More than 21,000 parliamentary questions were answered by Government ministers during 1999. The replies were provided on the 87 days that the Dail met. While the Taoiseach and a nominated minister answered questions every week that the Dail was sitting, the majority of replies were given in written form.
The questions by TDs from all sides of the House covered a range of topics. A significant number of these were addressed to the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health.
Following the address by the President, Mrs McAleese, to a joint sitting of the Houses of the Oireachtas last Thursday, the Dail adjourned for the Christmas recess. It will reconvene on January 26th, 2000.
The Oireachtas, since the start of 1999, enacted over 30 pieces of legislation and the Government has published 71 Bills since July 1997. The opposition parties published 23 private members' Bills in 1999.