Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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1118. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of the process through which his Department drafts and produces legislation; if his Department outsources the drafting of legislation; if so, the Bills for which the drafting was outsourced since he took office; and the costs associated with the drafting of each Bill. [14421/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am responding to this question on the basis that it refers to Primary Legislation. As the Deputy is aware, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is a new Department, only in existence since August 2020.  There is one Bill in development in my Department currently, a reform of the Higher Education Authority Act, 1971, but it provides an example of the process under which legislation is prepared in the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. All of the work on this legislation including the drafting of the General Scheme has been undertaken by Department officials.  There has been ongoing engagement with stakeholders throughout this process, both formal and informal. Once the General Scheme is approved by Government and has gone through pre-legislative scrutiny then it will be sent to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government to draft the legislation.

The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has not outsourced the drafting of any legislation.