The programme for Government refers to greater openness and improved accountability. In that regard, my colleague, Councillor Ed O'Brien, recently brought it to my attention that the response from Ministers on issues raised directly by South Dublin County Council has been very poor. In an effort to be helpful on the matter and to quantify it, he made a freedom of information request and provided the information to me. The number of letters issued to Ministers following motions at council meetings from the period September 2016 to December 2017 is 87 but the council has received 43 replies to date, which have been included in the correspondence. The number of replies outstanding is 44, or half. If it would be of assistance we could probably publish, name and shame, but it is not about that. A significant number of replies have not been issued. Can the Taoiseach arrange with his colleagues to deal with this effectively? It is not just one Department, but multiple Departments. I am sure that if it applies to South Dublin County Council, it also applies to other local authorities.

Transparency is very important when it comes to the work of local authorities and ensuring that the questions they put to Departments are answered efficiently. I will take that correspondence from the Deputy, because I have not seen it, and I will talk to officials in the Department to see how we can ensure that every Department replies to questions from local authorities across the country.