Tithe an Oireachtais An Comhchoiste um Achainíocha ón bPobal Tuarascáil ón gCoiste um Athbhreithniú ar na Téarmaí Tagartha Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Public Petitions Report of the Committee on the Review of the Terms of Reference A leagadh faoi bhráid dhá Theach an Oireachtais 31 Marta 2021 Laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas 31 March 2021 JCPP/33/01 Tithe an Oireachtais An Comhchoiste um Achainíocha ón bPobal Tuarascáil ón gCoiste um Athbhreithniú ar na Téarmaí Tagartha Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Public Petitions Report of the Committee on the Review of the Terms of Reference A leagadh faoi bhráid dhá Theach an Oireachtais 31 Marta 2021 Laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas 31 March 2021 JCPP/33/01 © Houses of the Oireachtas 2021 Joint Committee on Public Petitions – Review of the Terms of Reference Table of Contents Foreword ............................................................................................... 5 1. Summary ...................................................................................... 7 2. Recommendations .......................................................................... 9 2.1. SO 125 (1) Name of Committee ..................................................... 9 2.2. SO 125 (4)(c) Power to send for persons, papers and records. ............ 9 2.3. SO 125 (6) European Ombudsman ................................................. 9 2.4. SO 127 (1)(d) Admissibility: name of individual ................................ 9 2.5. SO 128 (2) (c) Debate in plenary session ........................................ 9 3. Background ................................................................................. 11 3.1. Motions of Instruction re Terms of Reference ................................. 11 3.2. Definition of a Petition ................................................................ 11 3.3. Parliamentary Petitions Systems .................................................. 11 3.4. Functions of the Joint Committee on Public Petitions 33rd Dáil ........... 11 3.5. Review of the Orders of Reference ................................................ 12 4. Review of SO 125 Joint Committee on Public Petitions ........................ 13 4.1. SO 125 (1) and 94 (2) (c) Joint Committee on Public Petitions .......... 13 4.2. SO 125 (2) “Own initiative inquiries” ............................................ 15 4.3. SO 125 (3) Membership.............................................................. 16 4.4. SO 125 (4) Powers of the Committee ............................................ 17 4.5. SO 125 (5) Substitution and committee meetings ........................... 18 4.6. SO 125 (6) EU Parliament Petitions Committee ............................... 19 4.7. SO 125 (7) Committee of Public Accounts ...................................... 20 4.8. SO 125 (8) Work Programme ...................................................... 21 5. Review of SO 126 Lodging of petitions. ............................................ 22 5.1. SO 126 (1) (public concern or interest, or public policy) ................... 22 5.2. SO 126 (2) (who may lodge a petition) ......................................... 23 Joint Committee on Public Petitions – Review of the Terms of Reference 5.3. SO 126 (3) (Name and Address) .................................................. 24 5.4. SO 126 (4) (All petitions referred to the committee) ....................... 25 5.5. SO 126 (5) (Form and manner of petitions) ................................... 26 6. Review of SO 127 Admissibility of petitions ....................................... 27 6.1. SO 127 (1) Admissibility of petitions ............................................. 27 6.1.1. SO 127 (1) (a) (Power of the Houses) ..................................... 27 6.1.2. SO 127 (1) (b) (proper form) ................................................ 28 6.1.3. SO 127 (1) (c) and SO 69 (sub judice) .................................... 29 6.1.4. SO 127 (1) (d) (name of individual) ........................................ 31 6.1.5. SO 127 (1) (e) (defamatory language) .................................... 32 6.1.6. SO 127 (1) (f) (similar petitions) ............................................ 33 6.1.7. SO 127 (1) (g) (an abuse of the petitions system) .................... 34 6.1.8. SO 127 (1) (h) (a decision by an Ombudsman) ........................ 35 6.2. SO 127 (2) (Local or Regional matters) ......................................... 36 6.3. SO 127 (3) (in a case of dispute the committee shall decide) ............ 37 7. Review of SO 128 Actions in relation to petitions ............................... 38 7.1. SO 128 (1) (such action as it considers appropriate) ....................... 38 7.2. SO 128 (2) (other actions) .......................................................... 39 7.3. SO 128 (3) (notify the petitioner) ................................................. 41 8. Review of SO 129 Closing of Petitions .............................................. 42 8.1. SO 129 (1) (closing a petition) .................................................... 42 8.2. SO 129 (2) (notify the petitioner) ................................................. 42 9. Review of SO 130 Consideration of Ombudsman report ...................... 43 10. Review of SO 96 Powers of Select Committees (July 2020) (SSO 72) .... 45 2 Joint Committee on Public Petitions – Review of the Terms of Reference Appendix A: Library & Research Service Briefing Paper: Policy and the Public Interest ............................................................................................... 49 Abstract ............................................................................................ 49 Legal Disclaimer ................................................................................. 49 1. Introduction ................................................................................ 50 2. Context for the paper .................................................................... 51 2.1. Background and functions ........................................................ 51 2.2. How the Committee differs from other Oireachtas Committees ....... 52 2.3. Origins of the petitions system in the Houses of the Oireachtas ...... 52 2.4. Petition committees in parliamentary settings ............................. 55 3. What constitutes “policy” and “public concern or interest” ................... 58 3.1. Public concern or interest ......................................................... 58 3.2. Political science ...................................................................... 58 3.3. Environment .......................................................................... 61 3.4. Law ...................................................................................... 61 3.5. Planning ................................................................................ 63 3.6. Journalism ............................................................................. 64 3.7. Privacy and freedom of information ........................................... 65 3.8. Miscellaneous uses of the concepts ............................................ 66 3.9. Discussion ............................................................................. 67 4. What is policy? ............................................................................. 69 4.1. Public policy........................................................................... 70 4.2. Discussion ............................................................................. 75 5. Potential applications for consideration by the Committee ................... 77 Appendix B: Submission from the Irish Ombudsman Forum ......................... 79 Appendix C: Submission from Mr. David Lowe ............................................ 87 Appendix D: Submission from the Scottish Parliament ................................. 95 3 Joint Committee on Public Petitions – Review of the Terms of Reference Appendix E: Submission from the Legislative Council of Western Australia .....103 Appendix F: Flowchart of the Oireachtas Public Petitions Process ..................109 Appendix G: Oireachtas Public Petitions Ecosystem ....................................111 Appendix H: Orders of Reference ............................................................113 125. Joint Committee on Public Petitions. ..............................................113 126. Lodging of petitions. ...................................................................115 127. Admissibility of petitions. .............................................................116 128. Actions in relation to petitions. .....................................................117 129. Closing of petitions. ....................................................................117 130. Consideration of Ombudsman report. .............................................117 96. Powers of Select Committees. ........................................................118 Appendix I: Membership of the Joint Committee on Public Petitions ..............121 4 Joint Committee on Public Petitions – Review of the Terms of Reference Foreword The purpose of the parliamentary public petitions system in Ireland is to allow members of the public to raise issues of general public interest or concern or issues of public policy with the Houses of the Oireachtas. The members of the Joint Committee on Public Petitions view this as an important platform, that allows all of Ireland’s citizens to actively engage with the parliament. The petitions system provides