Rónán Mullen (Independent)

It is that very remoteness from public opinion that is such an important part of the safeguard of impartiality. All of us here are conscious of what people think of us. That is going to impact. We will be like the young barrister cross-examining the Jack Nicholson character in "A Few Good Men". We are going to want to say to someone that we want the truth, make them angry and have them tell us we can't handle the truth. I am worried about the potential for grandstanding this could import. That is not an unreasonable position.

If the Minister is trying to save money we can have measures that involve paying lawyers less. We can curtail costs. However, it does not mean that we should do away with skills which are important. As a general rule, commissions of inquiry are headed by persons with legal experience, generally, but not always, a judge. There is a reason for this practice because we regard ourselves here as being more like a jury at most and better again that we would be the people who scrutinise the findings made by expert impartial people who are not unduly concerned by public opinion. This does not in any way curtail our freedom to make the important legislative and policy choices.