Politics
Committees to have eight-week deadline for scrutinising bills
Government says new timeframe strikes the ‘right balance’, but opposition TDs voice ‘major concerns’ about change
Oireachtas committees have been given a new eight-week deadline to carry out pre-legislative scrutiny of bills, amid concerns over delays to key legislation.
Under Dáil procedures, the draft versions of new government bills must be examined by a relevant Oireachtas committee and its members must then produce a report before the bill can proceed.
However, some committees are taking up to a year to complete this process. This is longer than it takes for some ...