Politics by Numbers is a brand-new series for The Journal where broadcaster, author and spreadsheet stan Gavan Reilly takes a data deep dive into a political point of the week.

AS TDs APPROACH the grand staircase that forms the main entrance to the Dáil chamber, they will be met twice along the way by tables with stacks of grey booklets. At both the main reception desk just off the lobby, and at another table just beside the main door, they will find stapled reams that outline all the day’s parliamentary questions.

As a physical edifice, they are a bit of a relic: few people have need to pick up a physical copy any more; a soft copy of the questions booklet is usually available in advance on the Oireachtas intranet, and a PDF version is uploaded to its website at 5.15am for all to see. But those who pick up the hard copy on their way into the chamber, or the adjoining media workspaces, will have noticed a trend in recent months. The booklet is getting bigger and bigger, and those responsible for processing and answering those questions are beginning to struggle with the load.

As of last Thursday, before the Oireachtas broke for a 12-day recess, a total of 41,185 questions had been lodged this year – an average of 858 questions for every day the Dáil has met so far in 2026.

On the average day, there is only enough time for about 15 to be answered aloud; the rest are all responded to in writing with their answers placed on the Dáil record.

This is a significant surge, relative to the last couple of years. By this stage in 2024, a total of 24,580 questions had........

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