Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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439. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide a list of Acts or sections or other provisions of Acts for which a commencement order has yet to be signed in his Department; the reason for the delay; when commencement orders will be signed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4761/22]

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 2025.

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 10 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 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 Parts 1, 14 and 15 were subsequently commenced while Part 3 was repealed and its provisions addressed in the Industrial Development (Amendment) Act 2019.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of the 2019 Act that are spent, cannot be commenced following the entry into force of the Withdrawal Agreement, or are superseded by provisions in other legislation are repealed by the 2020 Act.

The Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021 was commenced by order on 17 November 2021. The Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021 (Commencement) Order 2021 fixed 22 November 2021 as the day on which all provisions of the Act except sections 32 and 33 came into operation. Sections 32 and 33 provide for amendment of two provisions of other enactments which themselves have yet to be commenced (s. 2 of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Act 2014 and s. 6 of the Minerals Development Act 2017). Sections 32 and 33 may only be commenced once those provisions have also been commenced.’