Written answers

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Department of An Taoiseach

Programme for Government Implementation

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

46. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide in tabular form the commitments under the programme for Government for which his Department is responsible; the progress made to date with regard to each commitment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35508/14]

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Programme for Government is a 5 year plan and progress is reported on an annual basis. The next report will be published in March 2015 and will also include progress on the commitments contained in the recently published Statement of Government Priorities 2014 - 2016.

The table below lists all the commitments that come under the remit of the Department of the Taoiseach along with their current status.

ments that come under the remit of the Department of the Taoiseach along with their current status.

Commitment TextStatus
We will require Departments to publish Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) before Government decisions are taken, thereby offering a further channel to obtain the views of civil society on new rules and regulations.In Progress
Abolition of the Seanad (Referendum)Completed
We will establish a Constitutional Convention to consider comprehensive constitutional reform, with a brief to consider, as a whole or in sub-groups, and report within 12 months on the following: Review of our Dáil electoral system, Reducing the presidential term to 5 years and aligning it with the local and European elections, Provision for same-sex marriage, Amending the clause on women in the home and encourage greater participation of women in public life, Removing blasphemy from the Constitution, Possible reduction of the voting age, Other relevant constitutional amendments that may be recommended by the Convention.Completed
Reduce the number of committees and give key committees constitutional standing: the Dáil needs fewer but stronger committees, resourced properly.Completed
We will introduce a role for the Ceann Comhairle in deciding whether a Minister has failed to provide reasonable information in response to a questionCompleted
The chief executive of every state funded body will be required to attend the relevant Oireachtas committee on a regular basis to answer oral parliamentary questions that can be submitted by any member, on a similar basis to the attendance of Ministers before the full Dáil.In Progress
We will amend Dáil standing orders to ensure that replies to written questions are furnished within a specified number of days, even during Dáil recess.In Progress
To make the oral question process more effective, we propose to increase the time allocated to oral question. To provide balance, there will be a reduction in the number of oral questions being submitted to one per member.Completed & Ongoing
A member must be present in the chamber when his or her question is reached, although they may defer to another member the right to ask a supplementary questionCompleted
We will legislate on the issue of cabinet confidentiality.Requires further consideration
We propose an Investigations, Oversight and Petitions Committee of the Oireachtas. It would be a powerful committee, constructed on the lines of the Public Accounts Committee, bi-partisan in structure and chaired by a senior member of the opposition.Completed
The Committee would receive parliamentary petitions from individuals and groups in the community seeking the redress of grievances connected with the public services of the State and with the public administration generally. Its functions would be to act as a "clearing house", directing complaints to those bodies most competent to act on them: the Ombudsman, the Data Protection Commissioner, the Local Government Auditor, the Oireachtas committee that has oversight of the relevant Department, and so on.Completed
We will refer to the Constitutional Convention, the issue of reducing the Voting Age to 17 and giving citizens the right to vote at Irish embassies in the presidential election.Completed
We will ask the Constitutional Convention, which is examining electoral reform, to make recommendations as to how the number of women in politics can be increased.Completed
We will introduce a new code of practice for the use of the government jet, ensuring transparent and cost effective travel.Completed
We will give committees the power to introduce legislation, while a new 10 Minute Rule will allow backbench TDs to introduce their own Bills. We will also tackle the huge over-use of guillotines to ram through non-emergency legislationIn Progress
We will significantly revamp the adjournment debate format. It will be renamed the topical issue debate. There will be a minimum of 5 topical issues. These will be taken in the middle of the day and there will be provision for questions at the end. A Minister or Minister of State from the relevant Department will be present and there will be an end to the practice of one junior Minister reading out scripts on behalf of a number of Departments about a range of issues of which he or she knows nothing.Completed
We will introduce a package of changes that will bring about a 50 per cent increase in Dáil sitting days. Dáil Éireann will in future meet four days a week. There will be a summer recess of just six weeks and significantly reduced breaks at Christmas and Easter. We will abandon the practice of providing a “mid-term break” – a full week off at St Patrick’s Day and Hallowe’en. When the Dáil is not in session the Committees shall agree by roster that a particular Committee shall meet in the Dáil Chamber.In Progress
We propose to break the Government monopoly on legislation and the stranglehold over the business of the Dáil, by providing that the new Friday sittings will be given over exclusively to committee reports and private members business except where urgent government business must be taken.Completed
We will enhance the democratic process by involving public representatives at an earlier stage of the legislative process, particularly before Bills are published. We will amend cabinet procedure instructions so as to allow government to publish the general scheme of a Bill so that Oireachtas Committees can debate and hold hearings at an early stage.Completed
While recognising that there may be exceptional circumstances in which debate may need to be concluded by a given deadline, we will restrict the use of guillotine motions and other procedural devices that prevent Bills from being fully debated, so that guillotining is not a matter of routine as it has become at present, particularly at the end of a session.Completed & Ongoing
We will also deal with the related problem of legislation being shunted through at high speed and will ensure that Dáil standing orders provide a minimum of two weeks between each stage of a Bill, except in exceptional circumstances.In Progress
In order to enhance the role of the legislative committees, we will organise a committee week every fourth sitting week. The Dáil plenary will sit only for questions, including Leaders’ Questions and the order of business and the remainder of the day will be taken up in committee.In Progress
We will establish a petition system to the Dáil, similar to that operating in the European Parliament, to be managed by a specific Dáil committee that will investigate and report on petitions which raise issues warranting attention.Completed
We will enhance the parliamentary relationship with the European Parliament in conjunction with Ireland’s MEPs. These arrangements will include regular attendance by MEPs at relevant Dáil committees.Completed
The standing orders on urgent issues are used regularly to attempt to raise issues that are not urgent and such requests are almost invariably refused. We will make the Dáil rules for raising urgent issues more meaningful by requiring a minimum number of signatories for such a request. In future, Standing Order 32 requests will not be read out.Completed
The Taoiseach will be obliged to brief the Oireachtas prior to attending European Council meetings and to engage with the Oireachtas in debate on EU issues of national significance and concern.Completed
The Oireachtas will devote a full week each year to debating major EU issues of concern to Ireland such as the Draft Annual Work Programme, Green and White Papers and proposals for EU budget co-ordination.Completed & Ongoing
The Oireachtas will be linked up with the Irish offices of the European Commission and the European Parliament in communicating Europe to the Irish people. Outreach programmes, meetings and competitions particularly in schools will be organised and TDs and Senators invited to participate.In Progress
Under the Lisbon Treaty provisions the Oireachtas is entitled to receive all documents produced by the EU Commission at the same time as the EU institutions and the Irish Government receive them. We will ensure all EU documents are forwarded to the Oireachtas through the Ceann Comhairle and the Cathaoirleach. They will transmit them to the Oireachtas library and the relevant Committees. Every TD and Senator will be informed of the documents as they arrive, so that they can engage in EU matters that concern or interest them.Completed
We propose that Oireachtas Committees will play the major role in scrutinising the EU in the coming years. Greater emphasis will be placed on deepening the involvement in EU matters of the Oireachtas committees that shadow the work of each Government Department. We will oblige all sectoral committees to deal with EU matters that come within their remit within a defined period of time.Completed
Committees will be supplemented by a system of subcommittees and a system of rapporteurs who have a particular interest in an area of policy or scrutiny and who volunteer to carry out an in-depth study for the relevant committee.Completed & Ongoing
The Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) prepared for Ministers on all EU Directives and significant Regulations will be forwarded automatically to the relevant sectoral Oireachtas Committees. These Committees should advise the Minister and the Joint Committee on European Affairs as to whether the transposition should take place by Statutory Instrument or by primary legislation. Where primary legislation is recommended the full Oireachtas plenary process should be followed.In Progress
All Ministers will be obliged to appear before their respective Committees or before the Committee on European Affairs prior to travelling to Brussels for meetings of the Council where decisions are made.Completed & Ongoing
We will reduce the size of the Department of the Taoiseach, transforming it into the equivalent of a Cabinet Office that oversees the delivery of a new Programme for Government.Completed
Require Departments to carry out and publish Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) before Government decisions are taken.In Progress
Prioritise a programme of law reform arising out of the recommendations made by the Law Reform Commission.Completed
We are fully committed to the EU2020 strategy and its creation of employment and smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.In Progress
We will commission an independent audit into the transposition and implementation of EU legislation, placing priority on laws and regulations that caused concern or deemed burdensome to Irish business. We will put in place a mechanism across Government to accelerate implementation of directives, involving relevant Departments and the Attorney’s Office.In Progress
We will rationalise regulators to strengthen consumer regulation and promote the consumer interest.In Progress
We will continue to support the development of Dublin as an international city region that will have positive economic benefits for the entire country.In Progress
The Government remains committed to ensuring that the European Union prioritises the key themes which were central to Ireland’s presidency – Jobs, Stability and Growth. Both government parties will work through their membership of the largest European political families – the EPP and PES – to ensure that growth and job creation are at the heart of EU’s agenda.In Progress
We will continue to pursue additional Seanad reforms through the Seanad Committee on Practices and Procedures (CPP).In Progress
We remain fully committed to the full implementation of all aspects of the Good Friday Agreement. We will work closely with the British Government to support the efforts of the political parties in Northern Ireland to reach agreement on the issues of parades, flags and dealing with the issues of the past.

(Co-lead with the Department of Foreign Affairs)
In Progress

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.