Committee chair wants OTB passed by 'summer recess'

RTÉ News​

2 days ago

The chair of the Oireachtas committee which will examine the Government version of the Occupied Territories Bill has said he wants to see it passed into law "by the summer recess".
Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart also said he wants to see services from what the bill describes as the occupied territories included, but said both issues are dependent on the views of all committee members and whether they receive the necessary information in time.
Speaking with RTÉ News, the chair of the Oireachtas committee on foreign affairs said the cross-party group will receive the heads of the bill of the potential legislation once it is drawn up by the Department of Foreign Affairs and signed off on by the Cabinet.
Asked if he believes this will give the committee enough time to examine the bill in a process known as pre-legislative scrutiny, and for the Dáil and Seanad to pass the bill by the Oireachtas summer recess which begins on 18 July, Mr Lahart said he believes it does.
"I think it's very possible [for the bill to pass through the committee in June before being sent to the Dail and Seanad]. I have begun a series of conversations with the members of the committee and I think everybody's very keen and very anxious to expedite the bill as quickly as possible.
"If we can process it, it depends on how quickly we can get the information we need, but put it this way - the foreign affairs committee and me as chair will ensure we will do our best to ensure the bill is processed as quickly as possible and hopefully before the summer recess.
"I want to see it passed by the summer recess," he said.
Asked about whether services from the occupied territories should also be included in the bill alongside goods - an issue which is continuing to cause political and legal division over whether doing so would leave the potential law open to a legal challenge - Mr Lahart said it should and said "I support the inclusion of services in the bill".
"Clearly I'm at the mercy of the members of the committee. But, again, I think there's support for this.
"My sense is they're [the members] all supportive of services being in the bill as well," he said.
The foreign affairs committee is made up of nine TDs and five senators.
Of the nine TDs, three are from Fianna Fáil, John Lahart, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, and Shay Brennan, two from Fine Gael, Brian Brennan and Noel McCarthy, two from Sinn Féin, Cathy Bennett, and Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, one from Labour, Duncan Smith, and one from Independent Ireland, Ken O Flynn.
Of the five senators, two are from Fine Gael, Garret Ahearn and Joe O'Reilly, one from Fianna Fáil, Fiona O'Loughlin, one from the Social Democrats, Patricia Stephenson, and an independent senator Alice Mary Higgins.