Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

All I can say to the Deputy is that the Oireachtas, when establishing tribunals, must be mindful of wide and comprehensive terms of reference pertaining to matters of great intricacy and complexity which in some cases require worldwide searches in order to reach conclusions. This is the case in respect of some of the issues we have asked the sole member of the Moriarty tribunal to investigate. The view that we can operate without expertise or employing people to answer the questions that arise should comprise a prominent part of the debate that takes place before we establish such tribunals. From my recollection of the setting up of many tribunals such as the Moriarty tribunal, I understand that view did not gain much currency in the relevant debates. While it is important to investigate matters of public interest, it is only afterwards that people start to hold this view.

Under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act we asked the sole member of the Moriarty tribunal to inquire into matters of urgent public importance, yet, for a range of reasons I outlined in previous replies, we are still awaiting the final report. There are reasons for this and I do not criticise the sole member in this regard. The reasons include the requirement for co-operation of witnesses before a tribunal.

It is only fair to say that in the aftermath of the beef tribunal, we were told we must be very slow to engage in such a process again, yet we engaged in a plethora of tribunals. It was a decision of the Oireachtas to do so and that is the way it is. However, we must take into account the fact that public hearings are not necessarily the only way in which matters of importance can be investigated. They are sometimes, but not necessarily always, appropriate. The tribunals of inquiry legislation that was brought through the House by former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, constituted a very clear effort to find an alternative way to investigate such matters in a more expeditious and less costly manner.

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