Bills
322 bills tracked. What do the stages mean?
Land and Conveyancing Law Reform (Amendment) Bill 2021
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Alice-Mary Higgins
- Amends the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 to extend the time period for registering easements and profits à prendre.
- Easements and profits à prendre are property rights allowing use of someone else's land; this bill extends the deadline to formally register them.
- Bill lapsed without enactment; the specific new time period is not stated in the long title provided.
National Minimum Wage (Removal of Sub-minimum Rates of Pay) Bill 2021
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Paul Gavan
- Amends National Minimum Wage Act 2000 to remove lower pay rates for 16-year-olds and new employees in first two years.
- All affected workers would receive the standard minimum wage instead of current reduced rates.
- Bill did not progress beyond First Stage introduction in Seanad; lapsed without becoming law.
Worker Co-Operatives and Right To Buy Bill 2021
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Paul Gavan
- Amends the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1893 to update rules governing worker co-operatives and related organisations.
- Bill lapsed without progressing beyond First Stage; specific provisions on 'right to buy' not detailed in available information.
- Intended to modernise legal framework for industrial and provident societies, but detailed scope of changes unavailable.
Protection of Employment (Platform Workers and Bogus Self-Employment) Bill 2021
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Marie Sherlock
- Creates legal presumption that individuals executing work under contract are employees unless proven otherwise, reversing burden of proof.
- Declares employment status determined by law and substance of relationship, not parties' labels; applies to platform workers and gig economy roles.
- Amends Terms of Employment Act 1994 to require employers disclose automated work allocation systems and customer review processes affecting pay or task assignment.
Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2021
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Barry Ward
- Amends Residential Tenancies Act 2004 section 105 to treat landlord evidence of intent to sell property as ordinary evidence, not 'strong evidence', in Tenancy Tribunal proceedings.
- Clarifies that landlords bear the burden of proof regarding validity of termination notices and statutory declarations in Tenancy Tribunal cases.
- Codifies High Court decisions (Gunn v RTB and Stulpinaite v RTB) into legislation governing evidentiary standards and proof obligations at Tenancy Tribunals.
Taxi Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2021
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Joe O'Reilly
- Removes ban on transferring taxi licences during holder's lifetime; Minister decides case-by-case using criteria like local transport needs and applicant standing.
- Allows licence holders to retire and transfer licences to others (including family) without waiting for death; applies to small public service vehicle licences too.
- Establishes transfer procedure for applicants and licence holders; Minister considers public policy and personal circumstances before approving transfers.
Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2021
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Ivana Bacik
- Allows adult adopted persons to access the index linking their adoption records to their birth registration held by the Registrar General.
- Amends the Adoption Act 2010 to enable adopted adults to trace their origins through official records connections.
- Bill lapsed at First Stage; did not progress to law.
Health Insurance (International Students) (Amendment) Bill 2021
30 Jan 2025 First Stage Lapsed Malcolm Byrne
- Amends Health Insurance Act 1994 to redefine health insurance contracts, excluding international students not ordinarily resident in Ireland.
- Changes who can be covered by health insurance by creating a new definition that leaves out non-resident international students.
- Bill did not progress beyond First Stage and is no longer active; specific implementation details are not available.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Electricity Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2024
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Darren O'Rourke
- Expands CRU powers to monitor and regulate hedging practices in energy markets, with new monthly reporting on supply prices and supplier margins.
- Strengthens CRU authority to monitor anti-competitive behaviour by gas and electricity suppliers and enhance consumer protection from unfair pricing.
- Requires CRU to report quarterly on retail electricity and gas market functioning; gives Minister power to issue affordability-based policy directions to CRU.
Grocery Price Caps Bill 2024
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Paul Murphy
- Amends Consumer Protection Act 2007 to declare emergency on basic foodstuff supply and establish Grocery Price Caps Commission to set maximum prices.
- Commission determines which foods get price caps based on dietary importance, recent price rises, profit margins, and impact on vulnerable groups.
- Minister for Enterprise must review the Act's operation within 12 months of enactment.
Education (Smartphones in Primary Schools) Bill 2024
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Peadar Tóibín
- Prohibits primary school students from using smartphones during the school day, enforced by principals and teachers.
- Aims to promote student welfare and education by restricting smartphone access in primary schools.
- Defines key terms and sets out implementation rules for the prohibition during school hours.
Residential Tenancies (Illegal Evictions) (Amendment) Bill 2024
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Eoin Ó Broin
- Creates criminal offence of forcibly ending a tenancy; gardaí can arrest without warrant those suspected of committing it.
- Allows Residential Tenancies Board to award exemplary damages up to €40,000 where illegal eviction is found to have occurred.
- Requires Property Services Regulatory Authority, Revenue Commissioners and landlord agents to share tenant/landlord identity data with the Board for enforcement purposes.
Restriction of Imports (States in violation of obligations under the Genocide Convention and Occupied Territories) Bill 2024
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Catherine Connolly
- Creates criminal offences for importing, selling, or extracting resources from occupied territories or states violating Genocide Convention obligations.
- Makes it illegal to import goods from occupied settlements or provide services to defence/security forces of states in violation.
- Empowers Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to make regulations implementing the Bill's provisions.
Fair Procedures in the Administration of Justice Bill 2024
14 Nov 2024 First Stage Lapsed Patrick Costello
- Requires administrative decision-makers (quasi-judicial bodies) to apply fair procedures and due process standards equivalent to courts, as required by Article 37 of the Constitution.
- Gives Minister power to designate which bodies must follow fair procedures and to issue regulations setting out what those procedures must be.
- Applies to administrative bodies exercising judicial-type functions, listed in the bill's schedule, following Supreme Court ruling that their justice standards cannot be lower than courts'.