agenda.ie a guide to what's going on in Leinster House

ENDA’S OFF to Brussels to try and further the cause of Ireland’s economic reform, and while he’s away there’s a distinctly financial tone to today’s events.

9:30am – Committee on Health and Children - The day kicks off in Room 2, where members of the Irish Premature Babies Organisation will be present to mark World Premature Day; after that, they’ll meet Comhairle na nÓg to discuss general youth issues.

9:30am – Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform - In a rescheduled event from last week, Brendan Howlin pops into room 4 to offer an update on the government’s public service reform plans in room 4.

10:00am – Public Accounts Committee - Over in Room 1, meanwhile, the Public Accounts Committee will hold a magnifying glass over the government debt, the balance of funds in the National Pension Reserve Fund, and the accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency. The latter’s chief executive John Corrigan and the NPRF chairman Paul Carty will be on hand.

10:30am – Leaders’ Questions - Thursday mornings – and Enda’s trip to Brussels – mean it’s Eamon Gilmore in the leader’s chair this morning, as he bats away questions from the rostered heads of Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and the Technical Group.

10:30am – Order of Business - The Seanad’s morning begins more ordinarily, with the usual 75-minute free-for-all as members raise whatever they like.

10:51am – Order of Business - Thursday mornings also mean TDs only get 20 minutes to agree to the day’s agenda and not the full 30 they’re used to…

11:11am – Europol Bill 2012 (to conclude); Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No 2) Bill 2012 (second stage resumed) – There’s just over two hours to discuss legislation today: the first will finalise Ireland’s participation in a newly-expanded Europol police force, and the second will expand the powers and emit of the body which regulates private lettings.

11:30am - Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine - Simon Coveney wanders into Room 4 (assuming the earlier meeting with Howlin has ended on time) to continue guiding members through proposed amendments to the new Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012.

11:45am – Civil Defence Bill 2012 (committee and remaining stages) – To its credit, the Seanad is dealing with a whopping two issues today; the first is finalising its examination of legislation to abolish and dissolve the Civil Defence Board, and give its powers back to the Department of Defence…

12:30pm – Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012 (report stage) – …while the second is a second chance to discuss amendments to the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, which will put a legal limit on Budget deficits from 2018 onward.

1:30pm – Motion re A Framework for Junior Cycle – Last month education minister Ruairí Quinn announced the biggest revamp of the Junior Cert in decades – limiting it to eight exams, and proposing to introduce a broader palette of subjects that students could be taught (though not necessarily examined upon). There’s no legislative basis to the Junior Cert so here, members will simply vote on a motion to rubberstamp the changes which are due to begin kicking in on a phased basis from next September.

2:00pm – Matters on the Adjournment - The Seanad, having wrapped up its two items, discusses three newsworthy items before calling a halt to its week.

3:42pm – Topical Issues – Four newsworthy matters get discussed for 12 minutes apiece…

4:30pm – Questions (Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation) – …before Richard Bruton brings the Dáil week to a close by answering questions on the manufacturing industry, the target for 100,000 jobs by 2016, stimulating the retail sector, and helping the creation of SMEs.

All of the day’s business can be viewed on our streams:

• Dáil: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Seanad: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 1: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 2: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 3: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 4: Web stream, Facebook stream

ALL EYES WILL be on the big Dáil vote at 9pm – on whether to accept Sinn Féin’s demand that Ireland immediately legislate for the X Case – but there are plenty of other items on today’s agenda which should also merit attention (though not nearly to the same degree).

9:30am – Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality - The day begins in Room 2, where the Justice committee holds the first of two meetings today. The first one will see the Garda commissioner Martin Callinan discuss gangland crime and the potential forthcoming closure of more Garda stations.

9:30am – Committee on Transport and Communications - In Room 4, meanwhile, officials from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and the Commission for Energy Regulation will discuss developments in sustainable energy provision and its impact on the gas and electricity provision sectors.

10:30am – Leaders’ Questions - The main event of the morning will see Enda Kenny face off against Gerry Adams, Micheál Martin and the technical group.

10:30am – Order of Business - The Seanad’s day gets underway with the usual 75-minute discussion on anything and everything, after which members will agree to the day’s agenda.

10:51am – Order of Business - TDs only get 30 minutes to agree likewise, so their conversation on the day’s agenda will be much more constrained.

11:21am – Statements pre European Council – It’s easily forgotten, with all of the domestic focus on the Savita fallout, but there’s a summit of European leaders taking place in Brussels tomorrow and Friday. The focus is really on Greece, and the Troika’s internal bickering about whether to give it more time and money – though Ireland will no doubt will be pressing its own case, with the Budget now only a fortnight away. Here, members get 85 minutes to make comments on what they expect to see this week.

11:45am – Transport (Córas Iompair Éireann and Subsidiary Companies Borrowings) Bill 2012 (second stage) - In the Seanad, meanwhile, it’s the first outing for legislation which aims to fix CIE’s financial problems… by letting it borrow more money. Currently there’s a legal limit of €103 million on non-capital borrowing for CIE, and this bill hopes to raise it to €300 million. Leo Varadkar will be on hand to steer.

12:46pm – Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2012 [Seanad] (second stage); Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No 2) Bill 2012 (second stage resumed) - The legislative day has two items on its agenda: the first is a housekeeping bill to make the Oireachtas (and not the Department of Arts) responsible for the translation of laws; the second widens the powers of the Private Residential Tenancies Board – the body which regulates and records private lettings – and gives it more power to enforce its powers.

1:45pm – Committee on Finance (sub-committee) - A sub-committee of the Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform meets in Room 4 to debate proposed amendments to the Credit Union Bill 2012, which will totally overhaul the system to regulate (and, where needed, backstop) credit unions.

2:00pm – Personal Insolvency Bill 2012 (second stage) - On a related note, at the same time the Seanad will be holding its first debates on the personal insolvency legislation which would allow indebted people to write off some of their debts (as long as the creditor is okay with it).

2:00pm – Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence - The justice committee’s second stint in Room 2 is devoted to analysing no fewer than 12 EU legislative proposals – which are so numerous that the Oireachtas’ preliminary agenda doesn’t even name them.

2:30pm – Questions (Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform) - Brendan Howlin kicks off the afternoon session in the Dáil; he will offer responses on questions on the auction of the National Lottery licence, public service outsourcing, ‘equality-proofing’ the 2013 Budget, and how its €2.25 billion in cuts will be split across departments.

3:00pm – Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade - Like the Justice committee, the Foreign Affairs grouping has two meetings today. The first, in room 1, will see Peadar King – the host of TV’s ‘What in the World?’ – give a presentation on the current situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

3:45pm – Topical Issues – Four of the day’s newsworthy items are debated for 12 minutes apiece by ministers, backbenchers and opposition.

4:00pm – Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions - in Room 3, Peadar Toibín’s scrutiny committee will leaf through the latest petitions submitted by members of the public asking for Oireachtas investigation into various items.

4:33pm – as 12:46pm – More debate on translating laws into Irish, and on regulating private tenancies.

5:00pm – Private Members’ Business [Mary White, FF] - Employment Equality (Amendment) Bill 2012 – The big ticket item of the day won’t be voted on for a couple of hours – but there’s an intriguing debate to be had in the Seanad in the meantime. Fianna Fáil’s onetime presidential hopeful, Mary White, is a champion of positive ageing – and has proposed legislation which would make it illegal to enforce a mandatory retirement at age 65. Her idea is that there is inequality between public, private and self-employed staff, some of whom have mandatory retirement ages – so she wants rid. With the pensions crisis as it is, it could help staff build up a bigger savings pot – but it could also worsen the problem of youth unemployment, as there would be fewer jobs for them to move into. A vote is due at 7pm.

7:00pm – Matters on the Adjournment – Once that’s done, three matters of newsworthiness will be raised by members before the night is drawn to a close and attentions move to the Dáil.

7:30pm – Private Members’ Business [Sinn Féin] – Motion re Supreme Court ruling in the X Case - The biggest item of the day, by far, is the vote on Sinn Féin’s private motion demanding immediate legislation for X and the publication of the report of the Expert Group on the A, B and C ruling.

Demonstrations are planned for outside Leinster House this evening in advance of the vote, which will be due at 9pm. Conveniently, Dáil procedures mean a vote on the government’s amendment is required first – so members will never actually get a chance to vote on Sinn Féin’s motion. Instead, they’ll vote on whether to replace it with a government counter-motion – and then on the government’s motion itself.

All of the day’s business can be viewed on our streams:

• Dáil: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Seanad: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 1: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 2: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 3: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 4: Web stream, Facebook stream

THE OIREACHTAS WEEK actually began yesterday, with a visit from a European Commissioner, but the business in the Dáil tonight and tomorrow evening will – for a myriad obvious reasons – grab all the attention, and rightly so.

1:30pm – Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation – The day begins in Room 2, where members will examine as many as 17 new EU legislative proposals, before hearing from the HEA and Ireland’s universities and ITs as members discuss the gap between the skills that Irish graduates leave college with, and the skills they need in order to secure gainful employment.

2:00pm – Questions (Minister for Education and Skills) – Ruairí Quinn gets the Dáil ball rolling by stepping in for 75 minutes to answer parliamentary questions on matters including the ongoing delay to grant payments by SUSI, financial support for adult learning initiatives, cuts to guidance counsellors and its impact on bullying, and Junior Cert reform.

2:00pm – Committee on European Union Affairs – In Room 1, the Oireachtas committee on all matters Europe meets some members from its Latvian counterpart, where the two countries will discuss matters of mutual interest.

2:00pm – Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine – In Room 3, meanwhile, the chairman-designate of Coillte, Brendan McKenna, introduces himself. Once he’s done, representatives from Macra na Feirme will make their pre-Budget submissions.

2:30pm – Order of Business - The Seanad’s day begins with the customary 75-minute discuss on whatever takes the fancy of the 60 members, who will also agree to the day’s agenda.

3:15pm – Leaders’ Questions - The marquee event of the afternoon will see Enda Kenny up to bat at inquiring curveballs pitched by Micheál Martin, Gerry Adams and the technical group’s rostered spokesman.

3:36pm – Questions (Taoiseach) – With those queries dealt with, the Taoiseach takes on more slow-paced questioning on meeting the victims of the Kingsmill massacre, meetings with David Cameron and Nick Clegg, and last month’s meeting of EU heads of government.

3:45pm – Statements on the Action Plan for Jobs - The Seanad, meanwhile, will be holding a 75-minute discussion on the government’s 270-point jobs plan, with proceedings led by Richard Bruton.

4:30pm – Committee on Health and Children – James Reilly is in Room 2 to brief members on next week’s meeting of EU health ministers, and the matters being discussed, before he’s joined by Kathleen Lynch, Alex White and the HSE’s incoming head Tony O’Brien for the regular update on all things health. Doubtless, the HSE’s continued funding difficulties and the death of Savita Halappanavar are likely to feature.

4:36pm – Order of Business – TDs get 30 days to agree to the day’s agenda.

5:00pm – Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012 (committee stage) - On the other side of the corridor, meanwhile, Senators will discuss amendments to the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, which will limit the size of a Budget deficit that Ireland can incur. (Its provisions, for a maximum deficit of 0.5% of GDP, won’t kick in for Ireland until 2018.)

5:06pm – Topical Issues – Four of the day’s newsworthy matters are discussed by ministers, backbenchers and opposition for 12 minutes apiece.

5:54pm – National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012 (report and final stages); Electoral (Amendment) (Dail Constituencies) Bill 2012 (second stage) - There’s about 90 minutes or so left over before members buckle down for Sinn Féin’s emotive private motion; in the time available, members will finalise their deliberation on legislation to set up a new national vetting bureau to monitor the fitness of adults to work with children, and break the back on the legal changes to the Dáil constituencies ahead of the next general election.

7:30pm – Private Members’ Business [Sinn Féin] – Motion re Supreme Court ruling in the X Case - On October 21, a 31-year-old Indian woman who was 17 weeks pregnant attended University College Hospital in Galway complaining of back problems. Doctors learned that the woman, Savita Halappanavar, was suffering a miscarriage – and expected the foetus to be delivered naturally within hours. Over two days later – with the foetus still having not yet left Savita’s body – she and her husband asked repeatedly for labour to be induced so that her pain might be ended. She was refused. Eventually the foetus was delivered – but in the meantime Halappanavar had contracted blood poisoning which proved to be fatal.

Halappanavar’s death has caused an international outpouring of grief and anger at Ireland’s abortion laws (under which a woman is constitutionally entitled to an abortion if her life is at risk, including through suicide – though the legislative framework dating from 1861 still outlaws it) – and prompted a wave of political teeth-grinding as the Government’s Expert Group on the A, B and C versus Ireland ruling (where the European Court of Human Rights found that Ireland’s vague abortion laws breached the rights of its citizens) was handed in the night before Savita’s death became known.

Sinn Féin has the baton in the Dáil this week, and uses it to propose a motion calling on the government to publish the Expert Group’s findings immediately (something it has been unwilling to do, pending an examination of the report’s contents) and to immediately legislate to allow abortion where the mother’s life is at risk.

Debate will begin at 7:30pm and be suspended at 9pm until tomorrow night. One senses the world will be watching.

8:00pm - Matters on the Adjournment - While all of that’s going on, the Seanad will be debating three matters of newsworthy interest before wrapping up for the day.

All of the day’s business can be viewed on our streams:

• Dáil: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Seanad: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 1: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 2: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 3: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 4: Web stream, Facebook stream

UNUSUAL FOR A COMMITTEE to meet on a Monday, but you make alternative arrangements when there are guests in town…

2:15pm – Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht – European Environment commissioner Janez Potočnik (a Slovenian liberal) is in town to attend a number of events; while he’s around, he’ll pop into Room 4 to discuss some environmental matters which are likely to come up at EU level during Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the EU, which begins in just six weeks’ time.

All of the day’s business can be viewed on our Committee Room 4 streams for Web and Facebook.

THE DÁIL’S agenda is once again eaten up with legislation, but that’s not to say that there’s quite a few important discussions happening elsewhere…

9:30am – Committee on Health and Children - It’s quite unusual for motions to be put in front of Oireachtas committees, but this is a high-profile exception. Consultant oncologist Prof John Crown – an NUI senator – wants to make the Leinster House campus entirely smoke-free, banning smoking from the Oireachtas complex. It’s not universally popular. Once that motion has been done, the committee will bring some experts in to Room 2 to discuss childhood obesity.

9:30am – Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine - It’s a similarly early start in Room 4, where representatives from the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) and the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) will make their pre-budget submissions.

10:00am – Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation - Over in Room 3, Retail Ireland (an IBEC sub-group) will attend to present its report on ‘Tackling the Black Market and Retail Crime‘, which it believes costs the State about €861 million a year.

10:30am – Leaders’ Questions - Thursday morning means it’s Eamon Gilmore’s turn to take the main questions from FF, SF and the technical group.

10:30am – Order of Business - The Seanad gets its usual 75 minutes to talk about whatever it likes…

10:51am – Order of Business - …while the Dáil gets merely 20 minutes to do the same.

11:11am – Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012 (second stage resumed) – When that’s done, it’s back to devoting another four hours to discuss legislation which will formally introduce the ‘risk equalisation’ system into health insurance.

12:30pm – Statements on the discovery of Chalara fraxinea (Ash dieback disease) in the context of the importance of the forestry and forestry products industry – Junior agriculture minister Shane McEntee will preside over the only item on the Seanad’s agenda: a discussion on the outbreak of ash dieback disease in Britain (and, to a lesser extent, Ireland).

2:00pm – Matters on the Adjournment - When that’s done, there’ll be another chance for three backbench matters to be raised before the weekend starts early.

2:30pm – Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform - Over in Room 2, Public Expenditure minister Brendan Howlin will be around to offer an update on the progress on the Government’s Public Service Reform Plan.

3:00pm – Committee on Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement - It’s a crowded house in Room 3, where Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore will lead a plenary meeting of the North South Ministerial Council.

3:30pm – Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2012 (second stage) – The health insurance legislation should be finished by 3:30pm, if not earlier; whenever it is, the Dáil gets a few minutes to consider legislation extending the powers and remit of the Private Residential Tenancies Board, the body which regulates private tenancies.

3:42pm – Topical Issues – Four newsworthy matters get discussed for 12 minutes apiece…

4:30pm – Questions (Minister for Finance) – …before Michael Noonan brings the Dáil day to a close by answering questions on the size of the adjustment in Budget 2013, the possibility of a common Troika stance on Ireland’s promissory notes, the sustainability of Ireland’s national debt, and the steps he’ll take to cut bankers’ pay and pensions.

All of the day’s business can be viewed on our streams:

• Dáil: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Seanad: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 1: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 2: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 3: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 4: Web stream, Facebook stream

THE DÁIL’S day is largely eaten up by two major pieces of legislation, but there’s plenty going on elsewhere…

9:30am – Committee on Transport and Communications - The day begins in Room 4, where officials from the National Roads Authority will discuss strategic developments in maintaining and developing Ireland’s roads network, including links across the border to the North.

10:30am – Leaders’ Questions - Enda Kenny takes the marquee event of the morning, fending off tripartite questions from the opposition benches.

10:30am – Order of Business - The Seanad will meanwhile get 75 minutes in which it will agree to its own agenda…

10:51am – Order of Business - …a function for which TDs will be granted merely 30 minutes.

11:21am – Credit Union Bill 2012 (second stage resumed) – As mentioned earlier, most of the day’s Dáil time is wrapped up on the legislation to amplify the state’s power to backstop and save an ailing credit union.

11:45am – Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012 (second stage) - Meanwhile, the Seanad will be holding its first debate on the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, a follow-on from the Fiscal Compact treaty which limits Ireland’s budget deficits (from 2018) to 0.5% of GDP.

1:00pm – Committee on Education and Social Protection - In Room 1 Ruairi Quinn will brief members on the agenda for next week’s meeting of European education ministers; when that’s done Comhairle na nÓg will be around to discuss its role in the SPHE curriculum in second-level schools.

2:30pm - Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012 (second stage) - Today and tomorrow are largely eaten up by legislation which tweaks the ‘risk equalisation’ process in health insurance. The idea is to add a levy to every health insurance policy, which will go to funding tax credits for older clients so that the overall cost of a health insurance policy is broadly equal irrespective of age.

2:30pm - Civil Defence Bill 2012 (second stage) - The Seanad spends two hours discussing legislation to abolish the Civil Defence Board and restore its functions to the Department of Defence.

3:00pm – Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform - Usually meetings to discuss European legislative plans aren’t too meaningful, but this one – in Room 4 – is an exception. One of the matters being discussed are proposals for new systems to deal with countries whose budget deficits exceed the 3% of GDP limit laid down by Europe. And yes, that includes us.

3:45pm – Topical Issues – Four newsworthy matters are discussed in the Dáil for 12 minutes apiece.

4:00pm – Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade - In Room 1, IBEC and the Irish Exporters Association discuss the role that the Department of Foreign Affairs can have in helping to stimulate international trade and Ireland’s economy.

4:30pm – Private Members’ Business [Fine Gael] - Motion on bullying – The main government party gets two hours of free time in the Seanad, and uses it to put forward a motion backing the government’s stance on tackling bullying and expressing sympathies for the families touched by recent suicides in that area.

4:33pm – Questions (Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade) – In a slightly tweaked afternoon agenda, Eamon Gilmore steps in late to take questions on matters including the murder of David Black, the misappropriation of Irish funds in Uganda, human rights abuses in Turkey, abuses of Irish-trained doctors in Bahrain, and the Israel-Palestine peace process.

5:48pm – as 2:30pm – When that’s done, its back to discussing the health insurance legislation.

6:30pm – Matters on the Adjournment – With the Seanad’s day done, there’s time to discuss three matters of importance to members before the lights are turned out.

7:30pm – Private Members’ Business [Fianna Fáil] – Motion re student grants and supports - It’s then time for further debate on Fianna Fáil’s motion dealing with educational supports, and more specifically the backlog of grant applications building up. There’ll be a vote called at 9pm.

9:00pm – as 2:30pm - With that done, there’s time for about 45 minutes of further chat about health legislation before calling it a day.

All of the day’s business can be viewed on our streams:

• Dáil: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Seanad: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 1: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 2: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 3: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 4: Web stream, Facebook stream

THIS PARLIAMENTARY TUESDAY is a little more crowded that usual; an extra multitude of committee meetings that the day features many more third parties than usual, and more fora for them to appear in.

11:30am – Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade – One of the hot topics of the season, Ireland’s overseas aid, gets an airing in Room 1. Brendan Rogers, the director of Irish Aid, discusses the alleged misappropriation of Irish funding in Uganda.

11:30am – Committee on Education and Social Protection - At the same time, over in Room 3, the subject of Fianna Fáil’s Dáil motion for this week – the backlog of student grant applications – is discussed. Representatives from Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) and the City of Dublin VEC, the body which houses it, will be in to discuss the problems processing applications.

1:30pm – Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation – It’s a two-part meeting in Room 2: at 1:30pm the Credit Review Office and the Irish Banking Federation are in to talk about lending to small businesses; at 3pm it’s the turn of Chambers Ireland to discuss how to create the best environment for job creation and sustainability.

2:00pm – Questions (Minister for Social Protection) – Joan Burton kicks off the Dáil week by answering questions on the Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare, changes to rent supplement, free travel passes and social welfare appeals waiting lists.

2:00pm – Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine – In Room 3 members will discuss European plans to legislate for persistent organic pollutants, before the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association visit to offer their thoughts on Budget 2013 and the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.

2:15pm – Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht – Unusually, there’ll be two cabinet ministers popping in to room 4: both Phil Hogan and Jimmy Deenihan discuss the pre-Budget submissions sent about their briefs, while Hogan will also address the Report of the Pyrite Panel and the progress made in implementing its recommendations.

2:30pm – Order of Business - The Seanad resumes after the long, referendum-laden weekend with a 75-minute discussion on whatever members like.

3:15pm – Leaders’ Questions - Enda Kenny takes marquee questioning from the leaders of Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the technical group.

3:36pm – Questions (Taoiseach) – With that done, Enda takes more sedate questioning on staff allowances, the IFSC clearing house group, and future bilateral meetings with David Cameron.

4:30pm – Statements on the Economy - There’s only one item on the Seanad’s agenda: a 90-minute discussion on the economy and where it’s heading. Brian Hayes will lead it.

4:36pm – Order of Business – TDs get 30 days to agree to the day’s agenda…

5:06pm – Topical Issues – …and 48 minutes to discuss four of the day’s newsworthy issues, with backbenchers and ministers, for 12 minutes apiece.

5:54pm – Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012 (report stage resumed) – Just over an hour will be devoted to finalising the Dáil’s consideration of the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, which will forever put a legal limit on the size of a Budget deficit that Ireland can run up. It’s a condition of the Fiscal Compact.

6:30pm - Matters on the Adjournment - With the economy discussed – and, presumably, solved – there’ll be discussion of three miscellaneous matters before the night ends.

7:00pm – Credit Union Bill 2012 (second stage) – Most of tomorrow will be spent discussing this legislation, but there’s 90 minutes of a headstart tonight. The Credit Union Bill would see the government gain the legal power to change the structure behind credit unions in order to safeguard their future stability, and also set up a recapitalisation fund to fix ones with financial difficulty.

7:30pm – Private Members’ Business [Fianna Fáil] – Motion re student grants and supports - As mentioned earlier, Fianna Fáil’s motion deals with educational supports, and more specifically the backlog of grant applications building up. FF’s motion would not only see the government commit to action, but also agree not to cut grant levels or other supports for those in full-time college education. Debate continues until 9pm and continues tomorrow.

9:00pm – as 7pm – Further debate on the Credit Union Bill will bring the night to 10pm, and its suspension.

All of the day’s business can be viewed on our streams:

• Dáil: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Seanad: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 1: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 2: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 3: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 4: Web stream, Facebook stream

APOLOGIES FOR THE lack of a daily update yesterday – a glitch with our Google Calendar system meant it was almost impossible to retrieve a reliable daily schedule.

Today’s not the First Friday of the month, but with the Dáil having taken last week off, today’s the day when an opposition or backbench TD gets a chance to bring forward their own legislation.

10:30am – Tax Transparency Bill 2012 (second stage) - Eoghan Murphy (FG) has no fewer than three pieces of legislation awaiting debate; this one is possibly the one that will have the greatest interest for passing punters. His legislation would see the Department of Finance issue a annual pro forma statement to taxpayers, showing them how much PAYE they’ve paid that year, and giving them a general breakdown of where that money’s gone. €5,000 in tax means €X on education and €Y for Garda salaries, etc.

If the bill is disputed – which we believe it won’t be – a vote will be held on Tuesday afternoon, but the bill ought to sail through.

All of the day’s business can be viewed on our Dáil streams for Web and Facebook.

WELL, IN THIS BRAVE new world in which we have woken up – in which Barack Obama has secured himself another four years as the leader of the free world – it’s back to the humdrum of everyday life in Leinster House, as the Seanad resumes its business and the committees get into full swing.

9:30am – Committee on Transport and Communications - The day begins in Room 4, where the Commission for Energy Regulation will discuss the impact that green, renewable and clean energies could have on the average electricity bill.

10:00am – Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence - In Room 1, meanwhile, Alan Shatter will be asking for an increase in the 2012 Budget to cover slightly higher-than-expected army pensions.

10:30am – Leaders’ Questions - The marquee event of the morning sees Enda Kenny take questions from the three opposite benches.

10:51am – Order of Business - TDs get a half-hour to agree to their day’s agenda…

11:21am – Personal Insolvency Bill 2012 (report and final stages, resumed) – …before resuming discussion on the personal insolvency bill which will allow indebted people to write of some of their obligations under some circumstances.

1:00pm – Committee on Education and Social Protection - Over in Room 3, the Social Needs Parents Association will discuss the need for further supply of SNAs, before Social Justice Ireland and TASC present their pre-Budget submissions.

2:00pm – Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform - In what could well be the most significant item of the day, John Moran pops into Room 4 to brief members on the Department of Finance’s updated strategy document for 2010-2014.

2:30pm - Questions (Minister for Defence) - Alan Shatter is in to take questions related to his defence brief; they’ll include questions on the security of the state, the future of the Reserve Defence Forces, finding alternative uses for the barracks in Clonmel, the downgrade of the Office of the Defence Ombudsman, and a possible amnesty for minor military offences awaiting trial.

2:30pm - Order of Business - The Seanad’s 12-day mid-term break ends as members spend 75 minutes discussing anything and everything.

3:30pm – Statements on Alcohol Consumption (resumed) - Having not had enough time to deal with all comments in his first visit, Alex White returns to the Seanad to offer more feedback on plans to curb alcohol abuse.

3:45pm – Topical Issues – Four topical issues are debated for 12 minutes apiece.

4:30pm – Public Service Oversight and Petitions - You may remember a while back that there was a furore over the emphasis put on the Irish language when dealing with internal promotions in the Department of Social Protection. Here, in Room 3, staff from that Department, the Dept of Public Expenditure and Reform, and the Public Appointments Service will give evidence on exactly what happened any why.

4:33pm – as 11:21am - More discussion on the insolvency legislation.

5:00pm – Private Members’ Business [Taoiseach's nominees] - Motion on Social Welfare appeals - The independent appointees table a motion which calls on the government to overhaul the social welfare appeals process, by giving people access to greater legal resources in order to process complex claims and to cut down on backlogs.

7:00pm – Matters on the Adjournment – Once that motion’s done, it’s three topical matters before the lights are turned out.

7:30pm – Private Members’ Business [Technical Group] – Motion re pensions and lump sums - Debate resumes in the Dáil on McGrath’s motion calling for the end of “grossly overgenerous pensions and massive lump sums on retirement to office holders such as Cabinet Ministers, Taoisigh, TDs, Senators, senior public servants, State regulators including the Financial Regulator, members of the judiciary and the CEOs of semi-State bodies and State funded banks”. The debate will wrap up at 9pm with a vote at that time.

9:00pm – as 11:21am - There’ll be another 45 minutes (or so) of debate on the insolvency legislation before the day is done.

All of the day’s business can be viewed on our streams:

• Dáil: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Seanad: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 1: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 2: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 3: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 4: Web stream, Facebook stream

THE DÁIL’S WEEK is largely wrapped up with finalising the Personal Insolvency Bill 2012, but the committee schedule is unusually packed out in order to compensate for the less-than-chaotic Seanad timetable.

1:30pm – Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation – The week begins in Room 2, where members dissect EU plans to regulate the the access of third-party countries to European tenders, before hearing from the Employment Appeals Tribunal in discussing a report on creating a new, over-arching, singular employment appeals and workplace relations body.

2:00pm – Questions (Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine) – Simon Coveney gets the Dáil going with questions on stocking density in farms, the possibility of flat-rate payments under the CAP, and the reform of that agricultural policy next year.

2:00pm – Committee on EU Affairs – There’s a high-ranking delegation of MEPs over in Room 1 – where the European Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee will attend to offer an ‘exchange of views’, in advance of Ireland’s own constitutional convention.

2:15pm – Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht – Another testy topic in Room 4: John Mullins, the chief executive of Bord Gais, will discuss the progress being made in the establishment of Uisce Éireann, the new body in charge of water charges.

3:15pm – Leaders’ Questions - Enda Kenny steps in to take high-profile questions from Micheál Martin, Gerry Adams and the technical group.

3:15pm – Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine – In Room 3 members will get through a raft of EU legislative proposals – including plans on safeguarding European eel stocks – before departmental officials discuss the forthcoming reviews of the Common Agricultural Policy, Food Harvest 2020 and the Common Fisheries Policy.

3:36pm – Questions (Taoiseach) – Having dealt with the busier topics, Enda Kenny takes more sedate questions on the cabinet sub-committees on health, mortgage arrears and economic recovery.

4:36pm – Order of Business – TDs agree to the day’s agenda – a session which will inevitably take more than 30 minutes, given the deluge of backbench queries following the mid-term week off.

5:06pm – Topical Issues – Four topical issues are discussed for four minutes apiece…

5:54pm – Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012 (report and final stages) – …before a final hour (or so) of discussion on the EU’s Fiscal Compact rules, which formally limit the size of a Budget deficit a country can run in any one year. In Ireland’s case this won’t kick in until 2018.

7:00pm – Personal Insolvency Bill 2012 (report and final stages) – The Dáil’s week, as previously mentioned, is almost universally wrapped up with processing the final amendments to the Personal Insolvency Bill – legislation allowing personal debts to be wiped away in some circumstances.

7:30pm – Private Members’ Business [Technical Group] – Motion re pensions and lump sums - Mattie McGrath is the independent TD to get the private members’ time this year; his motion is a blunt one. It calls on the government to abandon the current system of…

“paying grossly overgenerous pensions and massive lump sums on retirement to office holders such as Cabinet Ministers, Taoisigh, TDs, Senators, senior public servants, State regulators including the Financial Regulator, members of the judiciary and the CEOs of semi-State bodies and State funded banks”.

Debate continues until 9pm.

9:00pm – as 7pm – Once that’s done, there’s another hour of consideration of the insolvency legislation before the lights are turned out.

All of the day’s business can be viewed on our streams:

• Dáil: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Seanad: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 1: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 2: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 3: Web stream, Facebook stream
• Committee Room 4: Web stream, Facebook stream