Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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533. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details of the Acts falling under his Department which have been signed into law but have not been commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17445/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Specific provisions of Acts under my Department that have not yet been commenced include Sections 14(8) and 14(9) of the Passports Act 2008. These Sections of the Passports Act, if commenced, would provide that guardians’ consent to the issuing of a passport would be considered to be enduring for the child up to the age of 18. These provisions will be considered as part of the Passport Reform Programme which will run until the end of 2022.

Further, the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 was enacted on 10 December 2020 to address the wide range of complex issues that could arise for citizens and businesses at the end of the Brexit transition period. The Act consists of 22 Parts under the remits of ten Ministers. Parts 1, 2, 4 to 12 and 14 to 22 of the Act have been commenced. It has not been necessary to commence Parts 3 and 13 of the Act because of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement reached between the EU and the UK.

The Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2019 was also enacted on 17 March 2019 as part of the Government’s preparations for a possible no deal Brexit in 2019. The Act consists of 15 Parts under the remits of nine Ministers. Parts 1, 14 and 15 were subsequently commenced while Part 3 was repealed and its provisions addressed in the Industrial Development (Amendment) Act 2019. The remaining Parts of the Act were not commenced as the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union was concluded and entered into force. Those Parts of the 2019 Act that are spent, cannot be commenced following the entry into force of the Withdrawal Agreement, or are superceded by provisions in other legislation are repealed by the aforementioned 2020 Act.