Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support what Deputy Deasy said. When the commission of inquiry legislation was going through the Houses in 2004 and 2005, that was very much the intent behind it. The legislation was seen as creating a viable alternative to the tribunals, which were perceived as being open-ended and costing the taxpayer an arm and a leg. The purpose of the commissions of investigation was to be specific. It was to focus the structure and the operation of the inquiry so it would be done with the maximum result but with minimum cost to the State. The legislation put in place a dual structure in respect of the legal system on the one hand and non-engagement with the legal system on the other hand. That combination of approaches would have to be achieved correctly to ensure that a vast quantity of money was not being spent, particularly by the engagement of major legal teams. This particular case highlights that. With regard to the Fennelly report and the IBRC, it would be worthwhile if we could find a mechanism to review the situation in terms of cost to the taxpayer in the context of the Committee of Public Accounts seeing how we could deal with it here to get some guidance and direction on the expenditure of taxpayers' money.