358. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the total spending arising from social welfare schemes administered by his Department in 2012, when unemployment was over 15%, and 2025 when unemployment was approximately 4%; to account for the dramatic increase in spending by his Department despite the huge fall in unemployment; if his Department has carried out any projections or risk assessments on …
Topics / Departmental Expenditure
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsDepartmental Expenditure
1,121 questions from 103 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 22 October 2026.
1,121
questions
1,118 written, 3 oral
103
TDs have asked
11
parties and groups
Independents counted together
20
departments asked
This is one of the catch-all headings the Oireachtas uses for how a department runs rather than what a question is about, so it is left out of the range and focus figures.
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 11 |
| February 2025 | 45 |
| March 2025 | 19 |
| April 2025 | 12 |
| May 2025 | 40 |
| June 2025 | 46 |
| July 2025 | 143 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 69 |
| October 2025 | 45 |
| November 2025 | 67 |
| December 2025 | 29 |
| January 2026 | 134 |
| February 2026 | 57 |
| March 2026 | 34 |
| April 2026 | 46 |
| May 2026 | 52 |
| June 2026 | 123 |
| July 2026 | 76 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 53 |
| October 2026 | 20 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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116
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81
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79
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69
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54
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52
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52
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36
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
216. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Taoiseach the total spend on consultancy firms by each State agency under his Department's remit, broken down by the allocation to each named consultancy firm, for each of the past 15 years, in tabular form. [30821/26]
258. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total spend on consultancy firms by each State agency under her Department's remit, broken down by the allocation to each named consultancy firm, for each of the past 15 years, in tabular form. [30813/26]
670. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the total spend on consultancy firms by each State agency under his Department's remit, broken down by the allocation to each named consultancy firm, for each of the past 15 years, in tabular form. [30808/26]
737. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total spend on consultancy firms by each State agency under his Department's remit, broken down by the allocation to each named consultancy firm, for each of the past 15 years, in tabular form. [30816/26]
768. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the total annual expenditure on the electricity allowance and natural gas allowance for each of the past five years; and the projected expenditure for the current year. [29804/26]
975. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the total spend on consultancy firms by each State agency under her Department's remit, broken down by the allocation to each named consultancy firm, for each of the past 15 years, in tabular form. [30806/26]
1265. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Health the total spend on consultancy firms by each State agency under her Department's remit, broken down by the allocation to each named consultancy firm, for each of the past 15 years, in tabular form. [30815/26]
357. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, the total expenditure incurred by the Defence Forces on all outsourced services listed in her reply in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025; the projected expenditure for 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28407/26]
358. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, to provide a detailed cost breakdown, by service that is, Army, Naval Service and Air Corps of all long-term and short-term outsourced functions identified in her reply for the years 2023 to 2025 inclusive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28408/26]
359. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, the annual cost of the optimised maintenance contract for ships' main engines and propulsion systems in the Naval Service for each of the past three years and the projected cost for 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28409/26]
360. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, the total cost to date and the projected full-year cost of the contractual agreement with a company (details supplied) to provide flight information service officer services at the Air Corps aerodrome; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28410/26]
361. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, the total expenditure on agency medical personnel that is, nurses, lab technicians and other specialist roles across the Defence Forces in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 and the budgeted figure for 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28411/26]
362. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, the cost of all external ab initio pilot training, technician training and specialist ordnance/mortar courses delivered by private providers in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28412/26]
363. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, the total cost of the transport vehicle body repair and recovery contract and the contract for PDF and RDF occupational and induction Part 2 medicals in each of the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28413/26]
364. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, whether a cost-benefit analysis or value-for-money audit has been carried out on any of the outsourced services listed in her reply; if so, to provide the key findings and recommendations of each such analysis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28414/26]
365. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, the estimated additional cost to the Defence Forces of outsourcing second-line aircraft maintenance and civilian technician support in the Air Corps compared with performing these functions in-house, for each of the years 2023 to 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28415/26]
366. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 270 of 24 February 2026, whether she has sought or received any estimates of the potential savings that could be achieved by insourcing the long-term outsourced functions (details supplied); if so, to provide those estimates together with the proposed timelines for any such insourcing; and if she will make a statement on the …
497. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Education and Youth the annual costs of renting the land and prefab classrooms for a school (details supplied) for each of the years 1998 to 2025 inclusive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28295/26]
646. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding any product or service purchased from the United Arab Emirates by his Department in 2025, by description and amount paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28265/26]
1. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to give an update on the projected overspends of Government Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27579/26]
62. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation within the context of projected overspends from the Department of Education, the way in which he intends to limit the spending of other Government departments this financial year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27569/26]
69. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the measures that have been taken, and are planned, in his Department to improve cost control; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27677/26]
76. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the cost of attendance at the Mobile World Congress 2026; the number and grade of officials who attended; and the way in which private partnerships were chosen for his Department. [26993/26]
282. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Social Protection the total amount of funding allocated and paid by his Department under wig grant or hair replacement support schemes (including payments under the treatment benefit scheme or any other relevant schemes) in each of the past five years; and the number of recipients in each year, broken down by county, in tabular form. [27592/26]