Oireachtas committees: Sinn Féin takes chair of powerful PAC

An Oireachtas committee meeting in 2023. The Government will take on chairs of the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Transport, Education, European Affairs, Agriculture, Enterprise, Climate, Members Interests, Children and Artificial Intelligence.

Sinn Féin will take the chair of the powerful Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC), it has been announced following a behind-closed-doors meeting on Thursday. 

As well as the PAC, Sinn Féin takes up the chairs of the Finance, Justice, Disability Matters, Defence, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, and Public Petitions committees.

Sinn Féin's top picks were Finance and Justice, while the Government opted for the Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery. Sinn Féin's chairing of the PAC is in keeping with long-standing convention as the largest opposition party.

The Social Democrats will take on the chairs of the Health and Drug Use committees, while Labour will chair the committees on the Arts and Travelling Community.

The Independent and Parties Technical Group — which contains independents Seamus Healy, Brian Stanley and Catherine Connolly, along with People Before Profit's Richard Boyd Barrett, Ruth Coppinger and Paul Murphy as well as Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman and Charles Ward of the 100% Redress Party — is to chair the Committee on the Irish Language, with Ms Connolly expected to take on this role.

The Regional Independent Group is not large enough to receive its own committee chairs but will be given chairs from the Government allocation, it is understood. 

The Government will take on chairs of the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Transport, Education, European Affairs, Agriculture, Enterprise, Climate, Members Interests, Children and Artificial Intelligence.

The Independent Technical Group — Independent Ireland's three TDs, Áontú's two TDs and Paul Gogarty — will chair the Budgetary Oversight Committee.

The Social Democrats received a second chair position after Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy ruled that Dublin Bay South TD Eoin Hayes will be counted as part of the party for the divvying up of top committee jobs, despite remaining suspended from the party.

The party argued that Mr Hayes was still a member of the Social Democrats parliamentary party, as part of efforts to secure a second €10,000 per year committee chair job.

There was pushback on the party’s proposal, with Labour sources describing the efforts to use Mr Hayes to get an extra position as “dishonest”.