merrion street

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr Brendan Howlin, T.D. today (6 October 2011) published the Draft Houses of the Oireachtas (Powers of Inquiry) Bill 2011.

Welcoming the publication the Minister stated:

"I am publishing this draft Bill as an important contribution to the public debate on the proposed constitutional amendment to empower the Oireachtas to conduct full inquiries. This Bill has not been initiated in the Houses of the Oireachtas as it would not be appropriate to pre-judge the outcome of the Referendum. The intention is to assist in providing a better understanding of the design and how the system of inquiry is intended to operate in practice if the Referendum is passed by the people."

The proposed change in the Constitution is intended to:

Allow key issues of general public importance to be put under the spotlight in a public, cost-efficient and time-limited parliamentary forum as an alternative to lengthy and costly Tribunals.

Enhance the effectiveness of our parliamentary system by providing the Oireachtas with comparable inquiry powers to parliaments across the world

Strengthen the Oireachtas’ legislative function and its ability to recommend improvements in the system and arrangements for effective public administration and management oversight

Provide the Oireachtas with the powers it requires to secure accountability in our society in areas where significant systemic failures have taken place.

The Minister added: "I welcome that the main opposition parties supported the proposed amendment to the Constitution when it was put to the Houses of the Oireachtas last month. This Referendum is not to serve the Government of the day or any particular party political agenda; it is to provide for a cross-party parliamentary system of inquiry which will ensure that matters of general public importance that come to light can be subjected to full investigation and rigorous inquiry.

In light of the public and Oireachtas debate on the proposed inquiry system, the draft Bill introduces some significant changes to address some specific concerns.

The purpose of this proposed constitution amendment is to provide for more effective oversight of matters of public interest by the Oireachtas; it is a key element of the Government’s plan to reform our political system by making it more open, transparent and effective foe the public. I hope that people will bear that in mind when they vote on October 27 2011."