Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 March 2021
1226. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice the details of the process through which her Department drafts and produces legislation; if her Department outsources the drafting of legislation; if so, the Bills for which the drafting was outsourced since she took office; and the costs associated with the drafting of each Bill. [14424/21]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the need for legislation can arise through many avenues such as court judgments, EU instruments, expert reports or other new policy initiatives. Once such a need arises, and the Government approves, a General Scheme of a Bill is prepared by my Department.
The General Scheme sets out, in plain language, the provisions which are necessary to achieve the policy objectives of the Bill. This could be the creation of criminal offences or the establishment of a new Body for example. The Department engages with relevant stakeholders as the scheme is being developed to advise on practical matters and legal issues as appropriate.
Once the General Scheme drafted, it is submitted to Government for approval for formal drafting and it is published on my Department’s website. At this stage, it is sent to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice for pre-legislative scrutiny to be carried out if the Committee wishes to do so.
The General Scheme is also sent to the Office of Parliamentary Counsel in the Office of the Attorney General to be drafted in parliamentary language and formatted appropriately prior to being published as a Bill by the Bills Office. The length of time involved in drafting legislation can vary depending on the subject matter and complexities involved.
In relation to the Deputy's question regarding outsourcing the drafting of legislation, this is generally completed in-house by my officials in the Department. To meet additional legislative demands arising as a result of COVID-19, the Department engaged former civil servants with expertise in legislation to support the additional drafting requirements, at a cost of ca. €14,500 since I took office as Minister for Justice. They have supported the Criminal Justice and Civil Legislation teams on various pieces of drafting as required.
