Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I share the outrage of Senator Ross and other Members at the non-appearance of representatives of a semi-State body before an Oireachtas committee. Frankly, all of us share the blame for this, as there is no compellability. Members will recall that a legal challenge was mounted against two sitting committees in the early 1990s and both investigations collapsed because the committees' rights to investigate issues of the day had been challenged. A number of Members of both Houses have since appeared in the Four Courts to try to defend the right of the Oireachtas to investigate matters through the committee system. The issue has been left fallow for over a decade. There is, therefore, an urgent need for an examination of the entire structure of the committees of the Houses. Elected representatives in both Houses should be able, as happens in other jurisdictions, with the American model being perhaps the best example, not only to investigate current issues but also to compel witnesses to appear before committees. However, we have done nothing about the matter. The Leader can correct me if I am wrong, but I recollect that when the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, was given an expanded brief to include representing the Department of the Taoiseach, he also took on a role, whereby he might be able to investigate this deep flaw in the structures of the Houses. Ironically, the new Deputy Prime Minister in Great Britain, Mr. Nick Clegg, later today will announce sweeping reforms. This Parliament took all of its conventions and practices from the British Parliament, yet that parliament appears to have moved on in making itself more relevant, but we appear not to have followed it. I do not wish to labour the point, but there is an urgent need for a debate on the reform and improvement of the committee structure in the Houses to address the issue Senator Ross and others raised.