THE voting record of the vast majority of the north's MPs falls below the Westminster average.
While most of the region's 18 representatives enjoy speaking in the House of Commons, figures show they are less willing to cast their votes.
Based on data published by the They Work For You website, the DUP's Jim Shannon tops the regional league table of contributors to Westminster debates, having spoken in the chamber on no fewer than 365 occasions over the past year.
The SDLP's Mark Durkan and Margaret Ritchie come second and third, taking part in 122 and 106 debates respectively - which is classed as "well above the average".
However, their party colleague Alasdair McDonnell ranks among the lowest contributors to parliamentary debates, having aired his opinions from the green benches on just 17 occasions over the past year.
The voting record of the South Belfast MP, who until last year was double jobbing as a Stormont MLA, is also well below average at 32.4 per cent.
Only the DUP's Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has joined in fewer Westminster debates than Dr McDonnell, though the Lagan Valley MP has a voting record of close to 50 per cent.
Of all the north's non-abstentionist MPs, 12 have spoken more than the average number of times.
However, only three - Margaret Ritchie, Mark Durkan and Jim Shannon - have voted more than the average among their colleagues.
With a voting record of 31.78 per cent, East Derry MP Gregory Campbell scores lowest of the region's representatives, behind Dr McDonnell and fellow DUP representative Ian Paisley (37.07 per cent).
Mr Shannon, who was co-opted as the MP for Strangford in 2010 following Iris Robinson's resignation, submitted almost 1,000 written questions during the past year - four times as many as his closest counterpart.
His DUP colleague Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was at the other end of the scale with just 12 written questions.
A DUP spokesman said: "The role of an MP covers many aspects, including both work at Westminster and in their constituency.
"Participation in debates and votes in parliament are obviously an important part of this, but work at Westminster will also include participation in committees and other meetings, which are not included in these statistics."
He said all DUP MPs worked for their constituents both "at home and at in parliament".
"Unfortunately there are MPs from Northern Ireland who continue to receive parliamentary allowances yet refuse to turn up for work in parliament," the spokesman said in a clear reference to Sinn Féin's four abstentionist MPs.
An SDLP spokesman defended Dr McDonnell's poor statistics, saying the former party leader made a "critical contribution" at Westminster and in his South Belfast constituency.
"In the last number of weeks Dr McDonnell secured a Westminster debate on the impact of Brexit on border controls in Ireland, took part in a debate on the contribution of Polish nationals to his diverse constituency, questioned former Prime Minister David Cameron on the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland as well as new Secretary of State James Brokenshire on the all-Ireland energy market in the aftermath of Brexit," the spokesman said.
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THE LEAGUE TABLES
DEBATES:
Jim Shannon 365
Mark Durkan 122
Margaret Ritchie 106
Gavin Robinson 75
Gregory Campbell 66
Danny Kinahan 64
Nigel Dodds 61
David Simpson 60
Tom Elliott 60
Sammy Wilson 56
Sylvia Hermon 55
Ian Paisley 42
Alasdair McDonnell 17
Jeffrey Donaldson 14
Mickey Brady ---
Pat Doherty ---
Paul Maskey ---
Francie Molloy ---
VOTES:
Margaret Ritchie 79.44 per cent
Mark Durkan 78.82 per cent
Jim Shannon 70.72 per cent
Sylvia Hermon 65.73 per cent
Gavin Robinson 64.8 per cent
Danny Kinahan 63.55 per cent
Tom Elliott 59.50 per cent
Nigel Dodds 57.01 per cent
Jeffrey Donaldson 49.53 per cent
Sammy Wilson 47.35 per cent
David Simpson 42.37 per cent
Ian Paisley 37.07 per cent
Alasdair McDonnell 32.4 per cent
Gregory Campbell 31.78 per cent
Mickey Brady ---
Pat Doherty ---
Paul Maskey ---
Francie Molloy ---
WRITTEN QUESTIONS:
Jim Shannon 998
Gregory Campbell 242
Danny Kinahan 119
Margaret Ritchie 102
Nigel Dodds 89
David Simpson 71
Tom Elliott 65
Mark Durkan 55
Gavin Robinson 39
Sylvia Hermon 37
Ian Paisley 29
Sammy Wilson 27
Alasdair McDonnell 19
Jeffrey Donaldson 12
Mickey Brady ---
Pat Doherty ---
Paul Maskey ---
Francie Molloy ---
:: Data provided by TheyWorkForYou.com
