One of the services that the Oireachtas Library and Research Service provides for members is a Bills Digest Service and I received a copy of the digest that has been prepared for Oireachtas members on the Civil Partnership Bill.

The purpose of the Bills Digest Service is to aid Members in the scrutiny of legislation by providing timely, accessible briefings on legislation before the Houses. The Bills Digest series is a companion service to our Debate Pack Service which aims to provide Members with selected secondary source material for upcoming legislative debates in a convenient format.

Now we know how members may get the info for their speeches apart from lobby groups and indeed I’m looking forward to blogging the speeches during the debates in both houses.

I’ve not read the entire document but note it’s has a summary of the work that has been done to date on researching (stalling!) and debating the issue. There’s some examination of the costs in the UK.

Have a look and see what you think yourself.

Civil Partnership Bills 2009 – Digest for Oireachtas Members