Dáil back in Leinster House on Sept 15 after summer break

The Dáil will return to Leinster House from its current base at the Convention Centre, on September 15. While no rent is charged to the Oireachtas, it costs between €21,000 and €25,000 per day to move sittings to the other side of the River Liffey.

The Dáil will return to Leinster House on September 15, according to an outline plan of the Houses of the Oireachtas service.

The plan has been presented to the Dáil Business Committee ahead of the summer recess which will begin today.

The document, seen by the Irish Examiner, says that the outline plan will be finalised before the house resumes in September and the advice has "been informed by consultations with NPHET and health and safety advice from Éamon O’Boyle & Associates".

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The Dáil is currently sitting at the Convention Centre, but the document envisages a return at the start of the autumn session. This means that the Dáil will be out of its chamber at the Leinster House complex for the first nine months of the year. While no rent is charged to the Oireachtas, it costs between €21,000 and €25,000 per day to move sittings to the other side of the River Liffey.

The document says that a return is possible due to the "exceptional" takeup of vaccines.

"NPHET has advised that there has been an exceptional high take up of the vaccination programme. This provides a strong basis for the return of Dáil Éireann to Leinster House subject to certain Health & Safety controls.

"Accordingly, it is intended that the Dáil, alongside the Seanad and Committees will resume their normal sitting patterns — Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday each week — with effect from 15 September, 2021."

It says that masks, social distancing, and remote working will remain in place and committees will continue to use MS Teams for private sessions, but sittings of the Dáil will return to the chamber. 

Voting of the full 160 TDs will take place in person with a management plan to be developed. Ventilation will be improved and CO2 levels monitored. Committees will, however, remain at two hours per meeting, though this will be reviewed, and witnesses will continue to give evidence remotely.