Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is important in that context for this House to be made aware of the Government's thinking in this regard. Nothing that has been said up to now by the Minister of State or any other member of the Government to give us an indication of how this will play out. I believe that following the experience of the tribunals of inquiry, there is no public appetite for a continuing inquiry process. I have had a look at the Act under which these inquiries will be set up. It is astonishing that, as I understand it, nothing in the Act in question imposes a time limit. I cannot remember whether the question of providing for a time limit was discussed in this House or the other House during the debate on that legislation. The imposition of a time limit will be vitally important when the Government is introducing specific proposals to set out the composition of the committee and its terms of reference, etc. If we are to narrow the focus of this debate to the night of the bank guarantee, how long will it take to keep asking the same questions? The reports of two inquiries that have covered this specific incident are already in the public domain.

I would like to comment briefly on the issue of bias. What will happen if members are obliged to excuse themselves because they believe they would be biased in their approach to the committee? I assume it would be a matter for the Committee on Procedure and Privileges or, more pertinently, for that committee's legal advisers. What will happen if, subsequent to the appointment of the committee, a lawyer is sitting beside a witness who points out that a member of an inquiry made a statement or an utterance or said something that suggests he or she is biased in some way? That member will have to be replaced. A succession of allegations could be made at the committee after the appointment of its members. This could lead to a change in membership. I agree with the analysis of Senator Darragh O'Brien and some political commentators that this is nothing more than a witch-hunt. It suits the Government that it involves nothing more than dumping on Fianna Fáil.

In fact, it would have suited it if it could have got this inquiry up and running before the local elections. However, I understand from explanations and clarifications given by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission that it is most unlikely that the hearings will take place before autumn at the earliest because of the terms of reference involved, the composition of the committee and the issue of bias, which is very important and relevant. Therefore, the Minister of State will not get his way on this one. It will not be an issue surrounding the local or European elections. However, there is a real danger that unless a time limit is placed on it, the Government could spin this out for as long as it wants and bring it forward into the advent of the general election if the motivation is political rather than finding the truth.