Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann, pursuant to Standing Order 107E, shall consider the Report of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges entitled 'Relevant report on the relevant proposal for a banking inquiry under Standing Orders and the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013', copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 21st November, 2014.

This report comes about under the Oireachtas inquiry system established by the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013. The Act, and the Standing Orders which flow from it, give the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, chaired by the Ceann Comhairle, the responsibility for evaluating inquiry proposals, and making recommendations to the House. Such a report must be considered by the Dáil before the terms of reference are approved.

Given that this was the first time under the new Oireachtas inquiry system that the Committee on Procedure and Privileges was called upon to evaluate such a relevant proposal, all steps were taken to be comprehensive in our approach. The committee met on four occasions to discuss the proposals and received expert advice and legal assistance in carrying out this function.

All too often some members of the media and some commentators like to play up the disputes that take place in the Dáil Chamber as a symptom of some problem with Irish democracy. All too rarely do these same members of the media and commentators focus on the productive work that takes place in the Oireachtas committees. In their work in Oireachtas committees, Deputies and Senators put aside their political differences to work together on legislation, on reports and on new initiatives such as pre-legislative scrutiny. I believe that, as a result of the reforms introduced in the Dáil, Oireachtas committees now play a more vital and central role in our Parliament than ever before.

All the members of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, regardless of political background, approached this work in a professional way and engaged fully in the process. I acknowledge the work of all members of the CPP for that. The Chair of the committee, An Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Seán Barrett, was determined to make sure that the committee fulfilled it role under the Act and Standing Orders. The Ceann Comhairle, the CPP members and the Oireachtas staff worked with the appropriate legal and expert advice to provide the Dáil with a complete and detailed report.

Following its consideration of the relevant proposal of the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis, the CPP considers that the proposed banking inquiry should be conducted; it should be conducted by the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis, which has to date operated on the basis of consensus and has already acquired some expertise in regard to the matters proposed to be inquired into; it should be conducted as a section 7 inquiry under the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Act 2013 - this inquiry could add significant value and increase the public's understanding of what went wrong and help to prevent a repeat of the failed policies that led the crisis; the draft terms of reference resolution for the proposed inquiry should be amended slightly to consider the impact of membership of the euro and allow for additional categories of witness; and the necessary amendments should be made to the Central Bank Act 1942.

The motion is an important next step in the establishment of the banking inquiry. It is only right that an Oireachtas inquiry review the different decisions, policies and systems that led to the bank guarantee and the financial crisis so as to make sure that we as a nation learn from the mistakes of the past and avoid repeating them in the future. I, and I am sure all members of the CPP and the Dáil, wish the members of the banking inquiry well in the task before them.

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