Good morning - and hello to you too, general election 2024.
The last political holdout has come in from the cold, with Tánaiste Micheál Martin now opening the door to a general election this year.
Speaking on the Irish Times Inside Politics Podcast, Mr Martin said he would not object to such a thing if some key pieces of legislation are passed in the coming weeks.
He indicated that a late November or early December general election would be possible if certain Bills currently before the Oireachtas, including the Finance Bill, were accelerated.
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“If it’s the desire of others to do things earlier, we’d need to game that and people would need to work through the timelines around critical pieces of legislation,” he said.
“I think what people want is to complete work to make sure that there’s a solid bit of work done and that we end up, that we end the Government in a harmonious way, having worked together for 4½ years now,” Mr Martin said.
Any movement at the Oireachtas finance committee will now be closely watched as political observers look for indications of potential election timings.
The three Coalition leaders have not yet had The Chat about the election date, but now that Martin has indicated that he is open to it, it could technically happen within days upon the return of Taoiseach Simon Harris from an EU Council meeting. It’s more likely that if the Dáil is going to be dissolved, it will happen in early November. But you never know.
There were further indications this week that the speculation around an early election was more than just a persistent rumour with a very long shelf-life.
Last night it emerged that a planned trade mission to Poland later this month has been postponed.
The Irish Embassy in Warsaw on Wednesday told potential attendees that the planned trip on October 28th had been put back.
A Government spokesperson said “the trade mission has been postponed and will be rescheduled to allow for the best possible programme to be put in place. It is common for the dates of such missions to change.”
There were briefings that neither side was ready to put forward a full programme for the event, but really, everyone just thinks it’s another sign that the Government is clearing the decks.
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The keys pieces of legislation that Martin is referring to are being cleared through the Oireachtas at a fast clip already.
The Gambling Regulation Bill, singled out as a key piece of legislation that needed to be enacted before the calling of an election, has now passed. So too has the Social Welfare Bill, which will give effect to the planned welfare increases announced on budget day.
So basically it’s all eyes on the Finance Bill, all ears on The Chat, and then: all feet on the campaign trail.
Drama at the PAC
As Sinn Féin tries to draw a line under a series of controversies that have dogged the party for three weeks now, there could be further drama ahead at the Public Accounts Committee this morning.
Sinn Féin has decided to nominate Galway West TD Mairéad Farrell as the new chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, replacing Brian Stanley, who has quit the party citing the use of a “kangaroo court” on foot of a complaint.
As Jack Horgan-Jones reports today, the move looks set to prompt a bitter political clash, with the Labour Party indicating that it will not facilitate the nomination, while Government TDs have said they would not work with a new Sinn Féin chair of the PAC.
The nomination is expected to be discussed by the Dáil business committee today. As Ms Farrell is an existing member of the PAC, committee sources expect the next substantive step will be that her name will be sent to the Dáil for approval next week.
In Mr Stanley’s expected absence from the PAC meeting this morning, the committee’s deputy chair Catherine Murphy is due to chair the meeting.
Best Reads
Marie O’Halloran has more on the landmark legislation to regulate gambling which has been passed by the Oireachtas after, as O’Halloran reports, 17 years of planning and the involvement of six successive ministers in trying to progress it.
Going Undercover – Frank McNally on an exhibition about the Irish of the French Résistance
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has removed controversial provisions on hate speech from criminal justice legislation that the Seanad has passed, more than a year after it was last debated in the Upper House.
And here’s Jack Power’s Europe Letter, where he gives us a primer around what to expect from today’s EU Council meeting.
Prof Philip Nolan is no longer “chief executive designate” of the State’s new agency Research Ireland, Minister for Research, Innovation and Science Patrick O’Donovan has confirmed.
Playbook
Dáil Éireann
Proceedings kick off at 9am with questions to Tánaiste Micheál Martin followed by questions to Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan.
Leaders’ Questions are up at noon, followed by questions on policy or legislation. Government Business is scheduled with the Maternity Protection Bill, 2024, up, to allow elected reps access to maternity leave.
Topical Issues are up before 7pm and before the Dáil adjourns, there is scheduled time for a Private Members’ motion on the final report of the joint committee on assisted dying.
Seanad Éireann
Commencement Matters are up at 9.30am followed by the Order of Business at 10.30am. The Family Courts Bill, 2022, will undergo report and final stages and the Seanad adjourns in the afternoon.
Committees
At 9.30am, the joint committee on drug use will hold an engagement on a health-led approach with professors, doctors and representatives from An Garda Síochána.
At 1.30pm, the joint committee on transport and communications will discuss pre-legislative scrutiny of the National Cyber Security Bill, 2024, with representatives from Cyber Ireland.
The best of the rest can be found here.
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