Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I have followed the debate with interest and I think we have come to the nub of the issue. I hear what Senator Byrne is saying, and I must defer to the fact that he is a solicitor, but my interpretation of the amendment to section 4 differs from his. I find myself much more disposed to the amendment, unless the Minister can clarify its precise legal nature.

The amendment before us seeks to ensure that any laws would balance proportionately the rights of the individual with the public interest. It looks to me as if what we are asking the people to do is to accept that the Houses of the Oireachtas in their sole determination and with regard to the principles of the procedures, will in fact strike whatever appropriate they feel is right between the right of the individual and the public interest.

I listened carefully to what Senator Byrne said about the fact that this could be appealable to the Supreme Court. No more than the Minister, I am not a lawyer, but like him, I have a certain analytical bent. It would appear to me that if the Constitution contains a clear provision that the Houses of the Oireachtas can determine the balance to be taken - a constitutional right the Oireachtas is now getting - I cannot see how the Supreme Court can overturn that. Perhaps it might be able to do it in cases where there might be obvious bias involved. That brings us to the kernel of the issue. It is right that the Oireachtas would have the principle of being able to investigate certain matters of public interest. When it comes to balancing individual constitutional rights, we should ensure that these are in no way diminished within our Constitution. This change could give effect to that.

Mention has been made of the Callely case. People who participated on that committee provided their viewpoint in this Chamber and on the airwaves before they ever participated in the committees. It was pretty obvious that some people already had their minds made up. I read the judgment, and the courts found very heavily in favour of Senator Callely. I appreciate that the committee was under much media pressure, but we cannot administer justice strictly along populist lines.