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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 6 Feb 2007

Vol. 630 No. 5

Amendments to Standing Orders: Motion.

I move:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 97(1)(a), the Committee on Procedure and Privileges recommends that the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann relative to Public Business are hereby amended as follows:

(a) STANDING ORDER 18 — PROCEEDINGS, ORDER PAPER, JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS AND DOCUMENTS-LANGUAGE: TRANSLATION OF LAWS. In Standing Order 18, by the deletion of paragraph (3).

(b) STANDING ORDER 81 — POWERS OF SELECT COMMITTEES. In Standing Order 81, by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraphs (8) and (9):

‘(8) power to engage, subject to the consent of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, the services of persons with specialist or technical knowledge, to assist it or any of its sub-Committees in considering particular matters; and

(9) power to undertake travel, subject to—

(a) such recommendations as may be made by the Working Group of Committee Chairmen under Standing Order 98(2)(a); and

(b) the consent of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, and normal accounting procedures.’.

(c) STANDING ORDER 89 — RESPONSIBILITY OF CHAIRMEN FOR COMPLIANCE WITH RULES. By the adoption of the following in substitution for Standing Order 89:

‘89. The Chairman of every Standing, Select or Special Committee shall have responsibility for ensuring compliance by his or her Committee with such rules governing proposed expenditure as may be determined from time to time by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission.'.

(d) STANDING ORDER 97 — COMMITTEE ON PROCEDURE AND PRIVILEGES. By the adoption of the following in substitution for Standing Order 97:

‘97. (1) There shall stand established, following the reassembly of the Dáil subsequent to a General Election, a Standing committee, to be known as the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, to—

(a) consider matters of procedure generally and to recommend any additions or amendments to Standing Orders that may be deemed necessary,

(b) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a), oversee the procedure in Standing, Select and Special Committees (as the case may be), whether by request from the relevant Committee or otherwise, and to examine, where appropriate, the role of Committees as they evolve,

(c) consider and report, as and when requested to do so, as to the privileges attaching to members,

(d) consider, if it deems it advisable, any matter relating to the conditions or premises in which members carry out their duties and which are not specifically referred to any other Committee, and

(e) make recommendations, whether by request or otherwise, to the Joint Committee on Broadcasting and Parliamentary Information on the rules of coverage for the televising of proceedings of Dáil Éireann and its Committees [See Standing Order 101(1)(b).]

(2) The Committee shall have the following powers:

(a) power to appoint sub-Committees as defined in Standing Order 81(3);

(b) power to engage consultants as defined in Standing Order 81(8);

(c) power to travel as defined in Standing Order 81(9) (other than subparagraph (a) thereof);

(d) power to print and publish reports and to authorise sub-Committees to report directly to the Dáil as defined in Standing Order 84(1); and

(e) power to act on behalf of Dáil Éireann and members of Dáil Éireann in relation to any legal proceedings or other public hearing or inquiry.

(3) There shall stand established, following the reassembly of the Dáil subsequent to a General Election, a sub-Committee, which shall be called the sub-Committee on Dáil Reform, and shall consist of the Party Whips who are members of the Committee (or if they number less than five, the Party Whips and such other members of the Committee as the Committee may decide, up to a maximum of five members) and three shall constitute a quorum. The sub-Committee shall perform the functions set out at paragraphs (1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(c) and (1)(e) of this Standing Order and may report directly to the Dáil.

(4) (a) There shall stand established, following the reassembly of the Dáil subsequent to a General Election, a sub-Committee, which shall be called the sub-Committee on Members’ Services, to perform the functions set out at paragraph (1)(d) of this Standing Order and which may report directly to the Dáil.

(b) The sub-Committee shall consist of eight members, at least one of whom shall be a member of the Committee, and the quorum of the sub-Committee shall be three. The Chairman of the sub-Committee shall be a member of the Committee.

(c) A member of the sub-Committee who is unable to attend a particular meeting of the sub-Committee may nominate another member to take part in the proceedings and vote in his or her stead.

(5) The Committee shall consist of the Ceann Comhairle, who ex officio shall be Chairman and who shall have only one vote, and seventeen other members; and eight shall constitute a quorum. In the unavoidable absence of the Ceann Comhairle, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle may act as Chairman in his or her stead. The Committee shall be constituted so as to be impartially representative of the Dáil.’.

(e) STANDING ORDER 98 — WORKING GROUP OF COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN.

(i) By the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (2)(a) of Standing Order 98:

‘(2) (a) apportionment of monies available to Committees for consultancy and travel, subject to the consent of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission;’.

(ii) By the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (3) of Standing Order 98:

‘(3) The Working Group may, subject to the provisions of the Staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas Act, 1959, and the consent of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, also make recommendations on any matter relevant to the provision of services to Committees falling within its remit.'.

(f) STANDING ORDER 100 — JOINT HOUSE SERVICES COMMITTEE. In paragraph (1) of Standing Order 100, by the substitution of the following subparagraphs for subparagraphs (b) and (c):

‘(b) assist and advise the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission in the direction and control of the Oireachtas Library;

(c) regulate and supervise the operation of the research service for members and to recommend to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission any improvements in the operation of the service which may appear to it to be desirable from time to time;’.

(g) STANDING ORDER 101 — JOINT COMMITTEE ON BROADCASTING AND PARLIAMENTARY INFORMATION. By the adoption of the following in substitution for Standing Order 101:

‘101. (1) There shall stand established, following the reassembly of the Dáil subsequent to a General Election, a Select Committee, which shall be joined with a similar Select Committee of the Seanad to constitute the Joint Committee on Broadcasting and Parliamentary Information, to—

(a) discharge the necessary monitoring and administrative arrangements for in-House televising and for sound and televised broadcasting of Dáil Éireann and its Committees;

(b) review and modify, whether subject to any recommendations made by the sub-Committee on Dáil Reform under Standing Order 97(1)(e) or otherwise, the rules of coverage for the televising of proceedings of Dáil Éireann and its Committees;

(c) determine rules of access in respect of the archive of proceedings of Dáil Éireann and its Committees; and

(d) determine, subject to the consent of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, from time to time the fees to be payable in respect of broadcasting of proceedings of Dáil Éireann and its Committees.

(2) The Joint Committee shall be responsible for:—

(a) developing facilities to enable the general public to access live coverage of parliamentary proceedings; and

(b) the development of radio facilities.

(3) The Joint Committee shall monitor the operation, by the Public Relations Officer, of the Information and Public Relations service for the Houses of the Oireachtas and their members collectively and shall recommend to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission any improvements in the operation of the service which may appear to it to be desirable from time to time.

(4) The Committee shall consist of five members of Dáil Éireann. The quorum of the Joint Committee shall be three, at least one of whom shall be a member of Dáil Éireann and one a member of Seanad Éireann.

(5) The Joint Committee shall have the following powers:

(a) power to appoint sub-Committees as defined in Standing Order 81(3);

(b) power to engage consultants as defined in Standing Order 81(8); and

(c) power to travel as defined in Standing Order 81(9).

(6) The Joint Committee shall have power to nominate persons to assist it in its deliberations; and such persons shall attend such meetings as the Joint Committee may determine.

(7) Every report which the Joint Committee proposes to make shall, on adoption by the Joint Committee, be laid before both Houses forthwith.'.

Question put and agreed to.
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