Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

It was the courts that made the decision although the Oireachtas set up the inquiry within the Houses of the Oireachtas. I was involved in the DIRT inquiry and at that time there was significant debate as to whether the Houses of the Oireachtas had the right or ability to carry out an inquiry. They had, and they did it. There were legal questions raised at the time, but some of us were of the view that we had the legal authority to conduct an inquiry within the Houses of the Oireachtas.

It would save taxpayers significant amounts of money if parliamentary inquiries, for which there is already provision, could be undertaken within the House. It is not true to say that they would be biased, because both Government and Opposition would be equally represented on such inquiries. That would be a requirement. In such cases, no accusations of political bias, good, bad or indifferent, could be made because of the make-up of the inquiry. Taxpayers could be saved significant expense if many of the issues that have arisen and been dealt with by tribunals of inquiry were referred instead to the Houses of the Oireachtas to be examined under the terms of previous sworn inquiries and using the compellability of witnesses legislation — which is already approved by the Houses — to ensure that people who do not wish to come before an inquiry are compelled to do so. This is something we should consider.

The cost of the DIRT inquiry was in the region of €900,000 and the net benefit to the Exchequer was approximately €1.4 billion. The inquiry took approximately three to four months to complete its work. Most of the inquiries we are talking about now have taken years. Members have come and gone in the House in the length of time these inquiries have taken.

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