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

• 12 pm, Dáil: Enda Kenny will be in the Opposition’s firing line during Leaders’ Questions.
• 2 pm, Committee Room 2: The Justice Committee will meet with Conor Woods, Chairperson Designate of the long-awaited Charities Regulation Authority. Following this, its members will meet representatives from the Irish Institute of Naturopathic Medicine to discuss suicide prevention in prisons.
• 7.30 pm, Dáil: Day two of debate on the Technical Group’s Bill that aims to make the appointment and removal of senior members of an Garda Síochána “more transparent and accountable”.

Everything else happening in the Dáil

• 9.30 am: Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald will be answering questions.
• 12.21 pm: The Order of Business will be read.
• 1.51 pm: Four Topical Issues will be discussed. 
• 2.39 pm: Three Bills will be debated this afternoon:
• The first seeks to extend social protection to cover the spouse or partner of a self-employed person and introduce stricter residency requirements for those applying for social welfare. 
• The second looks to dissolve the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) and transfer all of its functions, staff and assets to the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Finally, the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Bill 2013 will be discussed.
• 9 pm: The Dáil will adjourn for the day.

Everything happening in the Seanad

• 10.30 am: The Order of Business.
• 11.45 am: Arts Minister Jimmy Deenihan will will attend the Seanad as statements will be read to mark the 750th Anniversary of the first Irish Parliament.
• 2 pm: Debate on the Companies Bill 2012 will resume.
• 5 pm: Senators will debate a Bill that would lead to the dissolution of the Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority and the transfer of their functions to a new body: the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.
• 7 pm: Focus will then turn to the government’s much-discussed Housing Bill that would introduce a scheme where tenants can purchase local authority housing and revise how authorities can recover possession of a house if the occupants have seriously breached the tenancy agreement.
• 9 pm: Matters on the Adjournment will round out the day in the Seanad.

Everything else that’s happening in the Committees

Transport Committee

• 9.30 am, Room 4: Climate change and the tourism industry’s marketing strategy will be discussed.

Justice Committee

• 11 am, Room 2: The committee will discuss the UN Security Council’s Resolution on Women, Peace and Security.

Education Committee

• 1 pm, Room 3: Representative from the Edmund Rice Schools Trust will attend to discuss the future provision of education in schools for which the Trust has responsibility. The Irish Council for International Sudents will then brief the committee on the recent closure of English language schools.

Foreign Affairs

• 2.30 pm, Room 1: Brian Cotter, Public Affairs Director of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland will attend to discuss the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) Agreement.

Finance Committee

• 3 pm, Room 4:Finance Minister Michael Noonan will be present to discuss the 2014 Country Specific Recommendations for Ireland ahead of the ECOFIN meeting of European finance ministers.

Public Service Oversight Committee

• 4 pm, Room 3: The committee will debate a public petition about US Military and CIA use of Shannon airport and Irish airspace.

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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