Government Priority Legislation – Spring/Summer 2017

Medical cards for children, registration of physiotherapists, a Judicial Council and housing are areas that have been marked as a priority in the Irish Government's Legislation Programme for Spring/Summer 2017. We examine the key elements of the programme and the improvements these legislative changes are likely to bring about.

The Spring/Summer Government Legislation Programme is ambitious. There are 33 Bills for consideration and 31 Bills for publication as a priority before July 2017. The Government's main areas of focus this year are primarily in housing, justice and health. The full programme can be accessed here 

Justice Matters

Justice matters feature strongly in this programme, as they did in the Autumn/Winter programme 2016. The Heads of the Judicial Appointments Bill were published in December 2016. Pre-legislative scrutiny is still to be determined. The Mediation Bill, a priority last year, has been published and is to be debated. However, the much