Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 6, subsection (1), line 32, to delete "Government" and substitute "Houses of the Oireachtas".

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This grouping of amendments encompasses one issue on which, I suspect, we will need to spend some time.

My party has welcomed the publication of this Bill and we see the operation of the new commission as an important new investigative tool at the State's disposal in putting in place cost efficient inquiries and ensuring a rapid conclusion to issues of public interest brought to the attention of the commission and fair play for all parties represented there. It is important that we take our time on this matter and get it right. We welcome the Bill in that context.

The purpose of this group of amendments is clear. Since the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform published the heads of the Bill, my party has concentrated on the question of who will own the commission when it is established. As the Minister of State knows, the previous tribunals of inquiry have been animals of the Oireachtas established by joint resolution of both Houses. A tribunal, in effect, becomes the perennial responsibility of the Oireachtas.

In the newly proposed commission, as put forward in the Bill, the Government is attempting a new departure. The establishment of the commission should be a matter for the Oireachtas and not for a Minister or for the Government. This is my party's major reservation regarding the Bill.

Let us suppose a politically sensitive issue arises, a charge is made against a Minister on a television programme and there is a view in the Government that a commission of inquiry should be established to look into the matter and report thereon. When such a charge is made against a leading politician, is it proper that a Minister should be directly responsible for establishing the commission, setting out its terms of reference, appointing its members, receiving its report directly and revising the terms of reference from time to time? We are giving a substantial power to a Minister or to the Government itself. Considering the principle of the separation of powers, is it wise that a commission should be answerable to a Minister in his or her respective area of responsibility? We say it is not.

When we look at the role of all-party committees of the Houses — and we have seen substantial progress in this area in recent years — it makes more sense that the establishment, ownership and appointment of members of the commission should be under the direct control of a joint committee of the Houses, or of each House, which would be responsible for the work of the commission and for its reporting back. As currently constituted, the Bill is an infringement of the separation of powers and gives far too much control to one Minister as against the Government itself.

With that in mind Fine Gael makes these proposals. All of the Fine Gael amendments attempt to remove the word "Government" and substitute the words "Houses of the Oireachtas" as a means of showing that the ownership of this very important new model of investigation should be vested in these Houses and not in a Minister.