Bills
359 bills tracked. What do the stages mean?
Derelict Sites (Amendment) Bill 2021
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Seán Sherlock
- Creates a legal charge on derelict land for expenses incurred by local authorities taking action to prevent or remedy dereliction.
- Makes local authorities secured creditors, improving recovery prospects when insolvent property owners' assets are liquidated and distributed.
- Applies to expenses incurred after the Bill passes; amends the Derelict Sites Act 1990 by adding new subsection (5A) to section 11.
Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Bill 2022
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Patrick Costello
- Creates Early Identification Assessment system for relevant authorities to identify suspected trafficking victims and appoint guardians ad litem for child victims.
- Establishes formal victim identification process: applications to Minister, formal identification decision, and appeals process for relevant authorities.
- Provides immunity from prosecution for suspected victims compelled to commit crimes while trafficked, and specifies supports and assistance for identified victims.
Non-Fatal Offences against the Person (Amendment) (Spiking) Bill 2023
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current John Cummins
- Creates new crime of 'spiking': giving someone drugs without consent to overpower, sedate, or enable sexual assault, harm, theft, or other offences.
- Applies when perpetrator knows victim hasn't consented or is reckless about consent; covers injection, oral administration, or causing ingestion of substances.
- Amends Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act; specific spiking offence allows targeted prosecution distinct from existing assault or poisoning charges.
Ban Private Jet Aircraft from Irish Airspace Bill 2023
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Paul Murphy
- Amends Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993 to ban private jets from Irish airspace, with exceptions for medical evacuation, national security, state aircraft, and flight training.
- Creates criminal penalties: summary conviction up to €fine or 12 months imprisonment; indictment up to €150,000 fine or 5 years imprisonment.
- Does not restrict scheduled commercial flights, foreign sovereign state aircraft, or private military jets.
Animal Sentience Bill 2024
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Paul Murphy
- Amends Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 to create Animal Sentience Committee of expert advisors to assess how government policies affect animal welfare.
- Committee must report whether policies harm sentient animals (vertebrates, cephalopods, decapod crustaceans) and recommend steps to address impacts.
- Minister must respond in writing to Committee reports and table responses in Dáil Éireann within three months of publication.
Animal Health and Welfare (Prohibition of Animal Testing for Botox) (Amendment) Bill 2024
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Paul Murphy
- Amends Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 to ban animal testing specifically for botox safety determination.
- Modifies section 16 of the 2013 Act to introduce the prohibition on botox-related animal testing.
- Applies commencement upon enactment; no transitional provisions or exemptions detailed in the memorandum.
Measuring Quality of Life in Ireland Bill 2020
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Ged Nash
- Central Statistics Office must annually publish Genuine Progress Indicators measuring quality of life by incorporating environmental and social factors beyond GDP.
- Central Statistics Office must publish National Distributional Accounts showing how economic growth and income distribute across population quintiles before and after tax.
- National Economic and Social Council must assess annual Budget impact on inequality, poverty reduction, and wealth redistribution, plus cumulative effect every five years.
Local Government (Community Gardens) Bill 2023
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Marc Ó Cathasaigh
- Local authorities must create and publish a community gardens policy every three years, setting conditions for developing, allocating, and using community gardens with Universal Design principles.
- Community members can apply to their local authority for community garden space; authorities must maintain waiting lists and allocate gardens based on published policy criteria.
- Local authorities must make bye-laws governing community garden use, publish policies online and in offices, and report annual progress on policy implementation.
Local Government (Amendment) (Transparency in Allocation of Funding) Bill 2021
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Johnny Guirke
- Minister must review local authority funding needs every two years, considering demographic changes and socio-economic factors.
- Review reports and funding allocations for each local authority must be laid before the Oireachtas.
- Amends Local Government Act 1998 to require statutory, regular assessment of funding needs before allocating Local Government Fund.
Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Water in Public Ownership) Bill 2016
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Thomas Pringle
- Proposes constitutional amendment to establish that water in public ownership must remain publicly owned and controlled.
- Aims to prevent privatisation of public water supplies through constitutional protection rather than ordinary legislation.
- At Second Stage; amendment requires two-thirds parliamentary approval plus majority public referendum to pass.
Standards in Public Office (Amendment) Bill 2023
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Mairéad Farrell
- Allows the Standards in Public Office Commission to investigate ethics violations on its own initiative, without waiting for a formal complaint.
- Requires the Commission's Annual Report to go directly to parliament rather than through the Minister first.
- Makes failure to disclose financial interests an offence punishable by fine or up to 6 months imprisonment, and expands what counts as registerable interests to include specified liabilities.
Litter Pollution (Amendment) Bill 2022
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Patrick Costello
- Increases fines under the Litter Pollution Act 1997 to provide stronger deterrent against dog fouling.
- Addresses public health hazard by making penalties for litter offences more substantial.
- Makes transitional provisions to manage implementation of the amended fine structure.
Legal Aid (Amendment) Bill 2023
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Patrick Costello
- Amends Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 to broaden access criteria, making it easier for citizens to obtain civil legal aid certificates.
- Changes financial eligibility thresholds and contribution requirements so more people can afford legal aid and advice services.
- Aims to expand civil legal aid access to match availability of criminal legal aid and improve overall access to justice.
Law Reform (Contracts) Bill 2024
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Patrick Costello
- Allows third parties to enforce contractual terms they benefit from, addressing the privity of contract rule through comprehensive legislation rather than case-by-case exceptions.
- Permits variation and rescission of contracts while protecting promisors from double liability and providing available defences.
- Establishes orderly procedures for discharging contracts rendered impossible by frustration, replacing ad hoc judicial approaches with statutory clarity.
Road Traffic (All-Terrain Vehicle and Scrambler Motorcycle) (Amendment) Bill 2020
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Paul McAuliffe
- Expands 'public place' definition in road traffic law to include parks and beaches, enabling gardaí to enforce registration and insurance rules for all-terrain vehicles and scrambler bikes in these areas.
- Makes it an offence to ride all-terrain vehicles or scrambler bikes dangerously in public places, with vehicle confiscation as penalty.
- Allows gardaí to seize scrambler bikes from dwelling curtilages where they believe the vehicle has been used to commit an offence under this Bill.
Consumer Protection (Loyalty Penalty and Customer Complaints) Bill 2021
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Ged Nash
- Bans subscription service providers from charging existing customers higher renewal prices than new customers for the same or substantially identical service.
- Requires subscription service traders to establish complaint-handling schemes meeting Commission-issued guidelines, with procedures for escalation and specified response timeframes.
- Allows Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to enforce compliance through fines and remedies, treating non-compliance as prohibited commercial practices.
Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Citizenship for Children) Bill 2020
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Mick Barry
- Restores birthright citizenship to all persons born on the island of Ireland, removing restrictions introduced by the 2004 Act.
- Grants Irish citizenship to children resident three years within any four-year period as minors in Ireland.
- Allows Minister to waive naturalisation conditions for children with Irish citizen siblings, deeming them to have 'Irish associations'.
Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2022
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Ged Nash
- Central Bank must assess mortgage market competition quarterly, examining interest rates, borrower switching ease, lenders' costs, and profit margins to identify market failures.
- Where rates unjustifiably exceed costs, Central Bank can direct lenders to cap variable rates by specific amount, margin, or market average; breaches enforced via High Court with doubled-profit fines.
- Lenders prohibited from charging existing and new borrowers different rates for same loan category; breaches trigger court compensation orders and doubled-profit fines.
Public Services and Procurement (Workers' Rights) Bill 2017
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Richard Boyd Barrett
- Public contracts cannot use lower wages or worse working conditions as competitive advantages in bidding.
- Bidders must maintain nationally established minimum wage and employment standards; selection criteria will reflect this requirement.
- Different rules may apply to contracts above or below EU spending thresholds; protects workers across all public procurement.
Protection of the Native Irish Honey Bee Bill 2021
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Vincent P. Martin
- Bans importing non-native honey bees to protect Ireland's native bee species from cross-breeding and genetic dilution.
- Makes forging animal health certificates a criminal offence; appoints authorised officers to enforce the import ban.
- Aims to preserve native Irish honey bee biodiversity and prevent ecosystem damage from non-native bee species.
Protection of Private Residences (Against Targeted Picketing) Bill 2021
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Malcolm Byrne
- Creates legal prevention against targeted picketing at private homes, making it unlawful to deliberately picket someone's residence.
- Aims to protect homeowners' privacy and safety from organized protest activity focused on individual addresses.
- Bill currently at Second Stage debate; specific enforcement measures, penalties, and exemptions not yet detailed in available information.
Protection of Hedgerows Bill 2024
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Brian Leddin
- Establishes a register of significant hedgerows and gives the Minister power to make regulations protecting them from removal except in specified circumstances.
- Prohibits removal of significant hedgerows and creates an appeals procedure for decisions; establishes offences for breaching the Act.
- Amends Roads Act 1993, Forestry Act 2014, Communications Regulation Act 2002, Electricity Supply Act 1927, Transport Acts to align with hedgerow protections.
Protection of Hares Bill 2023
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Jennifer Whitmore
- Amends Wildlife Act 1976 to ban Minister from issuing licences for live hare coursing, making the practice unlawful.
- Extends full Wildlife Act 1976 protections to hares, a native Irish species historically used in coursing.
- Removes exemptions in Wildlife Act sections 26 and 34 that previously allowed hare coursing under licence.
Protection of Children’s Health (Idling of Mechanically Propelled Vehicles in Vicinity of Schools) Bill 2021
2 May 2025 Second Stage Current Jennifer Whitmore
- Creates new offence: leaving vehicle engine running stationary within 100 metres of school premises without reasonable excuse. Enforced by Gardaí and local authorities.
- Allows fixed penalty notices as alternative to prosecution for idling offence, with amounts set by regulation under Road Traffic Act 2010.
- Enables road traffic signs to alert drivers to idling restrictions near schools; Minister must issue guidance and conduct annual reviews.