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

• 10 am, Committee Room 1: Tony O’Brien, Director General of the HSE, will come before the Public Accounts Committee to discuss eligibility for medical cards and HSE budgets. Dr Ambrose McLoughlin, Secretary General of the Department of Health, will also attend.
• 10.45 am, Dáil: Debate on the much talked about Whistleblowers’ Bill will resume in the lower house. 
• 12 pm, Dáil: Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore will be in the firing line during Leaders Questions – one part of the job he probably won’t miss during the next Dáil term.

Everything else happening in the Dáil

• 9.30 am: Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte will be answering questions related to his department.
• Following the debate on the Whistleblowers’ Bill at 10.45 am, a Bill looking to dissolve the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) and transfer all of its functions, staff and assets to the Environmental Protection Agency will be discussed.
• 12.21 pm: The Order of Business will be read.
• Debate on the RPII Bill will resume, adjourning at 3 pm if not previously concluded.
• After this, a Bill that looks to extend the type of activity that can be carried out at Johnstown Castle Agricultural College will be discussed.
• 4.42 pm: Topical Issues.
• 5.30 pm: The Dáil will adjourn.

Everything happening in the Seanad

• 10.30 am: The Order of Business.
• 11.45 am: Anne Brasseur, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, will address the Seanad.
• 1 pm: Senators will debate the State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014, which looks at transferring the ownership of the airport from the department of public expenditure to a new commercial State company, Shannon Group Plc.
• 2.30 pm: Focus will turn to a Bill that would see certain functions of Forfás, Ireland’s policy advisory board for enterprise and science, transferred to Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, the Health and Safety Authority of Ireland and the Jobs Minister.
• Matters on the Adjournment will round out the day’s events in the Seanad.

Everything else that’s happening in the Committees

Education Committee

• 10 am, Room 3: Representatives from the National Women’s Council of Ireland and Department of Social Protection will discuss the case for extending a number of employment activation measures.

European Affairs Committee

• 2 pm, Room 3: Paschal Donohoe, Minister for European Affairs, will come before the committee to discuss the European Commission’s Country Specific Recommendations for Ireland.

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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