Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the judgment in the case brought by Angela Kerins to see what implications it has for the Houses of the Oireachtas. I hope there will be a meeting of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges about it or that we would have a debate on that issue in this House. While I appreciate that there will be a final judgment in April, the Committee of Public Accounts, which is the committee in question, has no representatives from Seanad Éireann. It is a Dáil committee. This case involves the Dáil Committee on Procedure. The Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges acts with regard to how committees are formed. Regulations are discussed at meetings of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. While we have a number of joint committees, this House has a committee that invites guests and witnesses. This is a significant judgment for the Houses of the Oireachtas. I hope that if procedures or remedies must be put in place, we would meet as a Committee on Procedure and Privileges because it is a significant judgment. The only saving grace for Members of both Houses is that we have privilege, which is an unbelievable thing for Members of both Houses to have. It is in the Constitution. At times, we do not fully appreciate what privilege means and how it should operate. We will have to have some guidelines about how Chairs of committees will operate, the role of the Chair, the role of advisers to the Chair and the legal advice we get. It is a significant issue and I hope that at some stage, we would have a debate in this House or else the road to go down would be to have a meeting of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.