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…

4 things we’ll be keeping an eye on

Dáil: Leaders’ Questions – With the Tánaiste at the UN general assembly in New York it will fall to some other government minister to answer questions from the opposition on the matters of the day at 10.30am.
Seanad: Bullying – Education Minister Ruairí Quinn leads statements on the issue of bullying in schools at 11.45am.
Committees: NAMA – The State’s bad bank, NAMA, will be before the Public Accounts Committee in Committee Room 1 at 10am to discuss the its annual report and accounts for last year. Expect CEO Brendan McDonagh to get plenty of questions.
Committees: Ombudsman – At the same time in Committee Room 3, the Public Service Oversight and Petitions Committee will hear evidence from outgoing Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly on her annual report published yesterday.

Everything else that’s happening in the Dáil

After Leaders’ Questions, TDs get down to the Order of Business – which was particularly interesting yesterday – at around 10.51am or probably a little later.
After that debate on the second stage of the Public Services Management Recruitment and Appointments Amendment Bill, which is aimed at reducing barriers to redeployment of public sector workers, continues.
Then the second stage of the Fines Payment and Recovery Bill resumes. This law aims to reduce the number of people who are imprisoned for the non-payment of fines by getting attachment orders to their earnings instead.
Topical issues are discussed at 3.42pm before the Minister for Health James Reilly takes questions on his portfolio at 4.30pm.
The Dáil adjourns for the weekend at 5.45pm.

Everything else that’s happening in the Seanad

Senators discuss anything and everything when the Order of Business gets underway at 10.30am.
After the bullying debate, Matters on the Adjournment will be discussed before the Seanad itself adjourns for the weekend.

Everything else that’s happening in the Committees

The Health and Children Committee will start its day at 9.30am in Committee Room 2 taking pre-Budget submissions from the Irish Heart Foundation; Irish Cancer Society; The Carers Association, Disability Federation of Ireland; Age Action Ireland; and Neurological Alliance. At 11am the Irish Hospice Foundation; National Federation of Voluntary Bodies; Home and Community Care Ireland; Nursing Homes Ireland; Mental Health Reform; and Irish Medical Organisation take their turns. At 12.15pm the Children’s Rights Alliance and the National Youth Council of Ireland will get their turn to give their Budget proposals.
The Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement will hear from Pat Colgan, chief of the Special EU Programmes Body in Committee Room 4 at noon on the EU’s Programme for Peace and Reconciliation.

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

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