The Role and Work of Oireachtas Committees

Last Updated 26 June 2012

Fact Sheet 2:

The Role and Work of Oireachtas Committees

Why do we set up Oireachtas Committees and what do we expect of them?

A Committee is a group of Members chosen by one or both of the Houses[1] to study a particular subject area. This often involves “shadowing” the work of a Government Department, including proposed legislation and estimates for Government expenditure. The membership of each Committee usually reflects the proportion of the seats held by each of the political parties in the Houses.

For the Houses to carry out all of their work effectively, they need to delegate detailed work to Committees. Tasks are delegated to the Committees in the interest of making the best use of the time of the Houses and also because the Houses themselves can be too large or formal to perform some kinds of tasks effectively. This division of labour also allows Members of Committees to develop specialist knowledge.

What power does a Committee have to carry out these tasks?

Although a Committee is given various powers to carry out its tasks, it remains subject to the Houses and can not expand or increase its own powers or functions, unless the Houses formally agree to this.

The powers which may be delegated to Committees are contained in Standing Orders[2] [DSO 83, 84, 85, 86, 88 and 93 and SSO 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, and 87] and include:

·  power to send for persons, papers and records;

·  power to take oral and written evidence;

·  power to print and publish minutes of evidence taken in public (and related documents);

·  power to invite written submissions and oral presentations from interested persons or bodies;

·  power to appoint sub committees, to refer matters to them and to delegate powers to them;

·  power to draft recommendations for legislative change and for new legislation;

·  power to consider and report on proposals for EU legislation which have been referred to the Committee;

·  power to require a Minister or Minister of State to attend a meeting to discuss policy, or proposed primary or secondary legislation (before it is published);

·  power to require a Minister to attend a meeting to hear the views of the Committee before attending a meeting of the EU Council;

·  power to require principal office-holders in State agencies or bodies to attend a meeting to discuss their official responsibilities;

·  power to engage specialist or technical knowledge, subject to budget and sanction;

·  power to travel, subject to budget and sanction;

·  power to print and publish reports and related documents;

·  power to request a debate in plenary;

·  power to meet in private.

The powers delegated to the Joint Committee, as referred to in the Motions of Establishment, derive from Standing Orders [DSO 83 and SSO 71]. The functions or terms of reference of the Committee also derive from Standing Orders [DSO 82A, 102, 105, 106, 107, 149, 163; SSO 70A, 96, 101, 102 and 103]. A Committee’s functions may be general or subject based (for example, “human rights”).

Dáil Éireann also usually delegates to Select Committees the detailed clause-by-clause study of Bills (Committee Stage) after agreement in principle at second stage.

Sometimes, Government Bills are referred to a Select Committee before Second Stage. This enables Committee Members to examine the principle of the Bill before approval by the House, and to propose amendments to alter its scope.

The Joint Committee may also consider the General Scheme or draft Heads of Bills published by the relevant Department(s).

How does a Committee manage its work effectively?

Under Standing Orders [DSO 86(4); SSO 75(4)], Committees are required to lay their annual work programmes before the Houses. When the Committee is allocated its functions, its first task is to decide what its priorities are and how much time it can devote to each. Most of the Select Committees’ business is referred by Dáil Éireann and the workload is often heavy, especially as Bills can be quite technical in nature and may have a time limit for reporting back to the House. As a result, Committees need to plan ahead and manage their time in order to meet all their objectives.

To manage their workload effectively, the Committee as a whole must plan its work programme to ensure its time is well used, and the focus, particularly in relation to Joint Committee work, should be strategic and selective in relation to major issues to be considered and reported back to both Houses. This is the responsibility of all Committee Members, and good time management will help the Committee allocate time for its own policy investigations.

The requirement to report to the House(s)

In addition to items of business referred to the Committee by the Houses, the Committee may decide to examine a particular issue with a view to influencing a related policy. Committees are not final decision-making bodies. The main avenue for a Committee to influence public policy is to invite stakeholders to make submissions on the subject and/or to attend a public meeting to discuss such issues in detail. Stakeholders may include the Minister, civil or public servants, representatives of non-Governmental organisations and other interest groups. The Committee can use this investigative process to reach conclusions, balancing public opinion with expert advice. The outcome from that process may be a formal report by the Committee to the Houses setting out its views and recommendations. Under Standing Orders [DSO 82(2)(b); SSO 70(2)(b)] any work which a Committee undertakes should be in the context of the preparation of a report to Dáil Éireann and/or Seanad Éireann.

In some cases, the Committee may decide it is necessary to set up a sub Committee to work on a specific piece of business. Sub Committees usually report to the main Committee. However, some sub Committee can have power to report directly to the House(s).

Can a Committee conduct an inquiry?

Under the Abbeylara judgement (Maguire v. Ardagh [2002]) it was ruled that there is no inherent power vested in the Oireachtas to conduct inquiries which may lead to an adverse finding of fact being made against non-Members[3]. This does not preclude the initiation of in-depth policy examination by Oireachtas Committees, which is one of the most valuable functions of the Oireachtas Committee system provided that such examination does not involve the making of adverse findings of fact against non-Members.

Committees choose their own subject for detailed examination, although such subjects must come within an individual Committee’s functions. Committee examinations vary in their extent and duration and may involve a Committee receiving submissions and hearing presentations for several months and then making a report to the Houses on its findings. Alternatively, it may simply consist of a single day's oral presentation which the Committee publishes without making a report. A Committee examination progresses through some or all of the following stages:

·  Call for written submissions

The Committee will issue a press notice outlining the main themes for examination, or the terms of reference. The press notice will invite interested parties to make written submissions addressing the terms of reference, before a specified deadline. A Committee may also issue invitations to experts in the field, asking for their observations. Interested parties may then make a written submission.

·  Hearing oral presentations

Following consideration of the written submissions, the Committee will decide if they wish to hear oral presentations at a public meeting of the Committee. During public meetings the Members of the Committee have an opportunity to ask the witness questions. Transcripts of public meetings are posted on the Committee's website. Where witnesses are unable to attend in person, a Committee should consider if it may be possible to hold the meeting by video conference. Video conference facilities are available in Committee Room 1.

·  Reporting to the House(s)

Having considered the submissions and presentations, the Committee may adopt a report it wishes to make to the House(s), which may include recommendations for the initiation of new policy or the amendment of an existing one. The report will be published by laying it in the Oireachtas library and posting it on the Committee’s website. At this stage, the Committee will usually publish the written and oral submissions it has received, but that is a matter for the Committee itself to decide, provided that the person or group making the submission has not specifically requested that the submission be treated as confidential.

What are the functions of an Oireachtas Committee in relation to the EU and the Lisbon Treaty?

The functions of Committees in relation to the EU and the Lisbon Treaty are outlined in the separate fact sheet “The Role and Work of Oireachtas Committees relative to EU Affairs”.

Meetings and Membership - general information

Public meetings are held in one of the four (4) Committee rooms in Leinster House 2000. At the first meeting of a Committee after it is established, Members will usually agree a preferred time for their meetings. The Working Group of Committee Chairmen (WGCC) agrees a schedule for Committee meetings, taking account of the preferences of the Committees. The norm is for each Committee to have a set time slot each week, with Select Committee meetings using either that agreed time slot or outside it as required. Additional meetings can be arranged subject to availability of a room. A proposal to use the Dáil chamber will allow for more flexibility.

Under Standing Orders [DSO 82(3)], only two Bills can be considered by the Committees in any one day.

Agendas and schedules

A formal agenda is prepared for each Committee meeting and sent electronically to all Members, listing the time and place and the business to be considered at the meeting. A schedule of all Committee meetings for the week is distributed on the Friday of the preceding week, and is updated electronically to incorporate any changes. Anyone having an interest in a particular Committee’s scheduled business can check details with the Clerk to the Committee (the Committee Clerk).

Committee Documents

The documents required for a Committee meeting are usually sent to the Members along with the agenda. All documents are issued in electronic format only. Members wishing to have a paper copy should print out the document and bring it to the Committee meeting. In Committee Room 1, it is possible to have the documents displayed on the computer screens.

Members should treat all Committee documents as confidential until such time as they have been formally published. Publication usually comprises laying the document/report before the Houses (i.e. in the Oireachtas library) and/or making it available on the Committee page of the Oireachtas website. Working papers (which would not usually be published) are confidential unless the Committee decides otherwise.

Quorum

A meeting cannot begin if there is no quorum present. The quorum for each Committee is set in Standing Orders [DSO 94A; SSO 70A]. It is in the interests of all Members to be at the meeting on time, as important decisions can be made at the start. Absence may also contribute to a meeting being unable to proceed (under Standing Orders [DSO 95(1); SSO 83(1)] if a quorum is not present within 15 minutes of the scheduled start time for a Committee meeting, the Committee stands adjourned. Where witnesses are expected before the Committee this can cause great inconvenience as they often travel some distance to attend.

Can any Member participate?

Even if they are not Members of a particular Committee, all Members of both Houses wishing to attend a Joint Committee meeting are entitled to do so and may take an active part in the meeting, but may not vote or move motions or amendments [DSO 92(3); SSO 80(2)]. Similarly, all T.D.s[4] may attend and participate in Select Committee meetings.

This rule does not apply to meetings of the following Standing Committees:

·  the Committee of Public Accounts (PAC);

·  the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills;

·  the Dáil Committee on Procedure and Privileges (Dáil CPP);

·  the Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges (Seanad CPP);

·  the Committee on Members’ Interests of Dáil Éireann; and

·  the Committee on Members Interests of Seanad Éireann.

Where a Bill or Estimate is being considered by the Committee or a sub Committee, the Minister of the relevant Department is an ex-officio[5] member of that Committee or sub Committee for that purpose and has the same rights as any other Member of the Committee.

Substitution

Where a Member of a Committee is absent, another Member may be formally nominated by their Party/Group whip to attend in substitution for him or her [DSO 92(2); SSO 80(1)]. This rule does not apply to meetings of the same Committees as listed above in relation to participation.

Formal nomination entails a letter from the Party whip to the Committee Clerk specifying which Committee Member will be absent and which Deputy or Senator will act as a substitute. In that case, the substitute Member may vote and /or move amendments and motions.