Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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489. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the courts and civil law (miscellaneous provisions) Bill. [58955/21]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The General Scheme of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021 was approved for drafting by the Government in the early summer. The purpose of the General Scheme of a Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill is to provide for amendments to provisions across a range of civil and regulatory law by way of updating and enhancing their application and to better meet current or pressing policy objectives.

Miscellaneous Bills, such as this, offer an important opportunity to bring legislation up to date and make important technical and policy amendments that do not merit their own stand-alone legislation. The General Scheme of the Bill has been referred to the Justice Committee for pre-legislative scrutiny.

As part of the pre-legislative process, a technical briefing on the General Scheme was due to be held on 4 November with officials from my Department. However, I understand that the Committee could not reach a quorum for the meeting and therefore it could not go ahead. I intend to write to the Committee shortly on the next steps.