Bills
1,078 bills tracked. What do the stages mean?
Famine Memorial Day Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Peadar Tóibín
- Establishes an annual Famine Memorial Day held on the same date each year to commemorate the Irish Famine.
- Does not specify which date the memorial day falls on; bill lapsed before details were finalised.
- Bill did not progress beyond Second Stage debate; no legislation currently requires annual Famine Memorial Day observance.
Employment Equality (Amendment) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Mary Butler
- Amends Employment Equality Act 1998 to remove mandatory retirement rules if employees can prove they meet job fitness requirements.
- Allows workers to continue employment beyond current retirement age by demonstrating capability to perform contracted duties.
- Bill did not progress beyond First Stage and lapsed without becoming law.
Employment Equality (Abolition of Mandatory Retirement Age) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed John Brady
- Amends Employment Equality Act 1998 to remove mandatory retirement age requirements for employees.
- Allows workers to continue employment beyond current mandatory retirement thresholds unless employer has justified grounds.
- Bill lapsed in Oireachtas; did not progress beyond Second Stage to become law.
Commissions of Investigation (Amendment) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Jim O'Callaghan
- Allows evidence and documents from private Commission hearings to be disclosed or published, subject to conditions in the 2004 Act.
- Amends the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 to expand what information can be shared publicly about witness testimony.
- Bill did not progress beyond First Stage and lapsed without becoming law.
Prisons (Solitary Confinement) (Amendment) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Clare Daly
- Amends the Prisons Act 2007 to create specific rules governing solitary confinement use in Irish prisons.
- Exact provisions unclear from title alone; Bill lapsed before completion, so changes never became law.
- Sponsored by Clare Daly; did not progress past Second Stage debate in the Oireachtas.
Residential Institutions Statutory Fund (Amendment) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Clare Daly
- Expands approved services available to former residents of residential institutions under the 2012 Fund Act.
- Improves application processing efficiency for former residents seeking support or compensation.
- Removes requirement to establish a special bank account in the Minister for Health's name.
Prohibition of Hydraulic Fracturing (Extraction of Hydrocarbon) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Richard Boyd Barrett
- Bans hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and similar hydrocarbon extraction methods from coal seams, shale, and tight sands across Ireland.
- Bill lapsed without passing; never progressed beyond First Stage in Dáil Éireann.
- Would have prohibited all extraction practices for oil and gas from these rock formations if enacted.
Local Government Reform (Amendment) (Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed John Lahart
- Allows Dublin residents to vote on whether to directly elect a mayor instead of the current council-appointed system.
- Establishes process for holding a public referendum on direct mayoral election and related governance changes.
- Bill lapsed without becoming law; did not progress beyond parliamentary Second Stage debate.
Health and Social Care Professionals (Amendment) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Brendan Howlin
- Adds 'crisis pregnancy counsellor' to the list of regulated health and social care professions under the 2005 Act, making statutory registration mandatory.
- Only registered crisis pregnancy counsellors may use that title; false claims face €3,000 fine and/or six months' imprisonment.
- Extends public protection system to crisis pregnancy counselling by requiring competence verification, fitness-to-practise oversight, and complaint determination.
Criminal Justice (Aggravation by Prejudice) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Fiona O'Loughlin
- Courts must treat crimes more seriously if motivated by prejudice based on race, colour, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or transgender identity.
- Judges can impose harsher sentences when evidence shows an offence was aggravated by such prejudice at the time of commission.
- Bill lapsed before completion; never became law. Would have required courts to consider prejudice-based motivation during sentencing.
Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Bríd Smith
- Creates Cannabis Regulation Authority to oversee medicinal cannabis supply through licensing system.
- Allows regulated production and distribution of cannabis for medical purposes under government oversight.
- Bill did not progress beyond Second Stage debate; current status unknown without recent legislative updates.
Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Eoin Ó Broin
- Removes section 28(1C) from the Planning and Development Act 2000, which previously allowed certain ministerial directives on planning decisions.
- Practical effect: Reduces ministerial power to intervene in local planning matters through binding directions to planning authorities.
- Bill lapsed at First Stage; did not progress to legislative debate or votes.
Nursing Home Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Willie O'Dea
- Lets eligible nursing home residents receive home care instead if suitable services exist and cost the State less.
- Applies when long-term residential care is offered but home-based alternatives are available and cheaper.
- Bill did not progress beyond Second Stage debate; status is lapsed.
Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Public Ownership of Certain Assets) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Willie Penrose
- Amends Constitution Article 10 to require electricity, gas networks, and water/wastewater services remain in public ownership.
- Prevents Oireachtas from passing legislation to privatise companies owning gas/electricity transmission and distribution networks or public water infrastructure.
- Requires referendum approval before amendment takes effect; if passed, creates permanent constitutional bar on privatisation of named utilities.
Housing (Sale of Local Authority Housing) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Barry Cowen
- Allows housing authorities to sell homes to tenants who rented them under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000.
- Part V requires developers to provide affordable housing; this bill lets authorities sell those homes to current tenants.
- Bill lapsed at Second Stage; not enacted into law.
Garda Síochána (Appointment of Senior Officers) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Gerry Adams
- Amends Garda Síochána Acts 2005-2015 to let An tÚdarás Póilíneachta (Police Authority) appoint Garda Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner.
- Changes appointment process for Ireland's top two police ranks from current system to authority-led selection.
- Bill did not progress beyond First Stage introduction; status is lapsed.
Equal Status (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed Brendan Howlin
- Amends Equal Status Act 2000 to require state-funded denominational schools prove religious preference in admissions is 'essential' to ensure reasonable access for their own faith community, not merely preferred.
- Adds constitutional safeguard: courts must consider children's right to attend publicly-funded schools without mandatory religious instruction when assessing if schools' admission policies are 'essential'.
- Applies 'necessity test' to preferential admissions policies, shifting legal burden so schools cannot use blanket co-religionist preference without demonstrating actual threat to their religious character.
Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Common Ownership of Water Resources) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Eamon Ryan
- Proposed constitutional amendment to establish common ownership of water resources in Ireland.
- Bill lapsed without progression; did not advance beyond First Stage in Dáil.
- Specific amendment text and practical effects not provided in available documentation.
Companies (Amendment) Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed David Cullinane
- Makes company officers personally liable for employment law breaches committed by their corporate body.
- Amends the Companies Act 2014 to impose individual accountability on officers acting for companies.
- Bill did not progress beyond First Stage and has lapsed without becoming law.
Banded Hours Contract Bill 2016
13 Feb 2020 Second Stage Lapsed David Cullinane
- Workers can request more hours; employers must consider requests and can only refuse for objective reasons.
- Employers must tell workers about total available hours in the workplace to improve transparency.
- Creates 'banded hours contracts' — employment agreements with defined hour ranges rather than fixed schedules.
Disability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016
6 Feb 2020 Committee Stage Lapsed
- Removes bans on deaf people serving on juries and replaces mental illness bar with functional capacity test for jury service.
- Repeals prohibition preventing people with mental disabilities from standing for election to Dáil, Seanad, and European Parliament.
- Makes National Disability Authority staff state civil servants; establishes Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission as monitor of UN Convention compliance.
Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 2012
6 Feb 2020 First Stage Lapsed Willie O'Dea
- Each housing authority must maintain and publish a register of rental properties under agreement, showing address, owner name, and total amount paid to that owner in the previous year.
- The Minister must compile an alphabetical list of all landlords with rental agreements across all authorities, showing total payments received per landlord, and publish it.
- Aims to increase transparency in state spending on rental accommodation and align landlord payment disclosure with rules applied to other service providers like legal aid lawyers.