WHAT’S GOING ON in Leinster House?

Every day the Dáil and Seanad are sitting, TheJournal.ie brings you the most comprehensive guide to what our lawmakers are getting up to in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

So, here is what we can expect to be happening in the Dáil, Seanad and Committee rooms today…

3 things we’ll be keeping an eye on

• Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte will potentially face questions at 2 pm on the apparent shelving of plans to build a number of wind farms in the midlands to export energy to the UK.
• Leaders’ Questions will take place at 3.15 pm. Frank Flannery’s resignation is likely to come up, amid ongoing calls for him to appear before the Public Accounts Committee. Enda Kenny is in London, so Eamon Gilmore is set to take questions.
• Sinn Féin will be renewing calls for the Gateway scheme to be scrapped at 7.30 pm. Last week Gerry Adams suggested the initiative was not properly funded and was massaging live register figures.

Everything else that’s happening in the Dáil

• Taoiseach Enda Kenny is scheduled to face a grilling on matters relating to his department for an hour from 3.36 pm but with him being in London this is likely to be deferred.
• Following the Order of Business, Topical Issues will be discussed from 5.06 pm to 7. 30 pm.
• The Dáil will adjourn at 9 pm.

Everything happening  in the Seanad:

• The Order of Business will run for about 75 minutes where everything and anything will be discussed at 2.30pm.
• Environment and Local Government Minister Phil Hogan will address the upper house on a bill that would extend voting rights to graduates of higher education institutions in Seanad elections at 3.45pm.
• Matters on the Adjournment will take place after Hogan’s statement.

Everything else that’s happening in the Committees

• The Agriculture Committee will meet with representatives from the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority to discuss the Common Fisheries Policy in Room 3 at 2 pm.
• The EU Affairs Committee will be discussing the voting rights of EU citizens with representatives of the European Commission in Room 1 at 2 pm. Following this, Lithuanian Ambassador Vidmantas Purlys will address the committee on the introduction of the euro to his country next year.
• Jobs Minister Richard Bruton will be discussing the bill to dissolve Forfás with the Jobs Sub-Committee in Room 2 at 1.30 pm.
• A representative from the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas will meet with the Justice Sub-Committee in Room 4 at 2.30 pm to discuss Irish prisoners serving public protection sentences in the UK.

Here’s how to watch what’s going on in Leinster House today:

• Dáil Éireann
• Seanad Éireann
• Committee Room 1
• Committee Room 2
• Committee Room 3
• Committee Room 4
• To access streams on iOS, click here

Like politics? Then why not ‘Like’ TheJournal.ie’s Politics page?

Explainer: How does a bill become a law? >

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More