,250 questions
Bus Services
129 TDs · 1,355 questions
School Staff
127 TDs · 934 questions
Housing Schemes
126 TDs · 1,104 questions
Childcare Services
125 TDs · 1,444 questions
Mental Health Services
123 TDs · 1,562 questions
What each party's TDs ask about most
The five headings each party's TDs asked most questions under, using the party each TD belonged to on the day. Parties are in alphabetical order. Independents are counted together, because the record files them together; they are not a party. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them.
100% RDR
1 TD in the Dáil today
Aontú
2 TDs in the Dáil today
Fianna Fáil
48 TDs in the Dáil today
Fine Gael
38 TDs in the Dáil today
Green Party
1 TD in the Dáil today
Independent
15 TDs in the Dáil today
Independent Ireland
4 TDs in the Dáil today
Labour Party
11 TDs in the Dáil today
People Before Profit-Solidarity
3 TDs in the Dáil today
Sinn Féin
39 TDs in the Dáil today
Headings used by only one party, or one TD
Some subject headings have carried questions from only one party's TDs, or from a single TD. These are headings with at least three questions, all from one source.
A heading is not the whole subject. The same subject is often filed under more than one heading, and a question asked in Irish gets an Irish heading. So other TDs may well have asked about the same thing under another heading. Spellings that differ only by a plural or punctuation, such as "Ambulance Service" and "Ambulance Services", are treated as one. Search the record to see every mention.
Only one party's TDs used this heading
Only one TD used this heading
Headings where one party or group asked most of the questions
Headings with at least 20 questions from TDs of more than one party or group, where one party's TDs asked 60% or more of them. Only headings where at least three of that party's TDs asked, and no one TD asked half of that party's questions, so a single TD's questions are never shown as a party's.
The debates that drew the most speakers
All debatesHow many different TDs spoke in a debate, and from how many parties and groups. Regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions, are left out: any debate heading that comes round on more than twelve sitting days.
- 112speakers
- 91speakers
- 80speakers
- 74speakers
- 67speakers
- 62speakers
- 57speakers
- 57speakers
- 56speakers
- 54speakers
Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) (Amendment) Bill 2023: Restoration to Order Paper (Resumed)
Question again put
Lost by 2 votes: Yes 71, No 73, Abstained 4
Hospital Overcrowding: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]
Question put: "That the motion, as amended, be agreed to."
Carried by 4 votes: Yes 75, No 71
Hospital Overcrowding: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]
Amendment put
Carried by 4 votes: Yes 75, No 71
Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Second Stage (Resumed)
Question put
Carried by 5 votes: Yes 73, No 68, Abstained 1
Neutrality and Triple Lock: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]
Question put: "That the motion, as amended, be agreed to"
Carried by 6 votes: Yes 80, No 74
Fuel, Energy and Carbon Tax Relief: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]
Question put: "That the motion, as amended, be agreed to."
Carried by 7 votes: Yes 81, No 74
Records of the term so far
Month by monthTrends
The sitting calendar, activity month by month, and the words that surged.
Follow a word over time
See how often any word or phrase came up, month by month.
Every topic
All 1,240 subject headings, with who asks about each.
Worked out on 9 November 2026 from the archive, which runs from 18 December 2024 to 5 November 2026. How each figure is counted is described on the About page.