Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

As a former Vice Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts in the 30th Dáil, I am extremely concerned that it seems to be the position of the Government to undermine the independence of the committee. The Committee of Public Accounts is a select committee and the main audit committee, the objective of which is proper oversight of Government expenditure in all Departments. It has divided only once - on its establishment there was a vote for the position of Chairman. Let me give an example to show how everybody works together on the committee. It spent 18 months on a very effective investigation into FÁS under the then Chairman, former Deputy Bernard Allen. Any Member who has served on the committee - Senator Deirdre Clune was a former colleague of mine on the committee - will know that it operates in a non-partisan and non-political way in the best interests of the taxpayer. I will not refer specifically to which committee should conduct the banking inquiry, but we are all agreed that such an inquiry should take place.

I draw the attention of the House to another matter. Only two weeks ago the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, wrote to the Committee of Public Accounts Committee and for the first time in the history of the State used Standing Order 163(7)(a) to halt the investigation of the committee into the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. This Standing Order has never been used by a Minister of any party to halt an investigation of an committee. Within one week, before the committee had produced its initial interim report, the committee received a letter from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, stating it was his belief that the matter would sit better within the remit of the finance committee.