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

Alan Shatter begins the day with Questions to the Minister for Defence, before Leaders’ Questions at 3:15pm – which may not be taken by Enda Kenny, depending on the goings-on at the G8. If Kenny’s not around, chief whip Paul Kehoe will stand in for Questions to the Taoiseach for an hour at around 3:40pm.

Backbenchers will get half an hour to query the passage of certain bills during the order of business at 4:40pm, after which four of the day’s topical issues are discussed (5:10pm).

After that, the evening is devoted to debate on the plans for the Government’s referendum on Seanad abolition – with debate continuing from around 6pm until 10pm. There’s a 90-minute interruption starting at 7:30pm for a technical group motion on how Labour is failing the legacy of the 1913 Lockout.

All of the day’s Dáil business can be viewed here.

SEANAD

The usual 75-minute plenary discussion on anything-and-everything in the order of business (2:30pm) is followed by two hours of debate on the Housing (Amendment) Bill, which eases the transition between two different models of charging rent from local authority tenants (3:45pm).

From 5:45pm Brendan Howlin pops in to discuss possible amendments to the Public Service Management Bill, which forms part of the public service efficiency regime and makes it easier to reassign staff between public agencies.

All of the day’s Seanad business can be viewed here.

COMMITTEES

Just the three hearings today:

• The committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation gets going at 1:30pm to deal with a raft of proposals for EU laws, and to discuss an economic development strategy for the south-east. The Waterford City and Kilkenny County Council managers will join at 1:45pm; representatives from Waterford and Carlow IT at 2:45pm, and local farming groups at 3:45pm.(Watch here.)
• The committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food meets at 2pm to consider five new plans for European laws, and meets representatives from Wicklow Uplands Council to discuss their study on the best possible management of upland habitats in the county. (Watch here.)
• Finally, the EU Affairs committee welcomes Francis Jacobs, the head of the European Parliament’s information office in Dublin, to discuss democratic legitimacy and accountability within the EU. (Watch here.)

Explainer: How does a Bill become a law?

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