Committees of the Oireachtas are committees and sub-committees and select committees of

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

and Joint Committees of Dáil Éireann and

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

, that are small groups of TDs and senators of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

, the parliament of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. Some committees are formed by statute after every general election, others are formed by agreement for a full parliamentary term or for a specific issue on a time-limited basis. Committees are formed on a proportional basis from members of the political parties/groups in each house. Chairs of committees are granted a stipend for their work. Some committees scrutinise the work and proposed legislation from specific government departments, and senior ministers or junior

ministers of state Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior ministers ...

as well as public servants or representatives of semi-state bodies and organisations supported by state funding are also regularly invited to address such committees.

Private meetings

Committees agree their agendas and ways of working, or discuss matters of a sensitive nature, in private meetings.

Public meetings

Committees hold public meetings where individuals are asked to address a committee, or be questioned by it.

Parliamentary privilege

Per Bunreacht na hÉireann, when addressing a committee in

Leinster House Leinster House () is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Duke of Leinster, Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it has been a complex of buildings which houses Oirea ...

, contributors are protected by limited

parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties ...

, but it is the custom of committees to ask contributors to desist from referring (directly or undeniably) negatively to individuals who are not present at such a committee meeting. Since the increased use of remote meeting software, (from 2020) this privilege for parliamentarians has been limited to those who are "physically present within the confines of Leinster House".

Committee of Privileges

The Constitution provides for the formation, at the direction of the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, following a request of 30 senators, of a joint "Committee of Privileges", to decide on whether a specific Bill meets the definition of a "

money bill In the Westminster system (and, colloquially, in the United States), a money bill or supply bill is a bill that solely concerns taxation or government spending (also known as appropriation of money), as opposed to changes in public law. Con ...

", which would be subject to a maximum delay of 21 days by a Seanad resolution. This committee would be chaired by a

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Judge. No such committee has ever been created under the 1937 constitution, but one was created in 1935 under Article 35 of the 1922

Constitution of the Irish Free State The Constitution of the Irish Free State () was adopted by Act of Dáil Éireann sitting as a constituent assembly on 25 October 1922. In accordance with Article 83 of the Constitution,

, which contained similar provisions. Originally the committee could be requested by two-fifths of TDs, but the Constitution (Amendment No. 12) Act 1930 allowed half of Senators to do so. The Constitution (Amendment No. 24) Act 1936, which abolished the Seanad, made the concept of money bills moot and so also deleted Article 35.

Proposed constitutional change 2011

The Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2011, put to a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

in October 2011, sought to empower each House to convene (possibly jointly) committees of inquiry, with powers to compel withness statements, and to make findings against citizens. The referendum was defeated by 53% to 47%. In 2013 a referendum to remove the Seanad proposed extensive changes of committees. This was defeated by 51.7% to 48.3%.

Current committees

Dáil committees

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

Joint committees

* Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine * Joint Committee on European Union Affairs * Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands * Joint Committee on

Health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

* Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage * Joint Committee on

Transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

and Communications * Joint Committee on Gender Equality * Joint Committee on Disability Matters * Joint Committee on International Surrogacy * Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht * - (Joint Committee on The

Irish Language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

, The

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

s and the Use of Irish in Public) * Select Committee on

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and Further And Higher Education, Research, Innovation And Science * Joint Committee on the Implementation of The

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...

Former committees

* Joint Committee on Women's Rights * Joint Committee on Marriage Breakdown * Joint Committee on Tourism, Sport and Recreation * Joint Committee on the Irish language * Joint Committee on the

Secondary Legislation Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding ...

of the

European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of Institutions of the European Union, institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Co ...

* Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis, (post-2008) * Joint Committee on Health and Children * Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade * Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (32nd Dáil) * Joint Committee on Justice and Equality * Seanad Special Select Committee on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EUhttps://www.oireachtas.ie/en/committees/33/seanad-committee-on-the-withdrawal-of-the-uk-from-the-eu/

References

External links

{{authority control

Oireachtas