Topics / Departmental Staff

A subject heading for parliamentary questions

Departmental Staff

940 questions from 87 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 20 October 2026.

940
questions
935 written, 5 oral
87
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
MonthQuestions
January 202567
February 202582
March 202560
April 202570
May 202529
June 202581
July 202562
August 20250
September 202516
October 202512
November 202587
December 202514
January 202650
February 202633
March 2026110
April 202632
May 202655
June 202635
July 202612
August 20260
September 202612
October 202621

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.

  • 100% RDR2 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Aontú37 from 2 TDs · 2 seats today
  • Fianna Fáil122 from 20 TDs · 48 seats today
  • Fine Gael146 from 9 TDs · 38 seats today
  • Green Party36 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Independent53 from 7 TDs · 15 seats today
  • Independent Ireland68 from 3 TDs · 4 seats today
  • Labour Party135 from 7 TDs · 11 seats today
  • People Before Profit-Solidarity6 from 3 TDs · 3 seats today
  • Sinn Féin208 from 26 TDs · 39 seats today

The TDs who asked most

Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.

  1. 84
  2. 58
  3. 54
  4. 48
  5. 42
  6. 39
  7. 37
  8. 36

Asked of

Debated under the same heading

Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.

The questions

Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Foreign
138. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of employees currently in his Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58493/25]
Joe Cooney Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Foreign
157. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount his Department paid towards a cost-of-living allowance and local post allowance to his departmental officials posted at the Irish Embassies in Pretoria, Beijing, Buenos Aires and Brasilia in 2024, in tabular form. [59928/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Climate
175. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the number of employees currently in his Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58487/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Defence
236. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of employees currently in his Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58489/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Transport
308. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Transport the number of employees currently in his Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58502/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Finance
468. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Finance the number of employees currently in his Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58492/25]
Cian O'Callaghan Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Finance
480. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Finance the number of staff in his Department in each year from 2020 to 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58870/25]
Cian O'Callaghan Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Finance
481. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Finance the number of staff in his Department earning over €85,000 in each year from 2020 to 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58871/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Public Expenditure
542. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the number of employees currently in his Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58498/25]
Emer Currie Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Public Expenditure
560. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the rules regarding State agencies permitting staff to earn flexi time credits while working remotely; whether there are any upcoming reviews of the rules around this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59109/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Enterprise
596. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of employees currently in his Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58491/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Education
731. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of employees currently in her Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58490/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Culture
947. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the number of employees currently in his Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58488/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Housing
1032. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of employees currently in his Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58496/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Social
1190. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of employees currently in his Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58500/25]
Donna McGettigan Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Justice
1263. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to Parliamentary Question Nos. No. 301 of 3 July and 248 of 15 October 2025, if staffing levels in the Dublin visa office have declined since July 2025; the reason for this reduction given his replies to 86 Parliamentary Questions this year that “additional staff and resources have been assigned to the visa division’; and…
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Justice
1285. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of employees currently in his Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58497/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Justice
1286. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of employees in each of the agencies under his Department's remit; the number employed per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58515/25]
Paul Lawless Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Agriculture
1411. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if any senior officials within his Department currently hold or have held directorships or governance roles within an organisation (details supplied); and to clarify how this aligns with the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001 and the Department's obligations under EU Regulation 2016/1012. [57896/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Agriculture
1430. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of employees currently in his Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58485/25]
Barry Ward Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Children
1509. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the number of employees currently in her Department; the number of staff per year each year since 2015, by grade, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58486/25]
Marie Sherlock Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Health
1720. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the number of lactation posts, by integrated healthcare area, total number of posts, number of posts filled and number of vacancies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58128/25]
Donna McGettigan Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Health
1725. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Health if the CEO of UHLG ever blocked a member of staff from transferring to the community; the number of persons who have been blocked; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58172/25]
Donna McGettigan Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Health
1726. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Health if there is a shortage of administration staff in the acute settings in Ennis Hospital and Nenagh Hospital; the number of staff; the reason staff are not selected from the panels instead of appointing agency staff to "permanent positions", as is the practice in Ennis Hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58173/25]
Donna McGettigan Written 4 Nov 2025 · to Health
1727. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Health the number of agency administration staff in Ennis Hospital and Nenagh Hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58174/25]