MPs from the far right PVV have the worst attendance records in parliament, the AD reported on Thursday.

The party, with 37 MPs, is the biggest in the lower house, but failed to send any representatives to around a quarter of the debates, the paper said, based on data from the lower chamber’s central information point CIP.

GroenLinks-PvdA MPs, who have 25 seats, attended all 103 debates since the new-look parliament was sworn in, while MPs representing the VVD, with 24 seats and NSC with 20, were present 102 times.

Among important sessions missed by the PVV were the debates on a referendum about the Dutch membership of the European Union, the Groningen gas debate and the debate about the war in Ukraine, the AD said.

The PVV absence has been criticised by other parties, particularly those with just a handful of representatives.

“Major leading debates require the presence of the largest party,” ChristenUnie leader Mirjam Bikkers said. “I really thought they should have been there at the Groningen debate, for example. That is important for a lot of people. Not turning up is not a service to democracy.”

The PVV responded to the criticism by saying MPs are too busy to attend. “The party has 25 new MPs who are all working to familiarise themselves with the issues. And we are negotiating and trying to achieve things there,” PVV MP Fleur Agema said, referring to the ongoing coalition talks.

But professor Sarah de Lange told the AD the formation may have interfered with Geert Wilders’ ability to control his MPs.

“Nothing happens without him. Whether or not the PVV is present at a debate is determined by him because he is the boss of everything. And now that he is busy with the formation, the parliamentary work is falling by the wayside,” De Lange said.