WANT TO KNOW what’s going on in Leinster House today?

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:

• Action in the Dáil gets under way at 9.30am with Justice Minster Alan Shatter taking questions on issues of direct concern to his department. The recent revelations about Rehab and the garda whistleblower saga may well come up for discussion.
• The Taoiseach‘s on his feet from noon, answering questions from the opposition on the issues of the day.
• And later this afternoon TDs will be shining the spotlight on issues they regard to be of concern to the country at large in ‘Topical Issues‘.

Everything else happening in the Dáil:

• From 10.45am the second stage debate continues on the ‘Protected Disclosures Bill’ which is aimed at protecting whistleblowers.
• Straight after that, the next item on the agenda is the Roads Bill, which provides for the dissolution of the Railway Procurement Aganency and the transfer of its functions to the National Roads Authority.
• At 12.21pm there’s a motion on membership of committees, followed by statements on the current situation in Northern Ireland.
• This evening, discussion continues on Stephen Donnelly‘s draft legislation aimed at providing a new system of examinership that will reduce costs for smaller companies. [7.30pm]

Everything happening in the Seanad:

• Minister for European Affairs Paschal Donohoe will be in the upper chamber at 11.45am as senators make statements on the current ‘state of the union’ with Europe.
• At 2pm, members get down to the business of debating the standing orders needed to establish the committee carrying out the long-awaited Banking Inquiry.
• From 3pm, attention turns to Leo Varadkar‘s Road Traffic Bill 2013. Speaking last year, the Transport Minister said the Government would work with the opposition to address a “significant gap” in the law on dealing with hit-and-run incidents, and promised an amendment to that effect would be produced at committee or report stage.
• The issue of homelessness is next on the agenda during Private Members Business at 4.30pm, followed by statements on the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan (which is aimed at tackling unemployment among under-25s) at 6.30pm.
• Finally, senators raise issues of concern to them in ‘Matters on the Adjournment‘ before business closes for the day.

Everything happening in the committees:

• There are behind-closed-doors meetings of the education and finance committees today, with four other panels also meeting in the various Leinster House committee rooms.
• Minister for European Affairs Paschal Donohoe will be at the Committee on EU Affairs from 10am. [Room 3]
• The Justice Committee meets at noon to discuss two proposals — on a European small claims procedure; and on creating a European order for payment procedure, which is aimed at simplifying, speeding up and reducing the costs of litigation in cross-border claims cases. [Room 2]
• The Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions meets from 4pm. [Room 3]
• And the issue of competition in the ports sector will be under discussion as the Transport Committee meets this morning. [9.30am, Room 4]

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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