Final amendments should be sent from a Member's Oireachtas email to the Bills Office, although Members and their staff may complete the steps to draft an amendment.
Before starting
Get a copy of the Bill and explanatory memorandum, if published. Make sure you are using the latest version of the Bill. If the Bill has been amended on a previous Stage, it may have been republished and you will need the "as amended " version. The Bills Office will provide a link to the correct version of the Bill in the email notifying Members of the amendment deadline.
How amendments work
Amendments work by changing the text of a Bill. Amendments to the text of Bills may be made on Committee or Report Stage in either House. Amendments generally delete text, parts or sections. They may also substitute text with new text or insert text, parts or sections.
Structure of amendments
Identify precisely the text you propose to amend by reference to page and line numbers.
All amendments will commence with reference to the page number. For example, "In page X, …" is a common structure for amendments.
The Bills Office will edit amendments according to this structure. However, Members should try to use the structure where possible.
Examples of amendments
Substituting
If substituting only a few words, quote the words that you wish to delete and substitute in full.
Example:
In page 6, lines 24 and 25, to delete "such day as the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government may by order appoint" and substitute "the 30th day of March 2020".
Deleting
If deleting only a few words, quote the words that you wish to delete in full.
Example:
In page 8, line 4, to delete "and".
If deleting entire lines of text, quote the line numbers you wish to delete in full.
Example:
In page 8, to delete lines 8 to 12.
Inserting
If inserting text in a specific place in a line, detail the precise point in the line where the text is to be inserted.
Example:
In page 8, line 15, after "period" to insert "and any notice so served shall be null and void.".
If inserting a new section, you should adhere to the standard formatting of sections. Include the title of your section, its number and divide the section into subsection numbers, paragraphs and clauses if this is so required.
The Bills Office may change the location of new sections should the subject matter be more relevant to a different part of the Bill.
Related amendments
Amendments may require related amendments to make them effective, such as to update section numbers in inserted text. The Bills Office will advise on any such amendments where possible.
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Last Updated: Thu, 31 Oct 2024