THE 2023-2024 Dáil term has come to a close as TDs sit for the final time in Leinster House tonight ahead of the summer recess.
Senators on the other hand, have one final week remaining, as work continues on the Planning and Development Bill and the Courts (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which will give the Government power to revoke an individual’s citizenship.
TDs will not be required to return to Leinster House over the course of the nine week break, where they are expected to focus on constituency work in their electoral areas.
For most, the time off from the Dáil will be used to prepare for a general election, which many in the corridors of Leinster House believe is likely to be called in October.
It is widely suspected that Finance Minister Jack Chambers’ decision to move the Budget forward by a week to October 1 comes amid Government plans to hold an Autumn election. However, this has been flatly denied by the Taoiseach and other senior Government members.
Time will tell, but with candidate selection conventions underway across the country, the groundwork is certainly being set.
Between February’s referendums and the local and European elections in June, it’s been an eventful year in politics. And that’s not to mention the shock resignation of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in March and the leader of the Green Party, Eamon Ryan in June.
Housing, health system failures, immigration, and law and order issues dominated the agenda on a national level, while Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, following Hamas’s October 7 attack, both continue to command the international agenda.
The last few weeks have seen Government scurry to box off certain promised legislation before the Dáil breaks.
Just today, it has finalised legislation to ban 51-week leases for students and the Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking Bill, which will among other things, ensure that character references in court will be given under oath or affidavit in sexual offence trials.
Other pieces of legislation, like the hate crime bill, have been put on the long-finger until next term.
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