Noteworthy
We know you're all glued to the #OscarNominations2023 but today is #TipsTuesday and we have some journalism tips that should hopefully last you well beyond Oscar season. Today we're going to be looking at the WEALTH OF INFO you can find in #ParliamentaryQuestions !
Jan 24, 2023 at 5:13pmWeb
Show threadNoteworthyJan 24, 2023

What is a parliamentary question or PQ?

Any TD can raise a question in the Dáil. They can be written or oral and on a wide range of topics. They "provide Ministers with regular opportunities to report publicly on matters for which they are responsible" http://shorturl.at/hIMNP

Parliamentary Questions - The Department of Justice

Parliamentary Questions for Department of Justice

Show threadNoteworthyJan 24, 2023
PQs tend to be answered a lot more quickly than FOIs and, unlike FOIs, the information doesn't need to exist as a record already.
Show threadNoteworthyJan 24, 2023

We use PQs regularly in our investigations. The HSE response to a PQ was one of the jumping off point for our #ParkingPressure story. We used the table in the PQ response to structure our FOI.

PQ response: https://hse.ie/eng/about/personalpq/pq/2021-pq-responses/march-2021/pq-12687-21-mark-ward.pdf
Investigation: https://t.co/cLTSMwqKV8

Show threadNoteworthyJan 24, 2023

So where do you find this rich mine of public information?

The official source is here: https://oireachtas.ie/en/debates/questions/

Show threadNoteworthyJan 24, 2023
You can also find info on the site Kildare Street: https://kildarestreet.com which gathers PQs (and Dáil debates generally) in a format that some find easier to use.
KildareStreet.com: Are your TDs and Senators working for you in Ireland's Houses of the Oireachtas?

A site about the Houses of the Oireachtas that you can actually follow.

Show threadNoteworthyJan 24, 2023
Have you heard about search operators? Well, you can use the "site:" operator to search PQs more efficiently. Type Site:https://oireachtas.ie/en/debates/questions/ "keyword I am interested in" to find exactly what you want.