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Our TDs are off on their summer holidays. These are not TDs. beach party via Shutterstock
Leinster House
Oireachtas agenda: Summer holidays and public inquiry legislation
A quiet day in the houses of the Oireacthas with only the Seanad sitting to discuss MEP constituencies and public inquiries.
WHAT ARE OUR politicians doing in the halls of Leinster House?
TheJournal.ie lets you know with our guide to what’s coming up in the Dáil, Seanad and various Oireachtas committees today.
DÁIL
Although the Dáil doesn’t always sit on a Friday, they’re really not sitting today. Why? All our TDs are off on their 9 week break from Dáil sittings — this, along with other breaks, ranks it 11th out of 18 other parliaments for time off.
SEANAD
Senators are not so lucky, they’re back in at 10.30am for Order of Business.
At 11.45am, the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013 will be brought to committee stage. The legislation would allow members of the Oireachtas to undertake public inquiries, for example one into the financial crisis. This is currently prevented by what is known as the Abbeylara judgement, which decided that this sort of inquiry could not negatively affect the reputation of a member of the public.
At 1.45pm, legislation which would reduce the number of MEPs by one will be brought through all stages. This will include a motion for the Bill to be signed off early without debate.
Watch the Seanad here.
COMMITTEES
The Dáil recess means that no committees will sit today as they are made up of both TDs and Senators. This break has allowed for a shake-up of who sits on which each committee – find out why Denis Naughten is not too happy about this.
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