A CONSTITUTIONAL amendment is needed to give the Oireachtas the power to investigate issues of major public concern, according to a new report. Such a power would allow Oireachtas committees to attribute blame to identifiable individuals, a situation which does not apply at present, the report by the joint committee on the Constitution states.
The report was drawn up to address problems which arose when TDs and Senators investigated the shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara, Co Longford, in 2000.
The Supreme Court found the Oireachtas did not have an inherent power to conduct inquiries, and that it overstepped its jurisdiction when it set up the Abbeylara inquiry. This judgment has frustrated subsequent attempts to set up inquiries into other matters which could result in the apportionment of blame.
Committee chairman Seán Ardagh (FF), who chaired the Abbeylara inquiry, said the judgment in that case had significantly limited the scope of inquiries. Some means of compelling witnesses to give evidence was required.
Mr Ardagh said the proposals enjoyed cross-party support and he hoped they would form part of the reform programme of a new government. It was a pity these reforms were not now in place to allow for a proper investigation of the economic crisis, he added.
Committee vice-chairman Jim O’Keeffe (FG) said there had to be a better way of investigating serious matters than tribunals.
“The work of the tribunals is carried out at enormous cost by enormously paid people who aren’t necessarily the best-qualified to do this work.”
The report found the Oireachtas had much less power to hold in-depth investigations than parliaments in other countries.
It proposes to amend article 15 of the Constitution to provide a power of investigation and to allow for non-criminal findings of wrongdoing against individuals. A balancing of the public interest in effective parliamentary investigation with the right of people to their good name is proposed.
