Legislative programme

eolas outlines some of the key legislation that the Government has listed as a priority for publication in 2016.

In June, Ireland’s first minority Government in almost 30 years delivered its first Government Legislative Programme and outlined 11 Bills it aimed to publish before the end of the parliamentary session, of which 10 have been announced.

By September, the Government published a more ambitious Autumn legislative programme, a list of 25 Government Bills it aims to have published by the end of the 2016 parliamentary session.

Alongside the 25 priority Bills to be published, other sections of the Legislative Programme include 20 Bills to undergo Pre-Legislative Stage, Bills that the departments plan to introduce in the medium to long term, 21 Bills before the Oireachtas, eight Acts published since Government took office and 13 Bills published by the current Government.

Among the 25 priority Bills, the Government has identified the provision of medical cards to children on a domiciliary care allowance and implementation of aspects of the Action Plan on Housing, as being key. In terms of justice, the Bail Bill, which aims to strengthen the operation of the bail system, and the Civil Liability Bill, which empowers the courts to make periodic payment orders to those who require life-long care after a catastrophic injury, have also been identified as major advances.

The Finance Bill, Social Welfare Bill and Appropriations Bill will all give statutory effect to the recently published budget.
The Government has expanded the Pre-Legislative Stage for Government Bills, introduced by the previous Government to Private Members’ Bills which pass the second stage in the Dáil. The stage was developed to make the law-making process more transparent and involves a review by Oireachtas Committees reviewing proposed legislation with the assistance of “experts, interested citizens and civil society groups.”

Among the 20 Bills that are earmarked to undergo Pre-Legislative Scrutiny before the end of the 2016 session are the National Archives (Amendment) Bill, which aims to change the transfer of records rule from 30 to 20 years and the implementation of a Parent and Student Charter for every school through the Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill. They also include the Health Information and Patient Safety Bill, providing for better governance of health information including data matching amongst other things. The Family Court Bill aims to establish a new Family Court as a separate division within the court structure, while the Data Sharing and Governance Bill, aims to mandate greater data sharing and linking in the public service.

25 Bills that the Government has committed to publishing by the end of 2016:

Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs
• National Archives (Amendment) Bill

Children and Youth Affairs
• Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill

Education and Skills
• Retention of Records Bill

Finance
• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Bill
• Finance Bill

Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Diplomatic Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill
Health
• Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill
• Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill
• Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill

Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government
• Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill
• Maritime Area and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill

Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
• Hallmarking (Amendment) Bill
• Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill

Justice and Equality
• Bail Bill
• Civil Liability (Amendment) Bill
• Courts Bill (Fixed Charge Notice Third Payment Option and Summons Printing) Bill
• Criminal Justice (Corruption) Bill
• Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill
• Disability / Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill
• Domestic Violence Bill
• Judicial Council Bill
• Mediation Bill

Public Expenditure and Reform
• Appropriation Bill
• Data Sharing and Governance Bill

Social Protection
• Social Welfare Bill