Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

The events of the time are well documented. The heavy gang operated under the then Minister for Justice, Mr. Paddy Cooney, and we had brutality, seven days' detention and the denial of basic human rights. These are known facts.

Part 4 includes provisions for appointments to tribunals. The absence of a requirement to secure Oireachtas approval gives the Minister too much discretion in the making of appointments. The Bill lacks and would benefit from the inclusion of explicit progressive criteria for suitable appointees and a transparent, merit-based mechanism for identifying and approving the appointment of members of a tribunal.

The Government may dissolve a tribunal with the approval of the Oireachtas. While it must state its reasons for so doing, the Bill, as drafted, does not limit what these reasons may be. The Bill should explicitly provide that a tribunal of inquiry may only be dissolved prior to the submission of its final report for extraordinary and compelling reasons which clearly outweigh the public interest in the tribunal completing its work. On the requirement to secure the approval of the Oireachtas for dissolving a tribunal, we have had many cases of Government Deputies and Ministers rowing in behind a Minister, irrespective of their personal position on an issue. Effectively, therefore, a Government can do as it wishes provided it has a majority in the House.

The Bill would also benefit greatly from the inclusion of provisions allowing for an international dimension to inquiries, in particular where there is a possibility of State collusion in serious human rights abuses.

When the Bill was first published, Deputy Ó Snodaigh wrote to the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. Michael McDowell, outlining Sinn Féin's concerns. The Government has discussed these matters with my party's leadership team. Despite our best efforts to have the Bill withdrawn, the Government seems determined to press ahead. It is an astonishing affront to democracy that the Fianna Fáil Party, with the support of the Green Party and remaining Independent Deputies, is pressing ahead with this legislation. It will not be lost on members of the public that a Government led by Fianna Fáil, the political party most associated with being on the wrong side of tribunal investigations, is seeking power to stifle such processes. Former Ministers who came before tribunals in the recent past were responsible for decisions which were not in the national interest. I refer specifically to the decision to give away our natural resources which should be exploited for the benefit of the people.

Many people inside and outside the House have serious concerns about this legislation. A much better mechanism could be established. Insufficient consideration has been given to the provisions of the Bill and in the interests of justice and truth, I call on the Taoiseach to withdraw it for the reasons outlined.

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