The Government's legislative programme for the coming Dail term, to be published today, is expected to include a new Children's Bill and, for the first time, a commitment to update the law on defamation.
The controversial Planning Bill published last month by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, is expected to be given priority in the new Dail term which begins on Wednesday.
The programme, approved at last week's Cabinet meeting, is divided into three sections. Only the Bills before the Dail and Seanad from the last term, and those expected to be published in the new session, are likely to be enacted in the coming months. Two pieces of legislation from the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands are likely to be passed by the Oireachtas in the coming session. The Broadcasting Bill will take account of developments in digital television, while the Wildlife Protection Bill will update the laws to comply with international conventions.
The age of criminal responsibility will be raised from seven to 12 under the new Children's Bill. During the rainbow administration the minister of State with responsibility for children, Mr Austin Currie, proposed a similar piece of legislation. However, with the change of government in 1997 it was not enacted and the present Government said it would introduce its own legislation on children.
The new Mental Health Bill will seek to establish, for the first time, the rights of patients in mental institutions.
The proposal to introduce new defamation legislation is likely to see the existing Defamation Act of 1961 repealed. The new Bill, which is unlikely to become law for at least 12 months, is expected to draw heavily on the recommendations contained in the 1996 Commission on the Newspaper Industry and also a 1991 Law Reform Commission report on the subject.
The new defamation law is likely to include a statutory provision clarifying the concept of qualified privilege. It is also expected to allow, for the first time, an action to be taken by the immediate family members of a person who is dead at the time of the publication of the defamatory material.