New legislation on tribunals of inquiries should be enacted with strict criteria for setting them up and controlling costs, according to the Law Reform Commission.
The commission is publishing a report on public inquiries, including a draft Bill, later today.
This report follows a 2003 consultation paper, which examined the law and made provisional recommendations for reform. One recommendation provided for the establishment of private, low-key inquiries, and this was done in the Commissions of Investigations Act 2004.
However, the commission recommends that this Act be amended to remove the restriction on the types of legal services for which payment may be made. According to the report, this restriction could amount to restriction of a person's discretion to have present at all relevant times the legal representation of their choice.
This report contains 58 recommendations and includes a draft Tribunals of Inquiry Bill, incorporating its proposals for legislative reform in a single text to replace the existing Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Acts 1921 to 2004.
The commission says its proposals for reform "are intended to ensure that tribunals continue to be available as a means of investigating urgent matters of public importance, while at the same time ensuring that they are focused and provide adequate procedural protections without incurring excessive public costs".
It recommends that when terms of reference are drafted they should be as precise as possible. It also suggests a two-stage drafting procedure: one setting out the general terms; then the chairman and those involved in the tribunal, along with the commissioning Minister, drafting detailed terms of reference, which would go back to the Oireacthas for approval.
It recommends that membership of tribunals should not be confined to members of the judiciary, and that they be empowered to be flexible when employing people, both lawyers and non-lawyers, to assist them. This flexibility should extend to the way they would be paid, and the levels of remuneration.
On costs, the commission recommends that the sponsoring department, following consultation with the Department of Finance, should set a broad budget figure at the outset of the tribunal. This would be a guide for the tribunal and should not necessarily be made public.
Tribunals should continue to be established by both Houses of the Oireachtas, but that alternatives, such as a commission of investigation or civil or criminal proceedings, should be considered. It also recommends that a central inquiries office should be set up to publish guidelines for the running of tribunals.