Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1995 > Select Committee on Legislation and Security > Report - Select Committee on Legislation and Security for the period 7 April, 1993 to 31 December, 1994

APPENDIX 2

Orders of Reference and other Relevant Orders

DÁIL ÉIREANN

ORDERS OF REFERENCE

7th April, 1993:—Ordered: (1) That a Select Committee, which shall be called the Select Committee on Legislation and Security, be appointed consisting of 30 members of Dáil Éireann, in addition to the ex officio members of the Committee referred to in paragraph (3), to consider the following matters relating to justice, law reform and defence, namely—

(i)the Estimates for Public Services relevant to the above-mentioned subjects,

(ii)the impact on equality of policy and legislation relevant to the above-mentioned subjects,

(iii)the Committee Stages of such Bills initiated in relation to those subjects as may be referred to the Select Committee under Standing Order 70 of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business,

(iv)such reports relevant to those subjects as Dáil Éireann may refer to

the Select Committee for discussion, observations and recommendations,

and shall report thereon to Dáil Éireann.

(2) That the Select Committee shall have power to appoint sub-Committees and to delegate any matter comprehended by paragraph (1) to a sub-Committee.

(3) That the member of the Government in charge of the Department the statute law in respect of which is dealt with in a Bill which is referred to the Select Committee or a sub-Committee thereof or the Estimates for Public Services for which are considered by the Select Committee or a sub-Committee thereof shall be an ex officio member of such Committee or sub-Committee but such member of the Government may nominate a Minister or Minister of State to be such ex officio member in his stead.

(4) That the report of the Select Committee upon every Bill referred to it shall be set down for Report Stage in Dáil Éireann.

(5) That the Select Committee shall make an annual report to Dáil Éireann which shall detail

(i)the work carried out by the Committee,

(ii)the work in progress by the Committee,

(iii)the attendance and voting records at meetings of the Committee,

(iv)its future work programme, and

(v)such other matters as the Committee deems appropriate.

(6) That, subject to the consent of the Minister for Finance, the Select Committee shall have the power to engage the services of persons with specialist or technical knowledge to assist it or any of its sub-Committees in their consideration of any matters comprehended by paragraph (1).

(7) That the Select Committee may invite submissions in writing, if considered necessary by the Committee, from interested persons or bodies on any matter comprehended by paragraph (1).

(8) That, previous to the consideration of the Committee Stage of a Bill by the Select Committee, a briefing session or sessions shall be held between the officials of the relevant Department and members of the Select Committee (or sub-Committee as the case may be) and that such briefing session shall be held in private.

(9) That, in the absence from a particular meeting of the Select Committee (or of a sub-Committee) of a member, another member of Dáil Éireann, nominated by the Party or group within the meaning of Standing Order 89 to which the absent member belongs, may take part in the proceedings and vote in his stead.

(10) That the Select Committee and each sub-Committee, previous to the commencement of business, shall elect one of its members to be Chairman, who shall have only one vote.

(11) That all questions in the Select Committee and in each sub-Committee shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present and voting and in the event of there being an equality of votes, the question shall be decided in the negative.

(12) That every report which the Select Committee proposes to make shall, on adoption by the Select Committee, be laid before Dáil Éireann forthwith, together with any document relating thereto which the Select Committee proposes to publish, whereupon the Select Committee shall be empowered to print and publish such report and the said document, or documents, as the case may be.

(13) That notwithstanding paragraph (12), where the Select Committee has completed Committee Stage of a Bill, it shall be empowered to print and publish the said Bill as amended, where appropriate.

(14) That the quorum of the Select Committee shall be 11, and the quorum of each sub-Committee shall be a number to be decided by the sub-Committee when such sub-Committee is appointed.

(15) That no document received by the Clerk to the Select Committee or a sub-Committee thereof shall be withheld, withdrawn or altered without the knowledge and approval of the Committee or sub-Committee, as may be appropriate.

28th April, 1993:—Committee accordingly nominated consisting of Deputies Dermot Ahern, Seán Barrett, Ben Briscoe, John Browne (Carlow-Kilkenny), Ivor Callely, Donal Carey, Peadar Ciohessy, Gerard Collins, Síle de Valera, Michael Ferris, Liam Fitzgerald, Denis Foley, Eamon Gilmore, Tony Gregory, Mary Harney, Paddy Harte, Jim Kemmy, Brian Lenihan, Derek McDowell, Gay Mitchell, P.J. Morley, John Mulvihill, John O’Donoghue, Jim O’Keeffe, Seán Power, Eoin Ryan, John Ryan, Alan Shatter, Róisín Shortall and Godfrey Timmins.

29th April, 1993:—Deputy P. J. Morley discharged and Deputy Dan Wallace appointed in substitution for him.

5th May, 1993:—Deputy Michael Ferris discharged and Deputy Eamon Walsh appointed in substitution for him.

11th May, 1993:—Ordered: That notwithstanding paragraphs (1) of the Orders of Reference of the Select Committees on Legislation and Security, Finance and General Affairs, Social Affairs, and Enterprise and Economic Strategy, the Estimates for the Public Services for the following Departments be referred to the Select Committees for consideration in accordance with the following table, and that where the estimate for a Department is referred to a Select Committee, all other estimates relevant to that Department shall also be referred to that Committee:

TABLE

Select Committee on Legislation and Security:

Defence

Equality and Law Reform

Justice

Select Committee on Finance and General Affairs:

Taoiseach

Tánaiste

Environment

Finance

Select Committee on Social Affairs:

Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht

Health

Education

Social Welfare

Select Committee on Enterprise and Economic Strategy:

Agriculture, Food and Forestry

Enterprise and Employment

Transport, Energy and Communications

Tourism and Trade

Marine.

29th June, 1993:—Ordered: That the Orders of Reference of the Select Committees on Legislation and Security, Enterprise and Economic Strategy, Finance and General Affairs, and Social Affairs be amended by the addition of the following paragraph after paragraph (15) in all cases:

“(16) That Members of Dáil Éireann, not being members of the Select Committee, may attend meetings and take part in the proceedings of the Select Committee and of its sub-committees without having a right to vote.”

9th July, 1993:—Ordered: That, pursuant to Standing Order 94 (1) of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business and in accordance with paragraphs (1) (iii) of the Orders of Reference of the Select Committees on Legislation and Security, Enterprise and Economic Strategy, and Social Affairs the following Bills shall be referred to those Select Committees in accordance with the following Table and the first meeting of each committee at which the said Bills shall be considered shall be held on the date indicated:

TABLE

Select Committee on Legislation and Security:

Criminal Justice (Public Order) Bill, 1993 — Tuesday, 13th July

Select Committee on Enterprise and Economic Strategy:

Irish Aviation Authority Bill, 1993 — Tuesday, 13th July

Select Committee on Social Affairs:

Matrimonial Home Bill, 1993 — Thursday, 15th July

and the Committees shall report back to the Dáil on the first sitting day after the summer recess, not including the day that the Dáil meets for the visit of the Australian Prime Minister.

19 October, 1993:—Ordered: That, pursuant to Standing Order 94 (1) of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business and in accordance with paragraph (1) (iii) of the Orders of Reference of the Select Committee on Legislation and Security the Criminal Procedure Bill, 1993 shall be referred to that Committee.

30 November, 1993:—Ordered: Deputy Martin Cullen discharged and Deputy Liz O’Donnell appointed in substitution for him.

8 December, 1993:—Ordered: That, pursuant to Standing Order 94 (1) of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business and in accordance with paragraph (1) (iii) of the Orders of Reference of the Select Committee on Legislation and Security the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Bill, 1993 shall be referred to that Committee.

9 December, 1993:—Ordered: That, pursuant to Standing Order 94 (1) of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business and in accordance with paragraph (1) (iii) of the Orders of Reference of the Select Committee on Legislation and Security the Criminal Justice (No. 3) Bill, 1993 shall be referred to that Committee.

22 February, 1994:—Ordered: That notwithstanding paragraph (14) of the Orders of Reference of the Select Committees on Legislation and Security, Finance and General Affairs, Social Affairs, and Enterprise and Economic Strategy, the quorum of each Select Committee shall be eight.

23 February, 1994:—Ordered: That, pursuant to Standing Order 94 (1) of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business and in accordance with paragraph (1) (iii) of the Orders of Reference of the Select Committee on Legislation and Security the Extradition (Amendment) Bill, 1994 shall be referred to that Committee and that the Committee shall conclude its consideration of Committee Stage of the Bill not later than Thursday, 24 February, 1994.

23 March, 1994:-Ordered: That, pursuant to Standing Order 94 (1) of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business and in accordance with paragraph (1) (iii) of the Orders of Reference of the Select Committee on Legislation and Security the Solicitors (Amendment) Bill, 1994 shall be referred to that Committee.

23 March, 1994:—Ordered: That, pursuant to Standing Order 94 (1) of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business and in accordance with paragraph (1) (iii) of the Orders of Reference of the Select Committee on Legislation and Security the Family Law Bill, 1994 shall be referred to that Committee.

24 June, 1994:—Ordered: That, pursuant to Standing Order 94 (1) of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business and in accordance with paragraph (1) (iii) of the Orders of Reference of the Select Committee on Legislation and Security the Maintenance Bill, 1994 shall be referred to that Committee.

30 June, 1994:—Ordered: That, pursuant to Standing Order 94 (1) of the Standing Orders relative to Public Business and in accordance with paragraph (1) (iii) of the Orders of Reference of the Select Committee on Legislation and Security the Refugee Bill, 1994 shall be referred to that Committee.

11 October, 1994:—Ordered: That, notwithstanding anything in the Order of the Dáil of 30th June, 1994, referring certain Bills to specified Select Committees, the Order is hereby rescinded in respect of the following Bills which had not been commenced in Select Committee:—

—Occupiers’ Liability Bill, 1994,

—Electoral Bill, 1994,

—Stock Exchange, Bill, 1994.

3 November, 1994:- Ordered: That the Select Committee on Enterprise and Economic Strategy shall report back to Dáil Éireann by Monday, 28th November, 1994, on the

—Consumer Credit Bill, 1994.

—Casual Trading Bill, 1994, and

—Competition (Amendment) Bill, 1994

and the Select Committee on Legislation and Security shall report back on the Refugee Bill, 1994, by the same date.

6 December, 1994:— Ordered: That the following matters shall be referred to the Select Committee on Legislation and Security for the purposes of questioning all persons the Committee deems appropriate on the circumstances surrounding:

(a)the appointment of the President of the High Court on Friday, 11th November, 1994;

(b)the request on Sunday, 13th November, 1994, from the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice to the Attorney General to re-examine all details of the Brendan Smyth case;

(c)the alleged request from the Taoiseach to the then President of the High Court to resign on Monday, 14th November, 1994;

(d)the draft reply and covering letter provided to the Taoiseach by the Attorney General in advance of the Dáil debate on Tuesday, 15th November, 1994, on the issue of the prior application of section 50 of the Extradition (Amendment) Act, 1987, and the identification of all persons involved in, or approving, the draft reply and covering letter; and

(e)the identification of all those involved in the preparation of the Taoiseach’s Dáil speech for Tuesday, 15th November, 1994;

The Committee shall meet at 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 7th December and shall report to Dáil Éireann on Thursday, 8th December for as long as is necessary.

8 December, 1994:—Ordered: That the Order of the Dáil of 3rd November, 1994, providing that the Select Committees on Enterprise and Economic Strategy and Legislation and Security report back to Dáil Éireann by 7 December, 1994, is hereby rescinded in respect of the four Bills comprehended.

15 December, 1994:—Ordered: (1) That a sub-Committee of the Select Committee on Legislation and Security consisting of the Chairman and 11 other members of that Committee be appointed to consider the matters referred to that Committee by order of Dáil Éireann on 6th December, 1994, and to report thereon directly to Dáil Éireann not later than 24th January, 1995.

(2) That the membership of the sub-Committee shall consist of 5 representatives of the Fianna Fáil Party, 3 representatives of the Fine Gael Party, 2 representatives of the Labour Party, 1 representative of the Progressive Democrat Party and 1 representative of the Democratic Left Party.

(3) The Chairperson of the Select Committee on Legislation and Security shall be the Chairperson of the sub-Committee.

(4) That each party referred in paragraph (2) shall, before the commencement of the consideration by the Committee at any meeting of the matter referred to it, furnish the Chairperson of the sub-Committee with the name of the member of the sub-Committee nominated by that party to question witnesses attending before the sub-Committee.

(5) That all questions of procedure in the sub-Committee shall, subject to consultation with the Legal Adviser, be determined by a majority of votes of the members present and voting and in the event of there being an equality of votes, the question shall be decided in the negative.

(6) That the quorum of the sub-Committee shall be 6.

(7) That, in the absence from a particular meeting of the sub-Committee of a member, another member of Dáil Éireann, nominated by the Party or group within the meaning of Standing Order 89 to which the absent member belongs, may take part in the proceedings. Any member of Dáil Éireann so substituted may be nominated by his Party for the purposes set out in paragraph (4).

(8) That the sub-Committe shall have power to send for persons, papers and records and, subject to the consent of the Minister for Finance, to engage the services of persons with specialist or technical knowledge to assist it in its consideration of the matters referred to it.

(9) That the sub-Committee shall appoint a Legal Adviser nominated by the Clerk of the Dáil to advise on all legal matters and procedures for the sub-Committee and to ensure that all Constitutional rights are protected.

(10) That the sub-Committee shall have power to take evidence in public and to publish this evidence in its report.

(11) Witnesses attending before the sub-Committee shall have the right to cross-examine other witnesses in person or through a legal representative, to the extent that the sub-Committee is of the opinion that such cross-examination is necessary to defend and vindicate the Constitutional rights of such witnesses.

15 December, 1994:—Ordered: That the order of the Dáil of this day in relation to the appointment of a sub-Committee of the Select Committee on Legislation and Security be amended as follows:—

(1)In paragraph (1), by the deletion of “11” and the substitution therefor of “12”;

(2)In paragraph (2), by the addition of “and I representative of the independent members”;

(3)In paragraph (4), by the addition of the following:—

“An independent member of the Committee shall be entitled to question witnesses attending before the sub-Committee.”; and

(4) In paragraph (7), by the addition of the following:—

“An independent member of the sub-Committee may nominate another independent member of Dáil Éireann to take part in the proceedings in his absence, and such substitute may be nominated by him for the purposes set out in paragraph (4).”