Bills
1,078 bills tracked. What do the stages mean?
Criminal Procedure and Related Matters Bill 2021
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Barry Ward
- Allows Minister to change how Garda interviews are recorded by regulation, moving from handwritten notes to modern video/audio equipment in interview rooms.
- Establishes in law that prosecution (DPP and Gardaí) cannot be awarded costs, settling a court ruling that only primary legislation can impose this rule.
- Removes mandatory minimum sentences that courts cannot escape for repeat firearms and drug offences, restoring judicial discretion ruled unconstitutional by Supreme Court.
Period Products (Free Provision) Bill 2021
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Rebecca Moynihan
- Requires period products (tampons, pads, etc.) to be made freely available to people who need them.
- Aims to remove cost barriers to menstrual hygiene and address period poverty across Ireland.
- Bill did not progress beyond First Stage; lapsed without becoming law.
Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Bill 2020
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Fiona O'Loughlin
- Establishes hate crime as an aggravating factor for designated offences when motivated by victim's asylum status, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, transgender identity, age, or similar characteristics.
- Enables courts to impose enhanced penalties and supervision orders for offences aggravated by hate crime.
- Creates legal framework defining when an offence qualifies as hate crime and how courts must sentence such cases.
State Airports (Shannon Group) (Amendment) Bill 2020
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Martin Conway
- Amends the State Airports (Shannon Group) Act 2014. Specific changes and practical effects not detailed in bill title alone.
- Bill did not progress past First Stage and has lapsed, meaning it is no longer active in the legislative process.
- Sponsor: Martin Conway. Bill status indicates it was not enacted into law.
National Screening Advisory Committee Bill 2020
30 Jan 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Gerard P. Craughwell
- Establishes National Screening Advisory Committee on statutory basis to advise Minister on all screening programmes, replacing previous non-statutory arrangement.
- Requires Committee to report within 6 months on expanding newborn bloodspot screening conditions tested, then annually thereafter with parliamentary disclosure.
- Mandates Minister to publicly explain reasons for rejecting Committee recommendations within one month, implementing Scally Report transparency requirements.
Public Authorities and Utility Undertakings (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2019
30 Jan 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Alice-Mary Higgins
- Implements EU directives on public procurement by setting contract award criteria beyond lowest price, including social considerations and quality.
- Allows public bodies to depart from best price-quality ratio under defined procedures and requires human rights protections for state contractors.
- Mandates government guidelines on social considerations in contracts and annual reporting to parliament on procurement matters.
Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Naturalisation of Minors Born in Ireland) Bill 2018
30 Jan 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Ged Nash
- Allows minors born in Ireland to apply for Irish citizenship certificates without waiting until age 18.
- Amends naturalisation law to streamline the process for children born on the island of Ireland.
- Bill did not progress beyond Second Stage and is no longer active in the legislature.
Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill 2018
30 Jan 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Rose Conway-Walsh
- Bans conversion therapy—practices claiming to change sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
- Treats conversion therapy as deceptive and harmful; establishes legal prohibition on this practice.
- Bill lapsed in parliament; did not become law. Current legal status of conversion therapy in Ireland unclear from this bill alone.
Regional Technical Colleges (Amendment) Bill 2017
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Paddy Burke
- Amends Regional Technical Colleges Act 1992 to allow governing body representation from regions outside the education and training board's functional area.
- Extends who can sit on college governing bodies to include representatives from communities served by the college but located elsewhere.
- Bill did not progress beyond First Stage and has lapsed without becoming law.
Gender Recognition (Amendment) Bill 2017
30 Jan 2025 Second Stage Lapsed David P.B. Norris
- Allows people aged 16+ to obtain Gender Recognition Certificates using the same process as adults (18+), removing the requirement for court orders, parental consent, and medical professional intervention for this age group.
- Removes the minimum age requirement for people under 16 to obtain Gender Recognition Certificates through court exemption orders, and removes mandatory medical certification as a condition for court approval.
- Requires courts considering applications from under-16s to prioritise the child's best interests, can override parental consent refusal if it conflicts with the child's welfare, and must consider the child's own views.
Convictions for Certain Sexual Offences (Apology and Exoneration) Bill 2016
30 Jan 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
- Provides formal apology and exoneration to persons convicted under repealed laws criminalising consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults.
- Acknowledges historic prosecutions were improperly discriminatory and violated human dignity, privacy and autonomy; applies to convictions from 1634 to 1993.
- Does not create statutory rights, legal causes of action, or financial liability; excludes cases involving persons under 17 or lacking capacity to consent.
Electoral (Amendment) (Voting at 16) Bill 2016
30 Jan 2025 Second Stage Lapsed Lynn Ruane
- Lowers voting age to 16 for European Parliament and local government elections only.
- Allows 16-year-olds to register as electors for these two election types.
- Bill lapsed during Second Stage; did not become law.
Electoral Reform (Amendment) and Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2023
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Defeated Alice-Mary Higgins
- Expands Electoral Commission's role to review Seanad voting system, franchise rules, and minimum voting age.
- Protects civil society organisations' freedom of association and expression in electoral contexts under Electoral Act 1997.
- Provides free public transport on polling day to improve voter access.
Special Measures in the Public Interest (Derrybrien Wind Farm) Bill 2023
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Defeated Tom Clonan
- Bill transfers Derrybrien wind farm ownership to Western Development Commission to help secure Ireland's electricity supply.
- Allows removal of current Gort Windfarms staff and appointment of new personnel; renames company and transfers land lease.
- Suspends certain company law rules for Gort Windfarms; existing contracts remain valid. Bill was defeated at first stage.
Planning and Development Bill 2023
9 Jan 2025 Enacted
- Replaces Planning and Development Act 2000. Extends development plan lifespan from six to ten years, makes them more strategic, and replaces mandatory local area plans with flexible area-based plans.
- Creates National Planning Statements (replacing ministerial guidelines) requiring mandatory alignment with national policies. Establishes Urban Development Zones for state-led infrastructure investment in high-development-potential areas.
- Renames An Bord Pleanála to An Coimisiún Pleanála with separated corporate and decision-making functions. Introduces mandatory statutory timelines for all consent processes and an Environmental Legal Costs Assistance Mechanism for judicial review applicants.
Family Courts Bill 2022
18 Nov 2024 Enacted
- Establishes three specialized family court divisions—Family High Court, Family Circuit Court, and Family District Court—within existing court structures to handle family law proceedings.
- Assigns judges to family courts based on suitability for family law; Principal Judges serve minimum 4-year terms; ordinary judges serve minimum 3-year terms and may request reassignment.
- Requires courts to apply guiding principles including child welfare prioritization, encouraging alternative dispute resolution, and conducting proceedings informally without wigs or gowns.
Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2024
18 Nov 2024 Enacted
- Raises minimum age for buying tobacco products from 18 to 21 years; applies existing penalties and court powers to enforce the new age limit.
- Keeps nicotine inhaling products restricted to under-18s only; allows test purchases and compliance notices to check retailer compliance.
- Changes retail signage requirement to reference age 21 instead of 18; takes effect 1 February 2028 except signage rule.
Appropriation Bill 2024
18 Nov 2024 Enacted
- Grants statutory authority for amounts voted by the Dáil in 2024 Estimates and sets capital carryover from 2024 to 2025.
- Allows repayable advances from Central Fund to Paymaster General's Supply Account for liabilities payable 1-2 January 2025 and Social Welfare payments via An Post 1-6 January 2025.
- Lists appropriations-in-aid under Public Accounts and Charges Act 1891 and establishes mechanism for repaying advanced funds to Central Fund in January 2025.
Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2024
18 Nov 2024 Enacted
- Extends funding for Houses of the Oireachtas Commission from Central Fund for period 2025-2027 at €565 million maximum allocation.
- Amends Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003 to continue three-year funding cycle that expired end-December 2024.
- Funds parliamentarian pay, pensions, allowances, and Oireachtas Service operations including IT, broadcasting, and research facilities.
Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Bill 2024
18 Nov 2024 Enacted
- Permits companies to hold virtual or hybrid general meetings using electronic communications technology, provided their constitution allows it, with safeguards for member participation and voting.
- Removes audit exemption for small companies that fail to file annual returns if they have previously failed to file in the preceding 5 years; exemption lost for following 2 years.
- Requires electronic filing agents and registered office agents to be approved by the Registrar and, if trust or company service providers, to be authorised under anti-money laundering legislation.
Health Insurance (Amendment) and Health (Provision of Menopause Products) Bill 2024
18 Nov 2024 Enacted
- Updates risk equalisation credits paid from the Risk Equalisation Fund from 1 April 2025, with amounts varying by age, sex, and insurance cover type.
- Revises stamp duty rates on health insurance contracts effective 1 January 2025 and 1 April 2025 to fund the updated risk equalisation credits.
- Amends definition of 'high cost claim' to clarify which HSE-approved drugs qualify for high-cost claim credits under the risk equalisation scheme.
Land (Zoning Value Sharing) Bill 2024
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed
- Requires planning authorities to identify zoned land, assess its value before and after zoning, establish land value registers, and allow landowners to appeal valuations.
- Imposes obligation to pay 25% of zoning value increase to planning authorities as condition of planning permission; unpaid amounts become charges on the land.
- Requires authorities use payments for public infrastructure, facilities and services supporting residential development and housing supply in their areas.
Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2024
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed
- Tenants receiving eviction notices for landlord sale must be offered 90 days to bid for the property; landlord cannot sell during this period except to the tenant or approved housing bodies.
- RTB can award damages for breaches of the first refusal rules, but cannot force resumed possession if a sale has already completed, balancing tenant and landlord rights.
- RTB hearings must be held in public unless special circumstances warrant privacy; Garda or housing officer statements may be admitted as evidence in anti-social behaviour cases.
Houses of the Oireachtas (Members) Bill 2024
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Violet-Anne Wynne
- Allows each House to make standing orders permitting members to record absences for humanitarian reasons or infant care in Official Report, rather than relying on regulations.
- Amends 2021 Secretarial Facilities Regulations to entitle either parent (if a member) to secretarial assistance for parental leave, stillbirth, and child-related humanitarian grounds up to age two.
- Extends parental leave protections from primary legislation rather than statutory instrument, covering both parents equally and broadening eligible circumstances beyond the 2021 regulations.