WHAT ARE OUR politicians doing in the halls of Leinster House?

TheJournal.ie lets you know with our guide to what’s coming up to the Dáil, Seanad and various Oireachtas committees today.

DÁIL

Eamon Gilmore’s weekly session of Leaders’ Questions kicks off the day at 10:30am, with a brief discussion on the rest of the day’s agenda following at around 11am.

The rest of the day is devoted to wrapping up the Further Education and Training Bill, which disbands FÁS and sets up Solas in its place; and the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011, which offers whistleblower’s protection for those who report issues at financial institutions.

They’ll be wrapped up by 3:42pm – leaving 48 minutes for the discussion of four topical issues before Alan Shatter takes Questions to the Minister for Justice and Equality.

Ordinarily that’s where the day would end – but there’s an extra two hours of discussion, from 5:45pm to 7:45pm, to get the ball rolling on the Thirty-Second Amendment to the Constitution Bill (the one which wants a referendum to scrap the Seanad).

The day’s Dáil business can all be viewed here.

SEANAD

Over in the possibly-soon-to-be-abolished Seanad, the opening 75-minute debate on the Order of Business is followed by the final discussion of the housekeeping legislation allowing full labour rights for Croatian workers once their country joins the EU next July.

At 1:30pm James Reilly pops in for a discussion on hospital services, while Joan Burton takes his place at 2:30pm to oversee the first Seanad discussion on the Social Welfare Bill, which gives legal effect to the welfare matters contained in the Budget.

The day’s Seanad business can all be viewed here.

COMMITTEES

Just the four public meetings today:

• The Health committee kicks us off at 9:30am for a huge panel on tackling childhood obestiy. There’ll be consultant paediatricians, physiotherapists, clinical psychologists, and paediatric dieticians on hand. The stated agenda will see the financial regulator, Matthew Elderfield, discuss the national response to the financial crisis. (Watch here.)
• The Public Accounts Committee meets at 10am for a meeting that’ll be worth watching: John McGuinness takes command of his first meeting since the latest furore about his travel expenses as a junior minister, and may face an open challenge on his leadership from the government and independent members. (Watch here.)
• Also at 10am, the sub-committee on Education and Skills will have Ruairí Quinn in, arguing the case for a slightly revised Budget figure for spending within his Department. (Watch here.)
• At noon, the committee on the Good Friday Agreement discusses the use of the Irish language in Northern Ireland and its legal basis – including the ongoing campaign for the Irish Language Act to be given effect, giving the Irish language official legal equivalence to English. (Watch here.)

Explainer: How does a Bill become a law?

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