The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Mr. Brendan Howlin T.D. today announced the Government has approved the publication of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013.
On welcoming the decision Minister Howlin stated:-
“I am pleased that the Government has approved my legislative proposals for a comprehensive statutory framework for inquiries by the Oireachtas. The Government’s Decision to introduce the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013 to the Houses, marks an important step in the process of strengthening the constitutional oversight role of the Houses of the Oireachtas by facilitating the holding of inquiries into matters of significant public importance”
The Minister highlighted that the legislative proposals were drafted in close consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and External Counsel. This ensures that the proposed inquiry system fully respects the constitutional parameters on parliamentary inquiries set down by the Supreme Court in the Abbeylara case.
The Bill provides specific statutory underpinning for five general types of Oireachtas inquiries:
Ø An Inquire Report Record Inquiry
Ø An Inquiry related to a Legislative Function (e.g. the case for new legislation)
Ø An Inquiry relating to the removal of an officeholder (e.g. Article 12.10 (President), Article 33.5 (Comptroller and Auditor General) or Article 35 (Judges of the Supreme and High Court)
Ø An Inquiry relating to the Conduct of a Member of the Houses in his/her capacity as a member.
Ø An Inquiry to hold the current Government to account and also to hold to account any person who has consented to Dáil scrutiny by contract or statutory appointment.
Consistent with the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Abbeylara case, providing a parliamentary inquiry does not seek to directly attribute blame to individuals - other than in circumstances that the inquiry relates to a member of Houses or to an officeholder or other persons that are accountable to the Oireachtas - there is a very broad scope of legitimate parliamentary inquiries that could be carried out under the legislation.
The Bill contains explicit requirements to observe fair procedures and contains provisions in relation to the conduct of Members to avoid any perception of bias. Access to the courts for directions in respect of any dispute is clearly provided for in the Bill.
The Minister also said:-
“This legislation is essential to conducting a parliamentary banking inquiry Parliamentary inquiries under this legislation can be cost-effective, efficient and resilient to any legal challenge providing they have focused terms of reference and comply strictly with fair procedures”
Under the proposed legislation responsibility is assigned exclusively to the Houses of the Oireachtas to determine the requirement for a formal inquiry, the terms of reference of that inquiry and the procedural and organisational aspects of the inquiry.
Notes for Editors
The Abbeylara case (Maguire v Ardagh [2002] 1 IR 385) decided that Oireachtas Inquiries did not have power, in general, to make findings of fact adverse to the good name of any person who is not a Member of the Houses. However, there are many legitimate inquiries that the Houses can and should undertake which would not infringe the good name of private citizens or which are otherwise constitutionally permissible.
The proposed Bill will repeal the Committees of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Compellability, Privileges and Immunities of Witnesses) Act, 1997 but will provide a restatement of the immunities, privileges and powers contained in that Act while simplifying the process for invoking compellability powers;
The Bill also contains requirements on Oireachtas Committees to strictly observe fair procedures in the conduct of inquiries and make provisions in relation to the conduct of members of inquiry committees to avoid any perception of bias – a major concern in the Abbeylara case.
There are extensive provisions in relation to costs including provision for the Oireachtas Commission to prepare guidelines. The focus of the Bill is to provide for an application for costs where the good name of a witness is directly in issue. Adjudication of costs will be carried out by a Parliamentary Legal Costs Adjudicator.
The Bill also provides for qualified statutory privilege for private papers of Members and official documents of the Houses in line with the Programme for Government commitment in this area. These provisions are intended to apply in all circumstances and are not restricted to inquiries carried out under the Bill. It also provides for qualified privilege for confidential communication from members of the public who wish to draw wrongdoing to the attention of Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas without having their identities disclosed.
While it is anticipated that this proposed legislation would facilitate the conduct of a banking inquiry, providing the terms of reference and conduct of that inquiry fully conformed to constitutional requirements, the primary purpose of the Bill is to create a comprehensive legislative framework for Oireachtas inquiries which is of general application. This proposed Bill will allow for inquiries into matters of public importance outside the normal day-to-day work of the Oireachtas and Oireachtas Committees.