Kitt outlines legislative programme

New legislation governing a new financial-support scheme for people in need of nursing home care and the new CO2-based motor …

New legislation governing a new financial-support scheme for people in need of nursing home care and the new CO2-based motor tax system are due to come before the Dáil in the coming months.

The legislative programme for the summer session contains 17 bills, including the Student Support Bill, the Dublin Transport Authority Bill and an amendment to the Irish Sports Council that will allow the Irish Sports Council to establish subsidiary companies, such as an institute of sport.

Publishing the legislative programme, Government chief whip Tom Kitt said the 28th amendment to the Constitution, which would enable the State to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, would also be published.

"We now have an ambitious legislative programme to present to the Dáil for the forthcoming session," he said.

READ MORE

"As we enter into our second session, this Government is determined to sustain the intense pace of legislative reform of recent years and intend to introduce progressive and effective legislation that will meet the needs of modern Ireland," Mr Kitt added.

However, Labour spokeswoman on energy Liz McManus criticised what she said was the apparent lack of legislation to make provision for the transfer of transmission assets to EirGrid. This would establish it as the National Transmission Grid Company by the end of the year. Ms McManus said there was no mention of this in the legislative programme.

"Instead there is a completely new bill which will only deal with the ownership of the East West Electricity Interconnector. There is no mention of the transfer of assets," she said.

The new Dáil session begins tomorrow. Twelve bills have been enacted since the 30th Dáil was formed last year.