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Oireachtas agenda

Will some people lose their free travel passes?

That’s what Fianna Fáil will be asking the Government today, but what else is happening in Leinster House?

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

  • 2pm, Dáil: Minister Ruairí Quinn will be fielding his last set of questions following his decision last week to jump before he was pushed out of the education portfolio in the imminent Government reshuffle.
  • 3.15 pm, Dáil: The Opposition will have plenty to ask the Taoiseach about during Leaders’ Questions.
  • 7.30pm, Dáil: Fianna Fáil is set to put forward a motion in which the party calls on the Government to “fully support and retain the Free Travel Scheme in its current form as a universal benefit to all people aged 66 and over”. Recently, Transport Minister Leo Varadkar denied the programme was set to be scrapped.

Everything else happening in the Dáil

  • 4.36pm: The Order of Business will be read.
  • 5.06pm: A number of Topical Issues will be debated.
  • Following that, two Bills are up for discussion:
  • - The National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Bill 2014, which will establish the €6.8 billion Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. It will be topped up with money from the soon-to-be defunct National Pension Reserve Fund. 
  • - The Forestry Bill 2013, which looks at sustainable forestry.
  • Once debate on the Fianna Fáil motion outlined above is over, afternoon business will be concluded.
  • 10pm: The Dáil will adjourn.

Everything happening in the Seanad

  • 12.30pm: Order of Business.
  • 1.45pm: The Government’s much-discussed Housing Bill, which seeks to address the social housing crisis, is first up for debate.
  • 3.45pm: Next in line for discussion is a Bill that will dissolve the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency and transfer their functions to a new body: the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
  • 6pm: The Health Service Executive (Financial Matters) Bill 2013 will then be debated. It’s a technical piece of legislation that will see the HSE funded through the Office of the Minister for Health, as opposed to separately, which is currently the case.

Everything else that’s happening in the Committees

Jobs Committee 

  • 1.30 pm, Room 2: The committee will be examining a number of subjects, including the Government’s action plan for jobs and how to protect young workers in the fishing and shipping sectors.

EU Affairs Committee

  • 2 pm, Room 1: His Excellency Giovanni Adorni Braccesi, the Italian Ambassador to Ireland, will address the committee

Agriculture Committee

  • 2pm, Room 3: The committee will discuss its six-monthly review of agricultural developments in the EU.

Environment Committee

  • 2.15pm, Room 4:Representatives from a number of groups including Carraig Fhada Seaweed and Irish Seaweed Processors Ltd will make submissions on the licencing and harvesting of seaweed in Ireland.

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

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