Joint Committee on Public Petitions, Houses of the Oireachtas, Republic

^<1 AM p,I , .S' Ae RECEIVED r , ,1FEB2i2{ a Co GII C' CS, I ^'b' Via t\ SGIrbhis Thith an 01 ea htais @ Houses of the Oireachtas Service TITHE AN O^REACHTAZS . AN COMHCH01STE UM ACHAINtOCHA ON bPOBAL HOUSES OF THE OrREACHTAS JOINT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PET^TiONS SUBM^SSÔN OF THE SECRETARIAT OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PETITIONS - IRELAND ^NqUIRY INTO THE FUNCTIONS, PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES . OF THE STANDING COMMITrEE ON ENv^RONMENT AND PUBLrc AFFAIRS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL WESTERN AUSTRALÂ Houses of the Oireachtas Leinster House Kildare St Dublin 2 Do2 xR2o Ireland ,.,. February 2020 II'~ API ~~ ~, I -,/' -.<,, ,:; -.. t . Contents I . I n trod u ct io n ...,............................................................................................................ 4 2. Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Public Petitions 2 0 I I - 2 0 I 6 ..........................................................,.,,.....,.,,.,,,....................................... 5 3. Composition, Purpose, Powers of the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversig ht a rid Pu blic Petitions 201 I- 2016. .................................... 6 3.2 The Joint sub-Committee on Pu blic Petitions 2011 '20/6 ................,..,,,. 7 3.3 The Joint Sub-Committee on the Ombudsman 2011-2016. ................... 9 4. Joint Committee on Public Petitions 2016 - 2020 ...................................,. 10 4.2. Functions of the Joint Committee on Public Petitions 201.6-2020 .... 10 4.3. Powers of the Joint Committee on Public Petitions 201.6-2020 ..... 10 Figu re I : Differences of remit between Joint Committees ........,................,. 12 5 . Ad mis si bi lity of P etitio n s ...................,.., . .................... ....,,,, ... ... ......,.,,,.,.,....... 14 5.2 . In ad missi bin ty of Petitio ns .,,,........,,,,,,,,.., ................... ..,,,........ ., .,. .................. Is 5.3. Consideration of Petitio ns by the Committee. ............,..........,,,................. 15 Fig u re 2 : Flowcha rt of the Petitio ns Process .... ..................,,,,......,,..,,.,,,,,,,, . .. 16 Figure 3 : Staffing of Joint Committee on Public Petitions. ............................ 17 Figure 4: Petitions received by the Joint Committee on Public Petitionsi7 6 . Ap p e n d i ces ..........,..................................................,,.....,,,......................................... 1.8 Appendix I - Joint Coin mittee on Pu blic Petitions ,,.........,................................... ^8 Appendix 2 : Membership of Joint Committee on Public Petitions. ................. 22 Appendix 3 - Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions. .24 Orders of Reference of the Committee ( Extract) ...,,,........................................... 24 Appendix 4: Membership of Committee of the Joint Oireachtas Committee o n Pu blic Se rvice Ove rsig ht a n d Petitio ns .......,,... ....................,,,,,....,,.,...,,.,,, .,... 32 Ap pe ridix 5 - Political Pa rty Ab b reviatio n s, ,,,,,.,,,.... .,,,,,.............................,,.,.,....... 35 Appe ridix 6 - Exam pies of Petition Titles Received ,,.,.,,,,..................................... 36 . I. Introduction The purpose of the petitions system in the Houses of the Oireachtas is to enhance engagement between parliament and citizens on matters of general public concern or interest. Members of the public can submit petitions to the Houses of the Oireachtas on matters of general public concern or interest in relation to their legislative powers or on an issue of public policy, Petitions can be submitted online or by completing the relevant forms which can be requested from the secretariat to the Committee and these can be returned once completed, by post or via email. The Joint Committee on Public Petitions is a Standing Committee, it is provided for under Dail and Seanad Standing Orders. ' . Dail Standing Order 93(2) provides that a proportion of Chairman posts shall be allocated to the party or parties in Government and each group in the Dail (as defined in Standing Order 1.43). Such proportion shall be calculated according to the d'Hondt system, and under such system, the party or parties in Government and each group shall choose a particular Chairman post as the posts are allocated, excluding posts already allocated by Standing Orders or by Order of the Dail: Provided that a Government party may not choose the Chairmanship of the Committee of Public Accounts. The House shall appoint all Chairmen, in accordance with the provisions of this Standing Order and of Standing Orders generally. 2 . ' Available at: htt data o1 eachtas re re o1reachtas arliamenta Business sta din Orders da 20172017 01-17 consolidated standin order of da eireann en df Last accessed 3 February 2020. zjbid 2. Joint Committee on Publ, c Service Overs, ght and Publ, c Petitions 201. ,.. 20, .6 The Programme for Government (2011)' included a commitment to establish an Investigations, Oversight and Petitions Committee of the Houses of the Oireachtas for the first time and it was subsequently established by the 31'' Dîl in 201.1. The objective of the establishment of the petitions system was to enable greater citizen interaction with the parliamentary system. In order for Parliamentary Committees to have proper meaningful power to investigate, an amendment to the Constitution was required and a constitutional referendum on Investigative Powers for Committees was held on 27 October 2011. The referendum was defeated and accordingly the Orders of Reference for the Joint Committee were amended to exclude an investigatory role for the Committee. On 1.2 July 201.2, Dail and Seanad Eireann adopted additional Standing Orders: (1) Permitting petitions to be addressed to the Houses of the 01reachtas on matters of general public concern or interest in relation to their legislative powers or an issue of public policy and for the consideration of such petitions by the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions. (2) Strengthening parliamentary oversight of public service delivery by providing for the establishment of the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions as a standing Committee. 'Available at ttD 11 err on t eet. Ie/en/wo c re t u oads 2010 05 Pro rainme or Government 201.1 of 3. Composition, Purpose, Powers of the Joint Committee on Publ, c Service Over5.9ht and Publ, c Petitions 20L, . 201.6 In the 31st Dail and the 25'' Seanad, the Joint Committee on Public Oversight and Petitions consisted of 20 members - 15 members of Dail îreann and 5 members , of Seanad Eireann - and was responsible for oversight of public service delivery generally, with a particular focus on investigating and identifying improvements in the delivery of such services to citizens' The Joint Committee also acted through two sub-committees: (1) The Joint sub-Committee on Public Petitions; (2) The Joint sub-Committee on the Ombudsman. The Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions considered the quality and standards of public service delivery, including the effectiveness of public service complaints and redress systems; informed by its sub-Committees' consideration of Ombudsmans reports and petitions received. However, Public Service Oversight and Petitions also had authority to consider such related matters as it thought fit. 4 The Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions was also required to consider such matters as may be referred to it by the Houses of the Oireachtas from time to time. The Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions and each of its Sub- committees could: . (1) Take oral and written evidence and print and publish from time to time minutes of such evidence taken in public before it together with such related documents as it saw fit; (2) Invite and accept written submissions from interested persons or bodies; (3) Draft recommendations for legislative change and for new legislation; (4) Require a Member of the Government or Minister of State to attend before it to discuss: (a) policy; ' Dan 5.0.165A(61(c)(ill) Available at: htt data o eachtas e e o eachtas a 11ame to Bus nes standin Orde s dai12017201701 17 consolidated standin o ders of dail eireann en df Last accessed 3 February 2020. (b) proposed primary or secondary legislation (prior to such legislation being published) for which he or she is officially responsible; (5) Require principal office holders of bodies in the State which are partly or wholly funded by the State or which are established or appointed by members of the Government or by the 01reachtas shall attend meetings of Committee, as appropriate, to discuss issues for which they are officially responsible. In addition, the Joint Sub-committee on the Ombudsman had, by default, power to send for persons, papers and records. This was a necessary precondition for the granting of authority to compel the attendance of persons . and the production of documents. Sectoral Committees' in the 31'' Dail were riot permitted to consider matters which were being or were about to be considered by the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions or its Sub-committees. The Sectoral Committees were required to consider and report back on matters referred to them by Public Service Oversight and Petitions or either of the two sub- Committees. The Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions and its sub" Committees were riot permitted to consider matters which are being or are to be considered by the Committee of Public Accounts. 6 3.2 The Joint

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