Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That is what I thought.

Deputy Lawlor talked about the costs associated with the Moriarty and Mahon tribunals and posited the view, one with which few would disagree, that they were very large and excessive. That is one of the reasons we need to have a cost-effective system of conducting inquiries. I believe the framework we are putting in place will do that.

Deputy Harris commented on several issues which I hope we will be able to tease out on Committee Stage in some detail.

Deputy Healy-Rae asked about the right of the people to get answers to important questions. That is what this legislation is about. Quite often what passes for debate or inquiry in the Dáil is rhetoric. All of us - I do not exclude myself - are very capable of grandstanding on issues. It is harder work on a committee to grind down to issues, trawl through facts and read documentation. That is the real work we have to set ourselves.

My constituency colleague, Deputy Twomey, made a thoughtful contribution to the Bill, for which I thank him. He raised the issue of the advice available to committees and the appropriate role of the Attorney General. The Attorney General is the legal adviser to the Government and, therefore, would not be advising House committees. There is a parliamentary legal adviser, however, an area which may need to be strengthened as we bed down the inquiries system.

Deputy Kevin Humphreys raised the need for committees to be properly resourced, a matter I touched upon earlier.

Deputy Kyne spoke about the public demand to hold people to account. All Deputies interact every day with people. We know people have endured much in the past four years, by and large with a degree of stoicism and forbearance which has not been replicated in other countries, such as Greece and Cyprus, which have also gone through difficult times. There is a demand, however, from the Irish people that those who made disastrous decisions be held to account and an explanation given as to why these events occurred.

We have a separation of powers and a robust constitutional protection of individual citizens’ rights. That is all well and good until someone is on the wrong side of that and one wants to ensure one’s individual rights are fully exercised. It is a view held by many that the wheels of justice are grinding very slowly in these matters. These are in the hands of others, however. It is right and proper that we respect others to do that difficult task. As long as it is not an issue for lack of resources or another matter that we should respond to, we should let these matters be dealt with by the competent authorities. Accountability is what the people expect and demand.

Deputy Dara Murphy said the House must stand confidently to exercise its authority and powers in the absence of a Seanad, if the people decide to abolish it. That is a point I touched upon earlier.

Deputy McGuinness raised several points which we will deal with on Committee Stage. I thank him for his thoughtful contribution

Deputy Farrell asked if an inquiry will be limited only to former Ministers and about the nature of such an inquiry. The Government accepted my recommendation that it would be wrong for the Executive to be prescriptive in the drawing up of an inquiry’s terms of reference, what should be inquired into or who should do it. This is an enabling Bill that gives that responsibility back to Parliament. In advance of the vote on the inquiries referendum, I told the committee we expected to be in charge of inquiries and determining who should conduct them that this should not be a matter for the Government, but for Parliament reasserting itself.

When this legislation is enacted, there will be a responsibility on all parties and Members to reflect on this new measure because it will require new Standing Orders and rules of the House to be drawn up within 50 days. I hope Members will think about this in the interim, as we can tease out these matters on Committee Stage. However, there will be a responsibility on the Oireachtas to deal with this issue. I have dealt with the other issues raised by Deputy Murphy.

I reiterate that parliamentary inquiries under this legislation can be cost effective, efficient and resilient against legal challenges provided they are focused on the terms of reference and comply with the rules of fair procedure, which are set out. The Bill provides all the constitutional safeguards to protect the rights of individuals consistent with the result of the referendum and the view of the people and the proper rulings of the courts.

I thank all Members for a constructive, comprehensive and overarching debate. I look forward to debating these matters in a few weeks on Committee Stage and putting this framework in place in order that the real role of Parliament can march onwards.

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