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

• 2.30pm, Dáil: The Public Expenditure and Reform Minister – but for how much longer? – Brendan Howlin is taking questions on his portfolio.
• 4.33pm, Dáil: With Enda Kenny in the US, Finance Noonan Michael Noonan, who revealed his cancer battle last night, will face a quizzing from opposition party leaders during Leaders’ Questions.
• 1pm, Committee Room 1: The Education Committee will discuss the operation of the School Book Rental Scheme with the INTO and the Department of Education. 

Everything else happening in the Dáil

• 3.45pm: It’s Topical Issues where all sorts could come up.
• 4.54pm: Backbench and opposition TDs get the chance to ask about forthcoming legislation and probably squeeze in a few big issues while they’re at it during the Order of Business.
• After the OoB: The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Bill – which merges the Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority into one entity – is moved. After that the second stage of the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill is debated.
• 7.30pm: TDs debate Fianna Fáil’s private members’ business which focuses on the LEADER programme – a scheme which provides funding to people setting up a business in a rural area.
• 9pm: The Dáil adjourns.

Everything happening in the Seanad

• 2.30pm: Senators get their chance to discuss anything and everything in the Order of Business 
• 3.45pm: The bill to transfer shares and lands connected to Shannon Airport from the government to the new Shannon Group will be further debated at Committee Stage with Transport Minister Leo Varadkar. 
• 5.30pm: An interesting private members’ motion from independent senators focuses on racism in Ireland and calls for, among other things, the establishment 0f a centralised database for recording racist incidents. 
• 7.30pm: Senators finish their day with a few Matters on the Adjournment. 

Everything else that’s happening in the Committees

• 9.30am, Room 3: The Environment Committee will discuss the Housing Bill with Minister Jan O’Sullivan. 
• 10.45am, Room 4: Pat Rabbitte is in the house to discuss the Green Paper on Energy Policy in Ireland.
• 2.45pm, Room 1: The Foreign Affairs Committee meets up with the Mozambican foreign minister Oldemiro Marques Balói for an “exchange of views”.
• 3pm, Room 4: The Finance Committee discusses Money Market Funds with officials from the Department of Finance. 
• 4pm, Room 3: The Public Service Oversight and Petitions Committee deals with a report on the design and layout of ballot papers before discussing the Ombudsman’s annual report with the man himself, Peter Tyndall.

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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