Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not believe anybody in this committee questioned the PLA, Mellissa English's, independence or the quality of her advice. It is important to state that, so no incorrect inference can be drawn. However, I understood from our conversation at the last meeting that the concern was to get a second opinion. The committee is breaking new ground. There is no established set of experiences with compellability. The legislation is new and the guidelines adopted by the Committee on Procedure and Privileges are new. In that context it is entirely reasonable for the committee to seek outside legal advice. It is not necessarily tied up with the workload of the PLA, although that workload is considerable as we are all aware.

It appears from the letter that there might have been a misunderstanding on two counts: first, that we were questioning the independence or quality of the advice, which we were not; second, that the dilemma was about workload, which it is not. The dilemma for the committee is that it is breaking new ground and must get this right. That is the reason a committee such as this would seek outside legal advice and counsel. I am not sure how we should proceed. We are anxious to get the advice and move this matter along. There is nothing to be gained by stalling matters any further. However, I am not inclined to let it go at that with the PLA. I would be inclined to revert to the PLA again, through the clerk, and explain more clearly the reason we want the advice. Ultimately, we are the elected members of this committee and we are charged with the public responsibility of pursuing matters. Some weight in the decision making must be given to the view of the committee.