Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 10:

In page 59, subsection (1), lines 37 to 39, to delete paragraph (a)

I am the last person standing on this side of the House and I will keep my comments brief so as not to hold up the Minister. Amendments Nos. 10 to 12, inclusive, and 16 to 18, inclusive, seek to delete certain exemptions relating to the inquiries. Amendment No. 10 would delete the exemption of evidence from Government meetings or committees and would allow Oireachtas inquiries to request evidence from such meetings. This section is topical in terms of the banking inquiry and, as it stands, the section could mean that any documents or information from meetings of the Government relating to the bank guarantee or the nationalisation of the banks could not be called for by an inquiry. Our amendment seeks to delete that exemption.

Similarly, amendment No. 12 would delete or remove the exemption for evidence that may be prejudicial to the State in its relations with other states. We fear the exemption could hinder the work of the inquiry in terms of who decides or how it would be decided what prejudicial means or how it could be challenged. We seek to remove the exemption to make any inquiry more transparent.