The Programme for Government outlined an ambitious agenda for Oireachtas Reform to be introduced in a phased process over the lifetime of this Government.
In October 2013, the Dáil Standing Orders were amended to require that twelve months following the enactment of a Bill, save in the case of the Finance Bill and the Appropriation Bill, the member of the Government or Minister of State who is officially responsible for implementation of the Act shall provide a report which shall review the functioning of the Act and which shall be laid in the Parliamentary Library.
It is then a matter for the Oireachtas Committee to consider if it will review this Report or not. If the Committee decides to review the report it has the power to require the Minister or Minister of State to appear before it to discuss the report.
Coupled with the Pre-Legislative Stage for all non-emergency legislation this reform is designed to strengthen the legislative process, empower Oireachtas Committees and give TDs greater role in the development and review of legislation. There have been 41 cases of pre-legislative scrutiny by Joint Oireachtas Committees between March 2011 and February 2015, 37 of which have been completed and reports issued on their findings.
The process of parliamentary reform is always an ongoing one but under this Government the Oireachtas has been reformed to enhance the legislative role of elected members and improve the working of the Irish Parliament.
Since taking Office, the Government has introduce a range of Dáil Reforms in relation to the legislative process including:
- Friday sittings to allow TDs to play a fuller role in the legislative process by introducing their own Bills and having those Bills debated on the floor of the Dáil. This has encouraged a rapid growth in the number of TDs introducing their own Bills from 14 Private Members Bills published by TDs in 2010 to 53 published in 2014. 82 Private Members Bills have been debated in the 31st Dáil to 6 March 2015 compared to 16 debated in the 30th Dáil. 21 Committee Reports have been debated in the 31st Dáil to 6 March 2015 compared to 9 debated in the 30th Dáil.
- The pre-Legislative review system which is a requirement for all non-emergency legislation.
- Restructuring of the Oireachtas Committee system by reducing the number of Oireachtas Committees from 25 to 16.
The role of Oireachtas Committees in the Budget process has also been expanded.
In addition, as a result of a set of reforms introduced to reduce the use of the guillotine, just 3 Bills were guillotined in the Dáil in 2014 down from 12 in 2013 and from 19 in 2010. This has been achieved by such reforms as reducing the number of Legislative Programmes to two per year, increasing the time available for legislative debate in the Dáil (by increasing the number of total sitting days, and extending each sitting day.
The Government has also improved the way legislation in the Chamber is debated:
- At First Stage the proposer of a Private Member’s Bill now has 5 minutes to outline the purpose of the Bill to the Dáil and explain their reasons for drafting the legislation.
- At Second Stage the Chair or Vice Chair of the Committee which considered the Bill at Pre-Legislative Stage shall have a speaking slot, of the same length as the Minister or Opposition Spokespeople, to report to the Dáil on its findings.
- At the end of the second stage debate, 45 minutes may be allowed for concluding remarks by Deputies chosen by the Ceann Comhairle who had previously spoken.
Taken together, these reforms show a real commitment by Government to continue to meet its commitments in this area as outlined in the Programme for Government.
