Paul Bradford (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe. I also welcome the legal clarification provided by Senator Bacik because it is important to ensure we get this issue right in as far as it is legally possible to do so. There is a strong prospect of a legal challenge being mounted to any banking inquiry. For this reason, we must seek to ensure there are no doubts or blemishes in that regard.

Senator Thomas Byrne raised some pertinent questions which have been partially answered and I am sure the Minister of State will confirm the legal position in that regard.

Some weeks ago, I expressed a view, which was brought to the attention of the Minister of State, that Senators should sit on any proposed inquiry. As the Minister of State noted, the Standing Orders relate to a banking inquiry of the Oireachtas. According to the constitutional definition of the word, "Oireachtas" means the Dáil and Seanad. It is important for taxpayers that the inquiry will be conducted fairly and impartially in the cold light of day by people who are not permanently looking over their shoulders to ascertain what is or is not popular. I am not canvassing for a place on the committee that will conduct the banking inquiry but, to use Senator Coghlan's phrase, many of my colleagues would be eminently suitable for such a role, having proved that both inside and outside the House over many years.

Taxpayers are funding the bailout and have suffered as a result of the problems into which we propose to inquire. We owe it to them to present the best possible inquiry team. The electorate has voted confidence in the Seanad. We have never had such a vote in respect of the Dáil. If Senators are not part of the inquiry team, it would make a mockery of the Government's intentions and the Minister of State's words that the enhancing of the roles and powers of Oireachtas committees is at the heart of the Government's reform agenda. While I presume the Minister of State will not be the final adjudicator on that issue, I ask him, on behalf of all Senators, to ensure the elected second House of the Oireachtas is allowed to play a full and constructive role in the banking inquiry.

I welcome the Minister of State's presentation to us. I welcome the required change in the Standing Orders. We have all been here before when Standing Orders were challenged and perhaps ended up needing to be amended further. Nobody ever has the perfect answer. Today, we are laying part of the foundation block for the banking inquiry. We must do it properly. We must try to get answers to the questions raised here today as fully and as quickly as possible. Senator Byrne advised the Government to seek the advice of the Attorney General. We are often politically fearful of double-checking such matters. If Senator Byrne feels that the Attorney General should provide a quick response to the questions he has raised, I do not think it would cause much political turmoil or upheaval to get any clarification that might be required. I suppose Senator Bacik is the nearest thing we have to an Attorney General in the House at the moment. Her welcome intervention, in which she provided some legal clarification, was helpful in that regard. I wish the Minister of State well as he tries to make progress with this matter. I ask him to give serious consideration to the constructive role that the Seanad and Senators could play in the proposed inquiry.