The Role of the Oireachtas post Lisbon
Labour Party submission to the Joint Sub-Committee on the review of the role of the Oireachtas in European Affairs
Issued : Monday 5 July, 2010
Summary of main points
The main purpose of the Lisbon Treaty was to improve the functioning of the EU institutions and to make them more transparent and democratic. By extension the National Parliaments of the newly enlarged Union of twenty seven Member States needed to be more deeply involved in the "good functioning of the Union" (Article 12). Thus the democratic deficit would be addressed, a greater public awareness would be created and the EU would become more relevant to the lives of the citizens.
After two Referenda in 2007 and 2009 and having negotiated certain guarantees, Ireland finally approved the Lisbon Treaty by a margin of two to one. The Labour Party strongly supported the Lisbon Treaty and is determined that its provisions relating to the Oireachtas are fully implemented as quickly as possible.
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Summary
CURRENT SITUATION
The Oireachtas plays a largely passive role in EU matters at present. It is not represented on the EU institutions. The Taoiseach represents Ireland on the European Council along with the Heads of State of the other 26 Member States. Government Ministers represent Ireland on the Council of Ministers in Brussels. All the important decisions are taken at these meetings.
In 1973, after Ireland joined the European Economic Community (EEC), a Joint Committee of the Dáil and Seanad was established to deal with legislative proposals from the EU. Twenty years later in 1993 after the Maastricht Treaty added a political dimension to the EEC, the Committee on Secondary Legislation was replaced with a broader Joint Committee on EU Affairs. In 2002 when two Referenda were required to approve the Treaty of Nice and it became apparent that the public were sceptical of the increased political integration, the Labour Party proposed a new EU (Scrutiny) Bill to strengthen the watchdog role of the Oireachtas. Thus a new sub-committee on EU Scrutiny was established in 2002. This sub-committee was upgraded to a Joint Committee on EU Scrutiny in 2007.
Despite the increased role for Committees of the Oireachtas over the years, all decisions are still taken by the Government
At present the Minister for Foreign Affairs merely briefs the Joint Committee on European Affairs before attending Council meetings in Brussels. The Taoiseach merely briefs the Dáil on the conclusions of the European Council meetings in the week after the Council meetings. Cabinet ministers transpose EU legislative proposals into domestic law by means of statutory instrument thereby excluding the Dáil and Seanad from their primary legislative and watchdog functions.
NEW POWERS FOR NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS IN THE LISBON TREATY
Article 12 of the Treaty on the European Union outlines the new role of the Oireachtas post-Lisbon:
"National Parliaments contribute actively to the good functioning of the Union:
a) through being informed by the institutions of the Union and having draft legislative acts of the Union forwarded to them in accordance with the Protocol on the role of national Parliaments in
the European Union
b) by seeing to it that the principle of subsidiarity is respected in accordance with the procedures provided for in the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;
c) by taking part, within the framework of the area of freedom, security and justice, in the evaluation mechanisms for the implementation of the Union policies in that area, in accordance with Article 70 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and through being involved in the political monitoring of Europol and the evaluation of Eurojust's activities in accordance with Articles 88 and 85 of that Treaty;
d) by taking part in the revision procedures of the Treaties, in accordance with Article 48 of this Treaty;
e) by being notified of applications for accession to the Union, in accordance with Article 49 of this Treaty;
f) by taking part in the inter-parliamentary cooperation between national Parliaments and with the European Parliament, in accordance with the Protocol on the role of national Parliaments in the European Union"
The Labour Party is keenly aware that the new powers conferred by the Lisbon Treaty are conferred on National Parliaments not on Governments or Committees. It is the role of the National Parliament, namely, the Oireachtas that is being enhanced.
THE LABOUR PARTY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW OIREACHTAS POWERS
1. DOCUMENTS
Under the Lisbon Treaty provisions the Oireachtas is entitled, for the first time, to receive all documents produced by the EU Commission at the same time as the EU institutions and the Irish Government receive them.
All EU documents should be forwarded to the Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil and the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad who represent both Houses of the Oireachtas. They should transmit them to the Oireachtas library and the relevant Committees. Every TD and Senator should be informed of the documents as they arrive so that they can engage in EU matters that concern or interest them.
2. ANNUAL WORK PROGRAMME
a) The Commission produces its Draft Annual Work Programme in October/November for the following year. The week in which the 9th May, "Europe Day" falls should be the occasion for a week-long debate in the Dáil and Seanad on Ireland's priorities vis-a-vis the EU. The public should be invited to submit ideas prior to the debate. The Debate should review the national progress in implementing the current year's work programme. It should focus on indentifying the major issues of concern to Ireland for inclusion on the following year's EU Draft work Programme. The key issues identified by the Dáil and Seanad should be forwarded to the Commission by the Ceann Comhairle and the Cathaoirleach on behalf of the Oireachtas.
b) In alternate years the Dáil and Seanad should host a special conference during "Europe Day Week" on important EU issues with parliamentarians from some or all of the 27 Member States invited to participate.
c) The "Spring Semester" proposed by the Commission in recent weeks for a budget co-ordination between the 27 Member States could be rehearsed by the Oireachtas during this week.
3. JOINT OIREACHTAS COMMITTEES
a) Inevitably, much of the work related to the new powers conferred on National Parliaments will be carried out by the Members of the two EU Joint Oireachtas Committees - the Joint Committee on European Affairs and the Joint Committee on European Scrutiny - as well as the Sectoral Committees of the Oireachtas. The distinction between the sectoral Joint Committees which are presumed to deal with "national issues" and the JCEA and JCES which are responsible for European issues is now an entirely artificial one. Virtually no topic considered by any of the Oireachtas sectoral committees is untouched by developments at EU level.
Greater emphasis must be placed on deepening the involvement of the Sectoral Committees in EU matters and in sharing the workload. Standing Orders should oblige all Sectoral Committees to deal with EU matters that come within their remit within a defined period of time.
b) Joint Committees of the Houses of the Oireachtas should be supplemented by a system of Sub Committees drawn from the Joint Committees and a system of Rapporteurs drawn from the members of the Joint Committees and also from individual members of the Oireachtas who have a particular interest in an area of policy or scrutiny and who volunteer to carry out an in-depth study for the relevant Joint Committee.
c) The Joint Oireachtas Committees should play a major role in the most significant new power conferred on the Dáil and Seanad by the Lisbon Treaty. This is the power to ensure that the policies of the EU comply with the principle of Subsidiarity, namely that the EU does not overstep its competences under the Treaties and intrude in areas that are the preserve of the Member States.
Should any Joint Committee establish an opinion that the principle of subsidiarity has been breached the matter should be referred to the Dáil and Seanad for debate and determination. If both Houses agree that a breach has occurred then the decision is forwarded to the Commission and to the European Court of Justice.
Because there is only an eight week window of opportunity and because the collective agreement of at least nine Member States (seven in the case of Justice and Home Affairs) is required to activate the protocols relating to the breach of subsidiarity, a streamlined and standardised communications system will be required to create an early warning system for all twenty seven National Parliaments.
4. TRANSPOSING EU LEGISLATIVE MEASURES
a) The situation can no longer be tolerated where Irish Ministers enact primary and secondary EU draft legislation by statutory instrument. The checks and balances of parliamentary democracy are by-passed. The Parliamentary treatment accorded home-produced draft legislation must be extended to draft legislation initiated within the EU institutions.
b) The Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) prepared for Ministers on all EU Directives and significant Regulations should be forwarded automatically to the relevant sectoral Oireachtas Committees. These Committees should advise the Minister and the JCEA as to whether the transposition should take place by Statutory Instrument or by primary legislation. Where primary legislation is recommended the full Oireachtas plenary process should be followed.
The Seanad is well placed to share the extra burden of transposition of EU legislation which will inevitably arise through proper implementation of the Lisbon Treaty provisions. The Seanad can perform the same central role for legislative proposals coming from the EU Commission as the Dáil does for domestic proposals coming from the Irish Cabinet.
To strengthen the role and expertise of the Seanad in the transposition of EU legislative proposals, a new Seanad Vocational Panel consisting of five Senators should be established as recommended by the "Sub-Committee on Ireland's Future in the European Union (2008)". The new panel would not increase Seanad membership but would be part of reform of the existing panel system.
A bicameral parliamentary system is ideally suited to handle the corpus of EU legislation and thereby share the burden of work between the Dáil and Seanad.
5. OIREACHTAS ACCOUNTABILITY
Major decisions are made at Council meetings by Government Ministers at the Europe and at European Council meetings by Government Heads of State which are not subject to any input from the Oireachtas or its Committees. The Government is treating the Oireachtas with disdain and the Oireachtas is failing in its duty to hold the Government to account in EU matters.
a) Ministers
All Ministers should be obliged to appear before their respective Joint Committees or before the Joint Committee on European Affairs prior to travelling to Brussels for meetings of the Council where decisions are made.
Ministers should not agree to proposals in the Council until the Oireachtas scrutiny of these proposals has been completed.
A Scrutiny Reserve system should be established requiring Ministers to await the outcome of the Oireachtas scrutiny process before agreeing to proposals in the Council. The Scrutiny Act (2002) should be amended accordingly.
b) The Taoiseach
At present the Taoiseach attends monthly meetings of the European Council and merely informs the Dáil of the Council's conclusions a week or two later. This is worse than useless in terms of Oireachtas oversight and accountability.
The Taoiseach should be obliged to address the Oireachtas prior to attending European Council meetings and engage with the Oireachtas members in debate on issues of national significance and concern.
6. ADDRESSING THE DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT
The main reasons for deepening the role of National Parliaments in EU affairs are to reduce the democratic deficit and to heighten awareness of the EU amongst the public and their elected representatives.
a) The Oireachtas should link up with the offices of the European Commission and European Parliament in Ireland to maximise their joint remit to communicate Europe to the Irish people.
b) An Oireachtas information Office should be established in the grounds of Leinster House to inform the 50,000 (approx.) people who visit the Houses of the Oireachtas annually.
c) The European Commission and European Parliament offices should organise outreach programmes, meetings and competitions, particularly, in schools throughout the country to which TDs and Senators could be invited to participate.
d) The Oireachtas in plenary debates and in Sectoral Committees should engage the public by inviting participation particularly through electronic means of communication. This would be especially relevant and useful when debating the big issues of Subsidiarity, the Draft Annual Work Programme and EU Green and White Papers.
7. THE CITIZENS' INITIATIVE
The new EU Citizens' Initiative has the potential to assist each and every citizen to place directly on the Agenda of the EU matters of deep concern to them.
A similar Citizens' Initiative should be established for Irish citizens to enable them to make a direct input into the agenda of the Oireachtas and thus participate directly in the democratic process.
