Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Deputies cannot have their cake and eat it. If that had happened, those political charges would be very robustly put. The chairpersons of these tribunals would make the case in reply regarding some of these and I presume that correspondence is on the record.

The protraction of the work of this tribunal has in part been due to litigation involving a total of four sets of proceedings instituted by individuals connected with the tribunal's work, illness of witnesses and further material which came to light in the course of the Ansbacher investigation carried out by the authorised officer. This new material, which had to be considered by the tribunal, necessitated almost a further year's work by way of private investigation.

The methodology used by Mr. Justice Moriarty, who despite the protraction of the proceedings has been painstakingly exact in his work, has been about trying to avoid a case where the tribunal would take even longer were he to take a different course of action. He is trying to keep to a minimum the public hearings and get to the facts. This is a protracted and intricate financial issue which required painstaking investigation and inquiry.

In regard to the current procedure of finalising his report, I am not suggesting it is likely there will be public hearings. I cannot rule out a public hearing and I cannot say for certain there will not be one. It is unlikely if the current procedural stages of the tribunal's work can be completed smoothly. There will be no more if this comes about and we are in the final stages of this process.

Ultimately, this is not a court of law. The findings must be such that they cannot be challenged subsequently in court or not have the required effect. Mr. Justice Moriarty is ensuring the constitutional rights of all concerned parties are not in any way compromised. The question of constitutional and natural justice comes into play when an adverse finding is made against a person. It must be put to the person concerned. Mr. Justice Moriarty is ensuring the work stands the test of time and subsequent scrutiny.

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