WHAT’S GOING ON in Leinster House?

Every day the Dáil and Seanad are sitting, TheJournal.ie brings you the most comprehensive guide to what our lawmakers are getting up to in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

So, here is what we can expect to be happening in the Dáil, Seanad and Committee rooms today…

3 things we’ll be keeping an eye on

• As teachers continue to oppose the new Junior Cycle Student Award, Education Minister Ruairí Quinn will be answering questions at 9.30 am.
• Leaders’ Questions will be one to watch at 12 pm. As Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore are both in England for President Higgins’s State visit, Finance Minister Michael Noonan will be fielding the questions today. 
• Mortgage arrears will be the focus of discussion for the Finance Committee. Jeremy Masding, CEO of Permanent TSB, will be interviewed in Room 4 at 10 am, and David Duffy, CEO of Allied Irish Bank, will speak to the committee at 2 pm.

Everything else that’s happening in the Dáil

• A number of Bills will be discussed from 10.45 am to 12 pm: the Industrial Development (Forfás Dissolution) Bill 2013, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Bill 2014, Central Bank Bill 2014, and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Bill 2014.
• The Order of Business will be read at 12.21 pm.
• Topical Issues will be debated at 1.51 pm. Afterwards, this morning’s business will be continued.
• Sinn Féin will table their Wind Turbine Regulation Bill 2014 during Private Members Business at 7.30 pm.
• The Dáil will adjourn at 9 pm.

Everything happening in the Seanad

• The Order of Business will be read at 10.30 am.
• The Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013 will be debated at 11.45 am. The Bill seeks to update the Employment Equality Act 1998 and to amend the exclusions of discriminations available to educational and medical institutions that receive State funding.
• Elder care will be discussed during Private Members Business at 2 pm.
• Statements on the 2020 Strategy on the Irish Language will resume at 4 pm.
• Following this, Matters on the Adjournment will be discussed.

Everything else that’s happening in the Committees

• The Transport Committee will be scrutinising EU legislative proposals on reducing pollution from cars, promoting tourism and renewable energy in Room 1 at 9.30 am.
• Representatives from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Law Society of Ireland will address the Justice Committee on the Children and Family Relationships Bill 2014 in Room 2 at 9.30 am. Discussion on the Bill will continue at 2 pm, with contributions from Family & Life, the Gay and Lesbian Network, the National Women’s Council of Ireland, Barnardos and Marriage Equality, among other groups.
• Members of the Irish Primary Principals Network and the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals will meet with the Education Committee in Room 3 at 1 pm to discuss leadership in schools.
• Francis O’Donnell, former UN Resident Coordinator to the Ukraine, will brief the Foreign Affairs Committee on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine in Room 1 at 2.30 pm.
• The Public Oversight Committee will meet to discuss public petitions in Room 3 at 4.45 pm.

Here’s how to watch what’s going on in Leinster House today:

• Dáil Éireann
• Seanad Éireann
• Committee Room 1
• Committee Room 2
• Committee Room 3
• Committee Room 4
• To access streams on iOS, click here

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