Bills
367 bills tracked. What do the stages mean?
National Minimum Wage (Removal of Sub-minimum Rates of Pay) Bill 2017
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Paul Gavan
- Amends National Minimum Wage Act 2000 to remove lower pay rates for workers aged 16 and over.
- Ends sub-minimum wages for employees in their first two years of employment.
- Bill lapsed without becoming law; did not progress past Second Stage debate.
Defence (Veterans Lapel Badge) Bill 2017
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Victor Boyhan
- Creates a lapel badge to honor former members of Irish Army, Air Corps, Naval Service, and Reserve Defence Forces.
- Badge recognizes service but bill lapsed in 2017—not enacted into law.
- Sponsor Victor Boyhan proposed this; practical details on eligibility and design not specified in long title.
Seanad Bill 2016
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Alice-Mary Higgins
- Expands Seanad voting to include Irish passport holders abroad, Northern Ireland residents, and graduates; creates five vocational constituencies plus one higher education constituency.
- Establishes a statutory Seanad Electoral Commission to organise elections and manage voter registers; replaces university-specific voting with broader higher education graduate voting.
- Replaces by-election system with substitute candidate lists; introduces electronic ballot printing and QR codes; comes into effect after election of 25th Seanad (around 2020).
Immigration (Reform) (Regularisation of Residency Status) Bill 2016
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Victor Boyhan
- Grants residence permits to people whose asylum, subsidiary protection, or leave-to-remain applications remain undecided after four years, valid for minimum three years and renewable.
- Grants residence permits to people with unexecuted deportation orders issued over one year ago with no reasonable prospect of enforcement within six months.
- Residence permit holders gain rights to work, travel, education, medical care, social welfare, and property ownership; Minister can revoke permits for serious crime, public order, or security reasons.
Corporate Manslaughter (No. 2) Bill 2016
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Mark Daly
- Creates new crime: corporate manslaughter when an undertaking's management causes death through gross negligence.
- Makes high-level managers personally liable for deaths caused by their grossly negligent management decisions.
- Bill lapsed without becoming law; did not progress past Second Stage parliamentary debate.
Protection of Employment (Uncertain Hours) Bill 2016
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
- Removes loophole that excluded casual workers from zero-hours protections under the 1997 Organisation of Working Time Act, extending pay entitlements to those initially engaged casually.
- Allows employees working 6+ months with regular patterns to request written contracts reflecting actual hours worked, with employers able to refuse only for seasonal/emergency reasons.
- Creates enforcement mechanism through Workplace Relations Commission adjudication officers with power to order compliance and compensation up to 104 weeks' remuneration for breaches.
Health (Amendment) (Professional Home Care) Bill 2016
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Colm Burke
- Amends Health Act 2007 to create regulatory framework for professional home care providers; designates them as regulated centres subject to HIQA standards.
- Requires needs assessments, written care plans, complaints procedures, abuse protections, and medication logs for all home care recipients.
- Establishes Social Services Inspectorate registry of professional home carers; extends Minister's regulation-making power to professional home care undertakings.
Mental Health (Capacity To Consent To Treatment) Bill 2018
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Máire Devine
- Amends Mental Health Act 2001 to allow people aged 16+ to consent to mental health treatment without parental permission.
- Enables minors over 16 to make their own decisions about mental health care, changing current consent requirements.
- Bill lapsed; did not become law. Status and practical effect unknown as it did not complete the legislative process.
Education (Digital Devices in Schools) Bill 2018
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Gerard P. Craughwell
- Minister issues standardised code prohibiting student possession of digital devices during school hours, with boards of management implementing it alongside school-specific safeguards.
- Primary students hand devices in at start of day and retrieve them at end; post-primary students must conceal and switch off devices on premises.
- Three-strike confiscation system: first breach confiscates device for school day; second for school week; third for school term, with parent retrieval required.
Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed
- Adoption Authority collects and maintains adoption records from various sources; Child and Family Agency provides tracing service to locate adopted persons, birth parents, and relatives.
- Adopted persons aged 18+ can access birth certificate info, medical history, and birth parent details; birth parents can access info about adopted person with consent.
- Register of Adoption Contact Enquiries records contact preferences of adopted persons, birth parents, relatives; Agency facilitates contact between parties based on stated preferences.
Pensions (Equal Pension Treatment in Occupational Benefit Scheme) (Amendment) Bill 2016
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Kevin Humphreys
- Amends Pensions Act 1990 to allow survivor's pension benefits for same-sex civil partners who married/partnered after age cutoff, if legal marriage/partnership was impossible before that age.
- Removes age-of-marriage requirement as barrier to pension benefits where same-sex couples were unable to marry or enter civil partnership due to prior law.
- Applies to employees who entered foreign civil partnerships later recognised in Ireland, or married/partnered within 36 months of legal eligibility.
Critical Health Professionals Bill 2017
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Mark Daly
- Allows health professionals in publicly-funded health organisations to voluntarily defer mandatory retirement age, if both employee and employer agree in writing.
- Extension periods proposed as up to two years initially, renewable once for another two years, with both parties' ongoing consent required throughout.
- Excludes those who previously took early or voluntary retirement; preserves employees' existing conditions of employment except the mandatory retirement clause.
Property Services (Advertisement of Unfit Lettings) (Amendment) Bill 2019
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Fintan Warfield
- Amends 2011 Property Services law to allow removal of ads for rental properties that don't meet fitness standards.
- Gives authorities power to take down advertisements of unfit lettings; details of enforcement mechanism not specified in title.
- Bill lapsed during parliamentary process; not enacted into law.
Civil Liability (Capping of General Damages) Bill 2019
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Neale Richmond
- Sets a maximum limit on compensation awards for general damages in personal injury claims.
- Regulations establishing the cap amount require approval from both Houses of Parliament.
- Requires periodic review of the Act's operation and effects on injured claimants.
Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2019
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Máire Devine
- Amends 2015 Assisted Decision-Making Act to clarify how it applies to people treated under mental health and insanity laws.
- Aims to strengthen mental health service provision and protect rights of patients detained under Mental Health Act 2001.
- Bill lapsed during legislative process; specific amendments and practical changes not detailed in available information.
Short-term Lettings Bill 2018
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Kevin Humphreys
- Classifies short-term dwelling rentals as commercial use, changing their legal status and planning implications.
- Requires property service providers handling short-term lettings to register under Property Services Regulation Act 2011.
- Mandates short-term letting service providers give planning authorities information on request about their operations.
Local Government Accountability Bill 2018
20 Apr 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Gerard P. Craughwell
- Minister can publish guidelines requiring local authority staff to respond fully to councillor queries within 14 days, with acknowledgement within 7 working days.
- Creates binding obligation on local authority staff to reply to councillor representations made on behalf of constituents or community groups.
- Minister can publish quarterly league tables comparing local authority response times to encourage consistency and competition across councils.
Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2014
19 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Mick Wallace
- Strengthens Ombudsman Commission independence by widening complaint admissibility criteria (time limits, breach of new Code of Service), requiring mandatory supervision of all investigations, and removing serving Gardaí from its staff.
- Establishes Garda Síochána Independent Board with 16 members to oversee policing, human rights-proof policies, conduct five-yearly reviews, and appoint/remove Garda Commissioners—reducing ministerial control.
- Removes Commissioner's direct accountability to Minister, eliminates ministerial directives to Commissioner, and transfers control of policing plans and strategic decisions from Minister to the Board.
Coroners Bill 2015
19 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Clare Daly
- Creates new Coroner Service to replace existing coroner system and updates laws governing coroner investigations and inquests.
- Allows ongoing inquests from 1962 Act to continue; transfers old coroner records to new Service; repeals outdated provisions.
- Bill lapsed at Second Stage; status unclear whether provisions were enacted separately or remain unreformed.
Ramming of Garda Vehicles Bill 2015
19 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Brendan Griffin
- Creates a criminal offence for deliberately ramming a Garda vehicle with prison sentences as punishment.
- Aims to deter attacks on police vehicles and officers during law enforcement operations.
- Bill did not complete parliamentary process and lapsed without becoming law.
Education (Amendment) Bill 2015
19 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Jim Daly
- Creates Education Ombudsman to handle appeals against school and teacher decisions.
- Allows parents/students to lodge complaints about schools and teacher conduct with ombudsman.
- Amends Education Act 1998 to establish formal investigation and reporting processes.
Public Sector Standards Bill 2015
19 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed
- Creates Public Sector Standards Commissioner to oversee complaints, investigations, and enforcement of conduct standards for public officials across local and national government.
- Requires public officials to disclose conflicts of interest, ban use of insider information for private gain, and prohibit accepting gifts over €600 or benefits tied to their office.
- Establishes investigation powers, oral hearing procedures, and sanctions including censure, suspension, disqualification, and fines up to €100,000 or imprisonment for contraventions.
Flood Insurance Bill 2016
19 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Michael McGrath
- Aims to ensure fair competition and pricing in the property insurance market, including flood insurance coverage.
- Specific provisions and enforcement mechanisms not detailed in available bill title; further legislative text needed.
- Bill lapsed before completion; did not progress into law. Sponsor: Michael McGrath.
Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016
19 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Michael McGrath
- Aimed to fix problems in how banks set variable-rate mortgage interest rates for homes.
- Would have given the Central Bank power to regulate mortgage rate practices.
- Bill did not proceed beyond Second Stage and lapsed without becoming law.