Where the Cabinet makes a decision on the policy issues involved in a proposed Bill, or where the proposed Bill is in accordance with the general lines of Government policy, a Minister will seek approval from his or her Cabinet colleagues to commence the drafting of the Bill in accordance with a general scheme.
The general scheme sets out outline provisions, known as "heads", and a policy narrative relating to those outline provisions is prepared by the Department of the Minister sponsoring the legislation.
Once the Government has given its approval to draft, the Department will send instructions to draft, including the general scheme, to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government and will also send the general scheme for pre-legislative scrutiny by an Oireachtas committee.
Pre-legislative scrutiny was introduced to strengthen the capacity of the Houses of the Oireachtas to ensure a high quality of legislation and to hold the Government to account. It gives the Houses the opportunity to influence the policy-making process through its public analysis and feedback on draft legislation. This scrutiny allows the Oireachtas, through its committees, to scrutinise the general scheme and to make recommendations for improvements at an early stage in the drafting process.
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Last updated: Fri, 29 Nov 2024