Organisation information
Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government (OPC)
From Office of the Attorney General
Published on
Last updated on
From Office of the Attorney General
Published on
Last updated on
The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government ("the OPC") provides a professional legislative drafting service to the Government. The mission of the OPC is to draft Bills on behalf of the Government, and statutory instruments on behalf of the Government and Ministers of the Government, to a consistently high standard. Bills are enacted by the Oireachtas and more information on the legislative process can be found at Houses of the Oireachtas - How laws are made.
Primary legislation (Government Bills) and some secondary legislation (statutory instruments including regulations and Government orders) of varying complexity and urgency are drafted by the specialist lawyers in the OPC (known as Parliamentary Counsel) to give effect to Government policy and to give effect to EU legislation in Irish law.
The OPC is also responsible for drafting Government amendments to Bills (including Private Members’ Bills) at the Committee Stage and Report Stage of a Bill’s progression through the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The work of the OPC enables the Government to implement its Legislation Programme. The OPC works closely with the Government Legislation Committee in relation to Bills given priority by the Government.
The OPC is led by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel and is divided into four drafting groups. Each group has responsibility for providing drafting services to a specific number of Government Departments and is managed by a Parliamentary Counsel who allocates and monitors work within the Group.
Parliamentary Counsel are trained to a high level in the discipline of drafting legislation that, in addition to giving legislative effect to the policy of the Government, must be constitutionally sound, take into account the wider legal system and be clear and effective.
The first Parliamentary Draftsman, Arthur Matheson, was appointed before the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 and he worked with the Law Officer of the Irish Provisional Government. When the Law Officer of the Provisional Government became the Attorney General, the Office of the Parliamentary Draftsman remained with him. In September 2000 the name of the Office was changed from the Office of the Parliamentary Draftsman to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government.
The Government Legislation Committee (GLC) is chaired by the Government Chief Whip and its members include the Attorney General, the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, the Programme Managers of the main parties in Government, the Leader of Seanad Éireann and representatives of the Department of the Taoiseach and the OPC.
The OPC works closely with the GLC in ensuring that the Government Legislation Programme is carried out. The purpose of the GLC is to assist the Government in agreeing legislative priorities for the current parliamentary session and to oversee the carrying out of the Government Legislation Programme.
Before the commencement of each Dáil session the Government publishes its legislative priorities for that session. The GLC is involved in preparing the publication of legislative priorities. The legislative priorities set out in the publication determine the work programme for the OPC for that Dáil session.
The role of a Parliamentary Counsel involves:
The work of a Parliamentary Counsel can relate to a broad range of subject matter and areas of law, including: