Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to contribute to the debate on this proposal. I take this opportunity to express my sympathy to the family of the late John Carty. There has long been a demand for an effective system of parliamentary inquiry to deal with such matters as the tragedy that occurred at Abbeylara. However, like Deputy Billy Timmins, I urge that we tread with care. I was particularly interested in Deputy Timmins's comments regarding his experience of Army courts martial. It is unfortunate that this proposal is being rushed through the House because of the election deadline. We must get this right because if we fail to do so, we may deny justice to somebody.

The public is yearning for an inquiry system that is effective and which also embodies openness and transparency. The tribunals have been nothing short of a farce, sitting for too long and at great financial cost with too little to show for it. Some have cost hundreds of millions of euro but nobody can lift their reports let alone read them. The DIRT inquiry was an example of an Oireachtas inquiry which did good work in an efficient manner. Deputy Jerry Buttimer referred to the Whip system. I was a member of a committee in the last Dáil which sought to extend the remit of the lost at sea scheme. Although I was outside the Whip by that time, it was clear that members of the Government parties were under great pressure to support Ministers no matter what they did. Without casting aspersions on anybody, I am concerned that in a situation where the Whip is applied in respect of parliamentary inquiries, this Government's huge majority will mean we do not get a fair and unbiased result.

The recent changes to the committee system are silly, leaving us with individual committees whose membership is too large and structure too unwieldy. I was a member of both the agriculture and communications committees in the last Dáil, which have now been amalgamated into one. That type of cumbersome structure makes it more difficult to conduct effective inquiries. There is an obligation on the State to be accountable to the public in these matters.

I hope we get it right. The public wants to see Oireachtas committees doing their job. As other Deputies stated, it is unthinkable in this day and age that when a serious matter arises in this country in respect of which we want to examine the costs in terms of damage and so on, we cannot hold a short, fast inquiry. The very mention of the word "tribunal" is an anathema to most people because of the abuse of tribunals by barristers and others, who hijacked them, and because of the high rates allowed by the taxing master, which were untenable. I am sure we are being watched with envy by members of the Law Library in regard to our debate on this legislation.

Yesterday, I along with other Independent colleagues, attended a briefing on this legislation which left me unsure about it. With no disrespect to the official concerned, what I learned from that briefing is that officials draft Bills and that politicians who must vote and enact them have little input into them. The official had to correct himself a number of times in terms of assumptions and belief that the Cabinet would pass the Bill and so on. I knew from his body language and statements that it is officials who draft Bills. They are not accountable to anyone. We are accountable to the public and rightly so. We must make haste slowly.

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