Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

On this point, Deputies may recall that when we were setting the terms of reference for the tribunal, there was no time. We presented an amendment proposing that the terms of reference would include a review of the role of the Department of Justice and Equality in this whole affair. I believe one thing has to change. If, as the Ceann Comhairle has said, we cannot look into certain areas because they are not in the tribunal's terms of reference, we should be looking to amend those terms. The incredibly narrow terms of reference that were set preclude the role of the Department. This was one of the mistakes we raised at the time. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil voted against an amendment that would have allowed this to be included in the terms of reference.

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