Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach said in his reply that the Government had intended to have a two hour debate on the commission of inquiry. That debate was stopped. The Ceann Comhairle made a ruling that there would be no debate. I find it extraordinary that a Member of the House would seek to suppress a debate on the establishment of an inquiry because of his particular perspective on that inquiry and its terms of reference, particularly given the said Deputy was a member of the Government which set up the Guerin review in the first instance and which subsequently led to the establishment of the commission of inquiry. Does the Taoiseach believe it was correct of Deputy Shatter, given his role as a Member of the House, to attempt to muzzle the House and to ask for the debate to be stopped and blocked?

I believe there is an obligation on every Member first and foremost to establish the rights of Deputies to speak on fundamental issues that pertain to the House, in other words, to speak on whether we should set up an inquiry, what the inquiry should consist of, what the terms of reference should include and what they should exclude. I have never before come across a situation where a commission of inquiry was established without a debate. The Members who are being asked to have an input should be asked to have an input. I realise that under the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004, the Government takes the initiation role in terms of establishing the inquiry and so on. However, it was never envisaged that there would be no debate in the House on the terms of reference, good, bad or indifferent, of a particular inquiry.

We saw again recently attempts being made outside the House to suppress debate in the House in respect of Deputy Catherine Murphy's contributions on another issue and the reporting of those. As a Parliament we should be clear in upholding the absolute principle whereby Deputies have the right to have a voice on issues they are asked to decide upon. If a Deputy is asked to vote on something he should have an opportunity to speak on that or have an opinion on it, particularly on a matter that has already exercised the House for a considerable time previously, for example, all the issues relating to the establishment of the commission of inquiry and the Guerin report. Many Members had made contributions on all the issues to do with the Department of Justice and Equality, the then Minister for Justice and Equality and so on. It was absurd that Deputy Shatter would seek not to facilitate a wide-ranging and open debate by all Members on the establishment of the commission. Does the Taoiseach believe he was right to so do?

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