Private Members' Bills

Information

In Ireland, all proposals for new laws (in other words, Acts of Parliament) start life as Bills. Proposals for laws that apply to the general public are called 'Public Bills'. Proposals for laws that are promoted by local authorities and private bodies or individuals for their own purposes are called 'Private Bills'. In general, Private Bills are very rare.

A Private Member's Bill can be initiated by any member of either of the houses of Parliament (that is, the Dáil or Seanad), regardless of his or her political affiliation.

Like Government legislation the Private Member's Bill must be passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas. In practice, the Government opposes all Private Members' Bills so it is very rare that a Bill will survive to become legislation.

Sometimes, Private Members' Bills are initiated by members of Parliament (the Oireachtas) simply to draw attention to an issue or to focus public debate on a gap in the law.

For example, in 1979, Fine Gael (a political party in Ireland) initiated a Private Member's Ombudsman Bill. This Bill was defeated but the debate that surrounded the issue prompted the Government to introduce similar legislation.