Despite a warning on the website that “these numbers do not measure quality”, Longford-Westmeath TD James Bannon has claimed to be the hardest working deputy in the constituency after Dail-activity figures were revealed by the non-partisan website KildareStreet.com
In the last year Deputy Bannon has been logged as having received answers to 366 written questions, and having spoken in 75 chamber debates. This compares to Willie Penrose’s figures of 334 answers and 75 debates; Mary O’Rourke’s 49 answers and 27 debates; and Peter Kelly’s paltry seven and 16. KildareStreet.com is an archive of everything that's been said in the chambers, and all written questions since January 2004, and “aims to make it easy for people to keep tabs on their elected representatives in the Houses of the Oireachtas”.
However, there is one set of statistics from the website which Deputy Bannon leaves unpublicised - the tracking figures.
These figures are from the statistical section of the website, where there is a link to each politician which allows an interested party request an email from the website each time the TD in question speaks in a Dáil debate.
Deputies Kelly, O’Rourke and Penrose have, respectively, four, five, and four people tracking their oratorical prowess in the Chamber. Deputy Bannon has 33 people keeping an eye on his professional output.
