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Labour Bill will permit inquiry by parliamentary committee

Issued : Wednesday 13 January, 2010

Government uses 'Abbeylara excuse' to refuse DIRT-style Bank Inquiry -

Since the Supreme Court decision in the Abbeylara case (Maguire V Ardagh [2002] 1 IR 385) the Government has insinuated into public discourse the view that, arising from that case, inquiry by Parliamentary Committee is no longer feasible. Any fair analysis of the Judgements given by the Supreme Court in that case would show that this was never intended to be the case.

In fact, the order made by the Court in Abbeylara was "that the conducting by the Joint Oireachtas Sub-Committee of an inquiry into the fatal shooting at Abbeylara on the 20th day of April, 2000 capable of leading to adverse findings of fact and conclusions (including a finding of unlawful killing) as to the personal culpability of an individual not a member of the Oireachtas so as to impugn his or her good name is ultra vires in that the holding of such an inquiry is not within the inherent powers of the Houses of the Oireachtas."

I believe that a parliamentary power of inquiry is necessary and intrinsic to the proper functioning of a representative, responsible, parliamentary democracy. And I believe it is clear that our State is the poorer - and has functioned more poorly - in the absence of a system where those who exercise authority in our State can be called to account for their performance in office. An Oireachtas stripped of power suits government. It does not suit the people.

The first issue therefore dealt with in this Bill is the question of legal authority on the part of the Houses of the Oireachtas, through their committees, to conduct inquiries. When the Oireachtas enacted the Committees of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Compellability, Privileges and Immunities of Witnesses) Bill 1997 giving to committees the power to compel witnesses it did so in the belief that there existed the prior power to conduct an inquiry. The Courts have held otherwise and we must address that defect.

Accordingly a major portion of this Bill is addressed to the purposes for which the Houses require such a power and then with the grant of that power.

Secondly our Bill makes explicit that an Oireachtas Committee must not consider, and has no power to decide or report upon, findings or opinions on any individual's civil or criminal liability or to make findings which could reasonably be seen to attribute civil or criminal liability to any individual.

Thirdly, our Bill envisages a two-stage process analogous to the process used in the DIRT Inquiry. Therefore sections 7, 8 and 9 allow for preliminary investigation under direction of the committee by a person or persons with appropriate expertise. Such an investigator (or investigators) may, for example,

"provide an expert opinion and recommendations to the committee in relation to the matters the subject of the investigation, including the manner in which relevant laws, regulations, administrative systems, procedures and practices have been employed and applied, identifying in particular -

(i) any defects in planning, information-gathering and information-analysis on the part of public authorities,

(ii) any other defects in systems of regulation and oversight on the part of public authorities,

(iii) any systematic default on the pat of regulated persons or bodies in their duty to comply with relevant regulations,

(iv) any defects in relevant laws or regulations."

I am tabling this Bill on behalf if the Labour Party in order to address a defect in legislation governing powers of the Dail and Seanad, through their committees, to conduct inquiries into matters of public concern. Members of Dáil Eireann are not prosecutors or judges or juries. But we are legislators. Our primary job is to frame the laws by which this State is governed.

And our legislature must have the power to acquire and consider information as to how the laws we make are administered on a day to day basis.

The gradual erosion of the standing of Parliament vis-à-vis the Executive in recent years is undermining the quality of our democracy. The legal capacity of Parliament to conduct inquiry by parliamentary committee, with powers of compellability where necessary, will go some way towards restoring the standing of Parliament. The DIRT Inquiry of more than a decade ago demonstrated in a very tangible way the importance of parliament being more than a creature of the Executive.

I hope that, in the interests of enhancing the democratic process, the Government will facilitate the early enactment of this Bill.