Bills
1,078 bills tracked. What do the stages mean?
Energy Poverty Reduction (Use of Surplus Renewable Energy) Bill 2025
21 Feb 2025 First Stage Current Paul McAuliffe
- Minister must publish an energy poverty reduction strategy within 6 months, setting out how surplus renewable energy will be directed to households experiencing energy poverty.
- Bill sets escalating targets: 20% of surplus energy to energy-poor families by 2026, rising to 50% by 2030.
- Minister must report to Oireachtas on implementation, tracking number of families benefiting and alignment with climate commitments.
Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Agreement on a Unified Patent Court) Bill 2024
20 Feb 2025 Committee Stage Current
- Amends the Irish Constitution to enable Ireland to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement, creating a single EU-wide patent court system.
- Allows Ireland to participate in unified patent litigation rather than handling cases through separate national courts.
- Constitutional change required because the Agreement involves transferring some judicial authority to an international court body.
Seanad Bill 2020
20 Feb 2025 Committee Stage Current Michael McDowell
- Expands who can vote in Seanad elections and establishes a new Seanad Electoral Commission to manage elections.
- Repeals two older laws (1947 and 1937 acts) governing how panel and university members were elected to Seanad.
- Reforms Seanad Éireann's structure and election process within constitutional limits; specific franchise changes and commission powers not detailed in title.
Planning and Development (An Taisce) Bill 2024
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Defeated Mattie McGrath
- Removes An Taisce from four articles of Planning and Development Regulations 2001, ending its status as a prescribed authority entitled to receive notices on planning applications and local authority developments.
- Eliminates An Taisce's formal role in plan-making, planning permission notifications, local authority own development notices, and environmental impact assessments under the Planning Acts.
- Allows Minister to further amend the 2001 Regulations in future without constraint from this change.
Commissions of Investigation (Amendment) Bill 2023
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Defeated Kathleen Funchion
- Requires former commission of investigation members to appear before Oireachtas joint committees within 6 months of final report, if requested in writing.
- Former members must account for how investigation was conducted and compliance with terms of reference, with specified exemptions for court proceedings and confidential evidence.
- Disputes over whether members must answer particular questions are referred to High Court for determination.
Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) (Amendment) Bill 2023
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Bríd Smith
- Removes the foetal viability limit for abortion where there is risk to the pregnant woman's life or serious harm to her health.
- Allows abortion on request before foetal viability and abolishes the mandatory 3-day waiting period for abortion on request.
- Removes all criminal penalties for providing abortion and permits abortion where fatal foetal abnormality is likely to cause death before or within one year of birth.
Education (Relationships and Sexuality Education) (Amendment) Bill 2022
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Fiona O'Loughlin
- Amends Education Act 1998 to require relationship and sexuality education in primary and post-primary schools.
- Removes religious ethos influence from relationship and sexuality education curriculum and delivery.
- Bill lapsed at Second Stage; did not progress to law.
Employment Equality (Pay Transparency) Bill 2022
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Pa Daly
- Amends Employment Equality Act 1998 to require job advertisers to publish approximate pay for advertised roles.
- Aims to enable workers to negotiate fairly and help close the gender pay gap through wage transparency.
- Applies to business and public sector organisations posting job advertisements.
Impaired Farm Credit Bill 2022
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Defeated Michael Healy-Rae
- Splits farm mortgages into farmhouse and farmlands; farmhouse gets home-loan protections and cannot be repossessed without court order.
- Creates moratorium period monitored by receiver to allow farmers develop debt settlement proposal before possession or sale of farmlands.
- Allows court to impose binding debt restructuring on creditors following EU Directive 2019/1023, enabling debt discharge and fresh start for viable farms.
Education (Inspection of Individual Education Plans for Children with Special Needs) Bill 2022
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Pauline Tully
- Amends Education Act 1998 to give the Inspectorate new powers to examine and report annually on individual education plans for children with special needs.
- Inspectorate must assess prevalence and standard of these plans and report findings to the Minister for Education each year.
- Establishes legal framework enabling Inspectorate to collect and provide data on special educational needs planning on recurring annual basis.
Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Right to Vote at 16) Bill 2021
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Thomas Pringle
- Proposes constitutional amendment to lower voting age from 18 to 16 for elections and referendums.
- Requires Oireachtas approval, then public referendum to pass. Bill lapsed without becoming law.
- Would expand franchise; practical effect unknown without details on which elections included.
Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Chris Andrews
- Adds 'socio-economic disadvantage' as a prohibited ground of discrimination in employment under the Employment Equality Act 1998, preventing employers from discriminating based on applicant's background or address.
- Extends 'socio-economic disadvantage' protection to goods, services, accommodation, and education under the Equal Status Act 2000, preventing providers from discriminating based on where someone lives.
- Defines 'socio-economic disadvantage' and creates legal comparators and exceptions framework to align the new ground with existing equality protections across both Acts.
Health (Amendment) (Dual Diagnosis: No Wrong Door) Bill 2021
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Mark Ward
- Requires HSE to include dual diagnosis services (substance misuse plus mental health disorders) in its annual service plan submitted to the Minister for approval.
- Establishes joint care planning between mental health and addiction services to ensure coordinated treatment access for people with dual diagnosis.
- Applies 'No Wrong Door' principle: people can access treatment through either mental health or addiction services without being turned away.
Protection of Children (Online Pornographic Material) Bill 2020
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Defeated Peadar Tóibín
- Minister must create regulations within six months requiring age-verification or similar means to prevent children accessing online pornography, consulting Data Protection Commission, Film Classification Office, and ComReg.
- ComReg empowered to issue information notices to relevant persons, enforcement notices to stop contraventions, and block internet access to material for up to 14 days (extendable by High Court order).
- Non-compliance with enforcement notices allows ComReg to notify payment and ancillary service providers; breaches constitute criminal offences prosecuted by DPP or ComReg with prescribed penalties.
Údarás na Gaeltachta (Amendment) Bill 2018
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Dessie Ellis
- Introduces democratic elections for Údarás na Gaeltachta members, replacing current appointment method.
- Applies to the authority managing economic and social development in Irish-speaking regions (Gaeltacht).
- Bill lapsed without becoming law; practical impact of proposed changes did not take effect.
Autism Spectrum Disorder Bill 2017
20 Feb 2025 Second Stage Lapsed James Reilly
- Requires Minister for Health to develop and publish a cross-departmental Autism Spectrum Disorder Strategy within two years, addressing service gaps and inconsistencies across the State.
- Strategy must establish accountability systems, define care pathways, ensure consistent service availability nationwide, and require all relevant departments and HSE to implement their parts.
- Minister must publish progress reports every three years to Oireachtas, collect prevalence data from HSE, provide implementation guidance to agencies, and fund a public awareness campaign.
Protection of Tenants' Deposits Bill 2025
14 Feb 2025 First Stage Current Paul Murphy
- Activates Section 61 of the 2015 Residential Tenancies Act, requiring tenant deposits be sent to the Residential Tenancies Board.
- Mandates a deposit protection scheme through regulations by the Housing Minister within 90 days of this Act's passage.
- Ends delay in implementing tenant deposit protections already legislated for but not yet commenced since 2015.
Finance Bill 2024
6 Feb 2025 Enacted
- From 1 January 2025: increases income tax standard rate band to €44,000 for single persons; increases personal tax credit to €2,000; reduces USC 4% rate to 3%; raises ceiling for 2% USC rate by €1,622.
- Extends Help to Buy scheme to 31 December 2029; allows newly constructed properties purchased by Local Authorities for affordable sale to qualify; increases small benefit exemption from €1,000 to €1,500 annual employer gifts.
- Introduces tax relief for donations to sporting bodies and national governing bodies for equipment, elite athletes, and women/disability participation; creates Automatic Enrolment pension scheme with tax-exempt employer contributions and fund income.
Construction Safety Licensing Bill 2023
5 Feb 2025 Report Stage Current
- Establishes a single licensing authority to license construction workers and tutors based on competence assessment, replacing the accredited training model.
- Creates a register of licensees and approved training organisations; sets up complaint, investigation, and appeals procedures for fraud or non-compliance.
- Designates the licensing authority as competent body to recognise foreign professional qualifications under EU Directive 2005/36/EC.
Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2025
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Vincent P. Martin
- Courts can order convicted people to attend sentencing hearings in person for certain offences.
- Amends Criminal Procedure Act 1967 to establish this court power and related procedures.
- Bill lapsed at First Stage; specific offences covered and enforcement details not yet specified.
Republic of Ireland (Amendment) Bill 2025
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Vincent P. Martin
- Removes section 2 of the 1948 Republic of Ireland Act, which currently defines how the State is described in law.
- Changes the official description or naming of the State by deleting existing legislative language from 1948.
- Bill did not progress beyond initial introduction; current status shows it lapsed without becoming law.
Arts (Amendment) (Artist Workspaces) Bill 2024
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Fintan Warfield
- Increases affordable artist studios and workspaces by giving the Arts Council power to acquire, develop, and manage them.
- Allows local authorities to help provide affordable artist workspaces and artist-run workspaces in their areas.
- Bill lapsed at First Stage; specific funding amounts, timelines, and implementation details not yet established.
Public Health (Antacid Products) Bill 2024
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Róisín Garvey
- Requires warning notices displayed where antacid products are sold to consumers, excluding wholesale-only outlets.
- Creates offence of failing to display required notices at antacid product retail points.
- Establishes authorised officers to enforce notice requirements and related compliance matters.
Public Procurement (Collective Bargaining and Collective Agreements Criteria) Bill 2024
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Paul Gavan
- Public contracts can now favour companies that use collective bargaining and collective agreements with employees when scoring bids.
- Implements EU Directive 2014/24/EU by adding collective bargaining status as a weighted award criterion in government procurement.
- Bill lapsed at First Stage; did not progress to legislative debate or votes.