Noel Whelan: New politics means little legislation

The suggestion that Leinster House is a dull and frustrating place to work these days is corroborated by an examination of the current Dáil and Seanad's record of legislative underachievement. Since the Government was finally established last May, the Oireachtas has passed just18 pieces of legislation, and only a handful of those were substantial Bills.

The Government, contrary to the expectations of many, did manage to pass a budget last December. It achieved this largely because it had additional funds to throw around, and because it took the risk-adverse approach of spreading it equally: giving almost everybody about €5 a week in tax cuts or welfare increases.

Three of the Bills passed last year implemented that budget: the Finance Act, a relatively short Social Welfare Act and a two-page Appropriations Bill.

Of the other 15 Bills passed, more than half were very short pieces of legislation.

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The Electoral Amendment Act 2016 has just two paragraphs, and merely allows the electoral register to be used for the process of randomly selecting members of the Citizens Assembly. The Health (Amendment) Act 2016 has just one section, with the sole purpose of extending by two years an existing transitional period in the Health Act 2008.

The Water Services Act 2016 was a two-paragraph Bill which formally postponed water charges until later this year. The National Tourism Development Authority (Amendment) Act 2016 is a one-page Act that increased the size of advances which Fáilte Ireland can make to support tourist enterprises.

The Finance (Certain European Union and Intergovernmental Obligations) Act 2016 has just 10 sections of a technical nature designed to address an international obligation arising from the European banking union. The Health Insurance (Amendment) Act 2016 has just nine sections, and makes technical changes to the risk-equalisation arrangements for the health insurance industry.

Technical proposals

The Courts Act 2016 contains technical proposals concerning the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court in cases involving land necessitated by a recent

High Court

ruling. The purpose of the Commission of Investigation (Irish Bank Resolution Corporation) 2016 was to address a number of legal changes flagged in interim reports as necessary to enable that commission to do its work.

The Paternity Leave and Benefit Act is a short Bill implementing paternity leave entitlements announced on budget day in October 2015. The Road Traffic Act 2016, which was actually introduced by the previous government, runs to 25 sections, and enables roadside tests of motorists for drug-usage and gives effect to mutual recognition of driver disqualifications between Ireland and the UK.

The Energy Bill 2016, although a complex Bill, does no more than gives effect to and implements rule changes for the EU internal market in electricity. The Statute Law Revision Act 2016 was no more than an exercise in legislative spring-cleaning. It repeals 297 pieces of spent or obsolete legislation enacted between 1922 and 1950. Ironically, its passage means that the current Dáil has deleted 16 times more Bills than it has enacted.

Apart from budgetary legislation, only thee of the Bills passed by the current Dáil and Seanad could be regarded as implementing significant policy decisions made since the last election.

One of these is the short Bill to postpone water charges referred to above. Another is the Proceeds of Crime Amendment Act 2016 which has just seven sections and allows for the mid-level proceeds held by gang members to be targeted by reducing the threshold under the previous legislation from €13,000 to €5,000.

Arguably the only substantial piece of new legislation passed by the current Dáil was the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 introduced by Minister for Housing Simon Coveney last December which gives legislative effect to some of his programme to tackle the housing and homelessness crisis.

Mortgage rates

Interestingly, not a single Bill initiated by the Opposition has even come close to being enacted.

A Fianna Fáil Bill on variable mortgage rates was let pass at Second Stage but is still awaiting detailed consideration in committee.

A Fianna Fáil Bill on judicial appointments also passed Second Stage but was then collapsed at Committee Stage by a Government technical motion.

An Anti Eviction Bill proposed by the AAA-PBP was defeated at Second Stage on the casting vote of the Ceann Comhairle.

In its legislative programme for the current Dáil session published two weeks ago, the Government identified 31 “new” Bills for publication before the summer, but 12 of those Bills had already been promised for publication during the last Dáil session.

Last September the Government also identified 20 Bills which would commence pre-legislative scrutiny during the last session, but only five of them did so. The other 15 are again listed among 33 Bills which the Government said last week would undergo pre-legislative scrutiny before the summer.

Dáil Éireann is now a low-energy legislature. New politics isn’t working much.