The Government is to establish four new joint Oireachtas committees, including a new committee on children to agree the wording of a proposed referendum on child protection, The Irish Timeshas learned.
The plans also include a new committee to oversee the implementation of the Belfast Agreement. The establishment of such a committee at this time is seen as a reflection of recent developments in the North.
Under a strategy drawn up by Government Chief Whip Tom Kitt, there will also be a new committee on the Constitution, which will replace the previous all-party committee on the Constitution.
A new administration committee, which will be an amalgamation of the joint house services committee and the members' services committee, will make recommendations on the service requirements of the two Houses of the Oireachtas and their members.
The Oireachtas committee set up to investigate the behaviour of Judge Brian Curtin will be discontinued. A referendum on child protection could be held next year, possibly at the same time as a poll on the new EU treaty.
Mr Kitt confirmed yesterday that he has agreed the establishment of the four new committees with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. It will bring to 21 the number of such committees in the new Oireachtas.
He said he was hopeful that they will be up and running in the coming weeks, after a Dáil debate on the matter, scheduled for next Thursday, is completed.
Plans for the new committees form part of a package of measures for significant reform of the committee system put forward by Mr Kitt and circulated to party whips in recent days. However, exact details of the make-up of the committees, including their terms of reference and who will chair them, are the subject of ongoing negotiations between Fianna Fáil and the Opposition parties. It is understood that particular differences of opinion have emerged between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
"I'm very keen to move on this and to drive these radical reforms," Mr Kitt said. "I would hope to move very quickly to establish the committees following the debate next Thursday."
According to a memo circulated in recent days, it is proposed that departmental spending would be subjected to increased scrutiny by committees, possibly through quarterly reviews.
Such scrutiny would aim to build on a range of reforms introduced by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen over the last two years, as well as his recent announcement of plans for a unified budget from next December.
The proposed reforms also include a new parliamentary oversight mechanism to ensure that policy issues don't "fall between" committees and to avoid conflict over responsibility.
This proposal is seen as a response to the fact that a number of Ministers of State have specific responsibilities which cut across several departments. Under the proposals, one committee would take the lead on an issue but would facilitate contributions from other interested committees.
Mr Kitt has also proposed a programme of e-consultation to increase public interaction with the Oireachtas. Schools might be encouraged to allow pupils to watch certain Oireachtas proceedings over the internet via webcasts or television coverage.