Legislation to strengthen the law in relation to the bribery of foreign public officials and to combat corruption in the private sector is among the list of 17 Bills which the Government plans to publish between now and Christmas.
The list was announced by the Government chief whip, Tom Kitt, who said the Government was determined to sustain the intense pace of legislative reform demonstrated in recent years.
The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill will provide for the establishment of an Officials Compliance Committee in relation to the OECD Convention on Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.
Alongside the 17 new Bills, another 17 Bills introduced in the Dáil or Seanad before the summer are included in the legislative programme published yesterday. Among those Bills is the Ethics in Public Office (Amendment) Bill which was published shortly before the election. This Bill arose directly from the controversy last October over payments to the Taoiseach in 1993 and 1994. It emerged as part of an agreement between Mr Ahern and the former tánaiste, Michael McDowell, to keep the PDs in government.
Two other Bills from the last session which have been included in the legislative programme are the Defamation Bill and the Privacy Bill, both of which were before the Seanad before the election.
Mr Kitt said yesterday that among the 17 new Bills expected to be published this session were the Nursing Home Support Scheme Bill, Criminal Justice Bills, the Employment Agency Regulation Bill and the Dublin Transport Authority Bill.
"We are committed to implementing the agreed programme for government and are looking forward to working with our new partners in Government. We are determined to introduce progressive and effective legislation that will meet the needs of modern Ireland," he said.
One of the new Bills on the list is the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill. This is designed to create a comprehensive statutory framework for the development and implementation of policies on immigration and create an integrated process for dealing with asylum claims.