Bills
1,098 bills tracked. What do the stages mean?
Ban on Rent Increases Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 Second Stage Lapsed Eoin Ó Broin
- Freezes all rent increases for three years; existing tenancies locked at enactment date rates.
- New tenancies priced using Residential Tenancies Board rent index for equivalent properties in local area.
- Rent freeze subject to annual review during the three-year prohibition period.
Planning and Development (Amendment) (First-Time Buyers) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Paul McAuliffe
- Allows local authorities to reserve up to 30% of residential zoned land for first-time home buyers in their housing strategies.
- Requires local authorities to separately assess build-to-rent housing needs in their housing strategies, distinct from other housing requirements.
- Permits local authorities to exempt build-to-rent developments from first-time buyer reservation requirements if aligned with rental housing strategy targets.
Employment Equality (Amendment) (Non-Disclosure Agreements) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 Fifth Stage Lapsed Lynn Ruane
- Adds new section 14B to Employment Equality Act 1998 prohibiting employers from using non-disclosure agreements after workplace sexual harassment or discrimination incidents.
- Allows NDAs only if the harassed employee requests one to protect their own confidentiality, with specified conditions for enforceability.
- Makes non-compliant NDAs unenforceable and void; creates employer offence; requires plain English agreements and Minister to issue regulations and guidelines.
North-South Interconnector Review Group Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Peadar Tóibín
- Establishes a five-member review group to examine the North-South Interconnector electricity cable route, analyzing undergrounding versus overgrounding options.
- Review group must assess technical performance, costs, environmental impact, and effects on property values and local businesses within 12 months.
- Minister must present the review group's report to Parliament within two months of receipt; group dissolves three months after submitting its report.
Dáil (All-Ireland Representation) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Peadar Tóibín
- Allows MPs elected in Northern Ireland constituencies to sit, speak and ask questions in the Dáil under same terms as Dáil members.
- Defines key terms and sets commencement provisions for the legislation enabling cross-border parliamentary representation.
- Creates mechanism for Northern Ireland MPs to participate in Dáil proceedings subject to existing Dáil membership conditions.
Redundancy Payments (Lay off, Short Time and Calculation of Reckonable Service) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Louise O'Reilly
- Clarifies employees on lay-off or short time can take other work without losing redundancy rights from previous employer.
- Makes it an offence for employers to falsely treat laid-off employees as resigned to deny redundancy entitlements.
- Requires Minister to report on counting lay-off periods during emergency as reckonable service for redundancy payment calculations.
Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Barry Cowen
- Reduces An Bord Pleanála decision timelines across multiple planning appeal types from 14-18 weeks to 10-12 weeks.
- Allows Minister to prescribe different timeframes by regulation, generally or for specific appeal classes.
- Aims to speed up planning application resolutions for businesses, householders, and other applicants.
Dog Breeding Establishments (Amendment) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 Second Stage Lapsed Peadar Tóibín
- Requires local authorities to refuse dog breeding establishment registration when necessary to protect animal welfare; makes this decision mandatory rather than discretionary.
- Increases minimum fines to €5,000 for summary offences and €10,000 for indictment convictions; applies to dog breeding violations.
- Mandates local authorities appoint dedicated authorised persons to enforce dog breeding rules; removes automatic status of dog wardens as authorised persons.
Social Welfare (Payment Order) (Amendment) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 Second Stage Lapsed Claire Kerrane
- Extends Liable Relatives Unit powers to issue Determination Orders for Jobseekers Transitional Payment to one-parent families, allowing state to recover costs from liable relatives.
- Enables District Court applications for Payment Orders against liable relatives to recoup contributions toward Jobseekers Transitional Payment costs.
- Amends Social Welfare Act to include Jobseekers Transitional Payment in definitions of allowance and competent authority for enforcement purposes.
Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Peadar Tóibín
- Requires all road traffic signs to display both Irish and English text with equal prominence and size.
- Mandates Irish text appear above English, use Roman alphabet with capital initial letters, and may use colour differentiation.
- Amends Road Traffic Act 1961 to establish dual-language signage standards across Ireland's road network.
Proceeds of Crime (Investment in Disadvantaged Communities) (Amendment) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 Second Stage Lapsed Mark Ward
- Requires Minister for Finance to review disadvantaged communities affected by crime every 24 months to identify financial support needs.
- Directs Minister to reinvest Criminal Assets Bureau seizure proceeds into communities identified in reviews to alleviate crime impact.
- Prioritises identified areas when deciding how to use money generated under Proceeds of Crime Act 1996.
Hospital Parking Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 Second Stage Lapsed Peadar Tóibín
- Entitles anyone attending out-patient services at public hospitals to three hours free parking, whether as driver or passenger.
- Allows suspension of free parking entitlement at specific hospital car parks if excessive occupancy is determined to be occurring.
- Does not prevent hospitals from independently offering free parking beyond these minimum entitlements.
Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Prohibition of Winter Disconnections) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 Second Stage Lapsed Réada Cronin
- Amends Electricity Regulation Act 1999 to give Minister explicit power to direct utility regulator on policy matters.
- Introduces moratorium on disconnecting domestic customers from gas and electricity for non-payment during annual fuel allowance season.
- Allows Minister to extend disconnection moratorium to other periods deemed appropriate beyond the fuel allowance season.
Firearms and Offensive Weapons (Amendment) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 Second Stage Lapsed Jim O'Callaghan
- Increases maximum prison sentence for possessing a knife in public under Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 Section 9, from current level (not specified in memo).
- Applies to knives carried to cause injury, incapacitate, or intimidate persons, including flick knives and adapted articles, when convicted on indictment.
- Aims to deter knife carrying following rise in seizures and stabbings of young persons in Ireland over preceding two years.
Road Traffic (Amendment) (Electric Scooter Trials) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed John Lahart
- Authorizes time-limited trials of electric scooters through approved rental schemes, allowing the Minister for Transport to regulate their use during trial periods.
- Restricts trials to shared/hire schemes rather than privately-owned scooters, enabling safety controls like speed governance, helmet requirements, and geo-fencing via GPS.
- Aims to establish universal safety standards and build public confidence in electric scooters as micro-mobility transport before wider introduction.
Adoption (Information) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 Second Stage Lapsed Thomas Pringle
- Amends Adoption Act 2010 to give adopted adults unconditional access to their birth certificates without requiring consent or counselling.
- Allows the Registrar General to provide adopted persons with index entries connecting the Adopted Children Register to their original birth registration.
- Removes barriers to adopted persons tracing their birth identity by providing direct access to official records of their birth.
Civil Liability and Courts (Amendment) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 Second Stage Lapsed Denis Naughten
- Requires courts to order fraudulent claimants to pay defendant's legal costs unless doing so would cause injustice.
- Allows courts discretion to refer cases involving fraudulent evidence to Director of Public Prosecutions for criminal investigation.
- Increases maximum fine District Court can impose for Civil Liability Act offences from €3,000 to €5,000 (class A fine).
Road Traffic (Amendment) (Personal Light Electric Vehicles) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Alan Farrell
- Legalises electric scooters and e-bikes by setting technical specifications and excluding them from driver licensing and motor insurance requirements.
- Prohibits users under 16, tampering with speed limiters, and mobile phone use while operating personal light electric vehicles.
- Exempts these vehicles from motor tax and vehicle registration; extends road safety rules applicable to pedal cycles to e-scooters and e-bikes.
Residential Tenancies (Student Rents and Other Protections) (Covid-19) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 Second Stage Lapsed Eoin Ó Broin
- Landlords must refund rent and charges to student tenants unable to occupy accommodation due to Covid-19 public health guidance or legislation compliance.
- Student tenants cannot be required to pay rent more than one month in advance and need give only 28 days' notice to end tenancy.
- Unpaid rent covered by refund entitlement is not considered arrears; disputes over refunds can be resolved through the Residential Tenancies Board.
Rural Equality Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Claire Kerrane
- Public bodies must submit rural impact schemes to the Minister assessing socio-economic effects of proposed measures on rural Ireland.
- Public bodies must consider mitigation measures and alternatives to reduce rural socio-economic inequalities when implementing policies.
- Minister publishes guidelines for public bodies and presents annual reports to Oireachtas on rural equality progress.
Civil Registration (Right of Adoptees to Information) (Amendment) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 Second Stage Lapsed Kathleen Funchion
- Allows adopted persons aged 18+ to request information needed to obtain their birth certificate from the state.
- Amends the Civil Registration Act 2004 to establish the right and process for adoptees to access birth records.
- Grants the Minister power to make regulations setting out how adoptees can apply for and receive birth information.
Health (Parliamentary Oversight of Certain Instruments Relating to Covid-19) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Pa Daly
- Amends Health Act 1947 to require both Houses of Oireachtas to pass resolutions confirming Covid-19 regulations and orders within 14 sitting days or 21 calendar days, or they are automatically annulled.
- Allows either House to annul Covid-19 regulations and orders by resolution before confirmation deadline expires, without affecting actions already taken under them.
- Excludes Covid-19 instruments from existing Health Act section 5 procedures, replacing them with new parliamentary oversight framework requiring affirmative confirmation instead of negative annulment.
Oireachtas Members (Economic Justice) (Covid-19) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Peadar Tóibín
- Reduces TDs' and Senators' salaries by 25% while Covid-19 restrictions specified in Government's Plan for Living with Covid-19 remain in force.
- Applies only to salaries; does not affect allowances paid to Oireachtas members.
- Reduction applies when restrictions are in effect across the State or a large proportion of it.
Children (Amendment) Bill 2021
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Jim O'Callaghan
- Removes ban on naming accused persons in cases where child victim is deceased, allowing media to identify them.
- Allows adult survivors of childhood offences to voluntarily waive their anonymity protections under Children Act 2001.
- Clarifies section 252 of Children Act 2001 was never intended to prevent identification of deceased child victims.