Bills
1,078 bills tracked. What do the stages mean?
Public Transport Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Brendan Ryan
- Amends Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 to require bus service licence applicants to engage in collective bargaining with workers or join employer association subject to Labour Court examination.
- National Transport Authority can attach licence conditions enforcing compliance with new collective bargaining or association membership requirement to ensure reliable public transport service.
- Aims to prevent wage undercutting and poor working conditions in bus sector by binding licence holders to normal industrial relations practice.
Garda Síochána (Amendment) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Jim O'Callaghan
- Expands Policing Authority's oversight powers to monitor Garda Commissioner and police service performance.
- Amends Garda Síochána Inspectorate provisions; specific changes not detailed in title provided.
- Bill lapsed before completion; final scope and related provisions unknown.
Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Eugene Murphy
- Amends Local Government Act 1991 to require voter approval before changing a community's county status.
- Gives electorate explicit consent power over county boundary or administrative status changes affecting their area.
- Bill lapsed at First Stage; did not progress through parliament.
Sale of Illicit Goods Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed John Lahart
- Makes it an offence to buy illicit alcohol, tobacco, or solid fuel if you knew or should have known taxes weren't paid or goods were counterfeit.
- Makes it an offence to buy alcohol, tobacco, or solid fuel from unregistered or unlicensed retailers, with €100 on-the-spot fines issued initially.
- Establishes criminal penalties: class B fine (€4,000) or up to 6 months jail for first offence; class A fine (€5,000) or up to 12 months for repeat offences.
Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Billy Kelleher
- Requires doctors to declare annually to the Medical Council any income or gifts received from medical suppliers or pharmaceutical companies.
- Declarations must be made in statutory form; no thresholds or exemption amounts specified in long title.
- Bill lapsed; did not proceed beyond Second Stage debate in 2017.
Welfare of Greyhounds (Amendment) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Thomas P. Broughan
- Makes it an offence to export greyhounds to countries not on a Minister-published white list of jurisdictions meeting adequate welfare standards.
- White list created annually by International Greyhound Forum and Bord na gCon, subject to public consultation, then approved by Minister via regulation.
- Minister may grant export licences for whitelisted countries; applicants cannot make false statements and may appeal licence refusals.
Prohibition of Wild Animals in Circuses Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Ruth Coppinger
- Amends Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 to ban wild animals in circuses.
- Prohibits use of wild animals in circus performances and related activities.
- Bill lapsed at First Stage; did not progress to debate or enactment.
Education (Disadvantage Committee) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Carol Nolan
- Establishes Educational Disadvantage Committee to advise Minister on policies and strategies to identify and correct educational disadvantage.
- Committee members appointed for maximum three years; half must be nominees from voluntary and relevant bodies.
- Committee submits proposals to Minister on educational disadvantage policies and priorities, considering available resources and efficiency.
Civil Liability (Amendment) (Prevention of Benefits from Homicide) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Jim O'Callaghan
- Prevents people convicted of homicide from inheriting from or claiming benefits from their victim's estate.
- Amends succession law so killers cannot profit financially from causing someone's death through inheritance or legal claims.
- Applies the legal principle that wrongdoing should not create financial advantage, protecting victims' families from this harm.
National Food Ombudsman Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Charlie McConalogue
- Creates National Food Ombudsman office within Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to handle grocery trade disputes.
- Ombudsman mediates and investigates disputes between grocery retailers/wholesalers and their suppliers of food products.
- Bill lapsed at First Stage; no related matters detail provided in available text.
Electoral (Extension of Voting Rights to Non-Irish Citizens) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Ruth Coppinger
- Allows all adults living in Ireland to vote in Dáil and European Parliament elections, regardless of citizenship.
- Changes voting eligibility from Irish/EU citizens only to any adult ordinary resident, expanding the electorate.
- Bill was introduced but did not progress beyond First Stage and has since lapsed without becoming law.
Keeping People in their Homes Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Kevin Boxer Moran
- Amends Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 to require courts consider proportionality when deciding home repossession cases involving mortgagors' principal residences.
- Courts must assess factors including impact on borrower and dependents, lender's circumstances, state support availability, and alternative accommodation costs before granting possession.
- Applies to new cases and pending cases where no repossession order yet granted, plus cases where suspension or variation of existing orders is sought.
Road Traffic (Minimum Passing Distance of Cyclists) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Ciarán Cannon
- Sets minimum passing distance when drivers overtake cyclists: 1 metre in areas with speed limit ≤50 km/h, 1.5 metres where speed limit exceeds 50 km/h.
- Amends Road Traffic Act to require drivers pass cyclists at 'sufficient distance' rather than current vague 'endanger or inconvenience' standard, with defined penalties.
- Establishes offence with fixed charge and court conviction penalties for drivers failing to maintain the prescribed lateral distance when overtaking cyclists.
Pensions (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Willie Penrose
- Amends Pensions Act 1990 to make solvent employers liable for pension scheme funding deficits when winding up defined benefit schemes, treating unpaid amounts as contractual debt to scheme trustees.
- Prevents employers from removing pension liabilities from their financial accounts without fully funding scheme deficits, closing a loophole allowing companies to avoid obligations.
- Applies to defined benefit schemes operating before the Act commences; does not affect other legal remedies available to pension trustees for scheme shortfalls.
Pensions (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Willie O'Dea
- Amends the Pensions Act 1990 to create an appeals process when pension scheme trustees decide to wind up a scheme.
- Gives scheme members a mechanism to challenge or appeal the trustees' decision to wind up their pension scheme.
- Bill lapsed and did not become law; information about specific appeal procedures or timeframes is not available from the long title.
Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Anne Rabbitte
- Removes restrictions on ESB's power to manage water levels on three Shannon lakes: Lough Derg, Lough Ree, Lough Allen.
- Amends the 1934 Electricity Act to expand ESB's authority for lake-level works and related matters.
- Bill lapsed at First Stage; no legislative progress beyond initial introduction.
Sentencing Council Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Jonathan O'Brien
- Establishes a Sentencing Council with 14 members (8 judges, 6 non-judges) to produce sentencing guidelines promoting consistency across courts while preserving judicial independence.
- Requires courts to follow Council guidelines unless doing so would contradict justice; Council must assess resource impacts (prisons, probation, youth justice) of sentencing policies.
- Council publishes guidelines after public consultation, monitors their effects, and produces annual reports; Minister reviews the Council's operation within 5 years of establishment.
Pensions (Amendment) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Denise Mitchell
- Amends Pensions Act 1990 to stop solvent companies abandoning pension obligations to employees.
- Prevents employers from avoiding responsibility for employee pension schemes when financially able to pay.
- Bill lapsed at First Stage; specific enforcement mechanisms and penalties not detailed in long title alone.
Prohibition of Above-cost Ticket Touting Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Stephen Donnelly
- Makes it illegal to sell tickets for major sporting, musical, or theatrical events above their official price.
- Applies to anyone selling or offering tickets for resale at above face value.
- Bill lapsed during Second Stage; did not become law.
National Famine Commemoration Day Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Colm Brophy
- Creates a National Famine Commemoration Day to officially remember the Great Famine and its impact.
- Establishes formal commemorative arrangements, though bill lapsed before becoming law.
- Scope and specific date for commemoration not detailed in long title alone.
University College Galway (Amendment) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Éamon Ó Cuív
- Cancels the 2006 amendment to the University College Galway Act 1929, reversing changes made that year.
- Makes new amendments to the original 1929 Act governing University College Galway's structure or operations. Specific changes not detailed in title.
- Bill did not complete enactment; it lapsed without becoming law.
Harmful Communications and Digital Safety Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Jonathan O'Brien
- Consolidates harmful communications offences by repealing Post Office (Amendment) Act 1951 and section 10 of Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, replacing them with new offences covering all communication types including digital.
- Creates new criminal offences: distributing intimate images without consent (up to 7 years imprisonment); taking/distributing intimate images without consent (up to 6 months); and sending menacing messages (up to 7 years imprisonment).
- Introduces stalking as separate offence from harassment, extends protection to online communications including fake profiles, provides 2-year prosecution time limit, and grants courts power to restrict contact and approach orders.
Public Services and Procurement (Social Value) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Frank O'Rourke
- Public bodies can consider economic, social, and environmental benefits when awarding service contracts, not just price.
- Aims to help small and medium businesses compete more fairly for public procurement tenders.
- Bill lapsed during legislative process; did not become law.
Ethical Public Investment (Tobacco) Bill 2017
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Sean Fleming
- Bans public money investment in tobacco company stocks and bonds, directly or indirectly.
- Affects government, state bodies, and pension funds holding tobacco securities.
- Bill lapsed without becoming law; status as of 2017.