FIANNA FÁIL leader Micheál Martin has formally requested the Dáil Committee on Procedure and Privileges to examine a claim the Taoiseach’s department was “subverting” parliamentary rights.
Mr Martin has accused the department of “outrageously” disallowing or transferring dozens of legitimate Oireachtas questions that he has submitted to Taoiseach Enda Kenny for oral answer in the Dáil. He accused the Government of an “abuse of process”.
Mr Martin wrote to Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett yesterday to ask that the committee investigate why large numbers of questions were being turned down by the Taoiseach, or being transferred to other Government departments for no apparent reason.
The row between Mr Martin and the Government came to a head on Wednesday when the Fianna Fáil leader walked out of the chamber after an exchange with Government Chief Whip Paul Kehoe. Complaining that legitimate questions were being disallowed, Mr Martin said there was little point in him being present.
In the letter, Mr Martin complained the process whereby questions were disallowed was one-sided. He said there was no opportunity for Opposition deputies to respond to a question being rejected. He gave as an example a question he submitted on July 6th asking Taoiseach Enda Kenny about discussions concerning Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, a board member of the European Central Bank, at the European Council.
“This was disallowed on the basis that it was a repeat of questions answered in the chamber on the same day.
“I have checked the record of the House for July 6th and there is no mention of Mr Bini Smaghi in any question or answer to or by the Taoiseach . . . It was a legitimate question concerning a matter of policy in the hands of the Taoiseach and it should have been allowed.
“Given the importance of questions as one of the only means for deputies to actually challenge members of the executive, an opportunity to appeal a disallowance should be a basic and uncontroversial matter,” he said.
Mr Martin claimed the scale of questions being transferred from the Taoiseach’s department had become “extraordinary”. “His responsibility for contacts with other heads of government has never previously been challenged, yet a question on exactly this, tabled on July 7th, was transferred to the Minister for Finance.”
The most outrageous example, he said, were questions he tabled about Northern Ireland, for which the Department of the Taoiseach has lead responsibility. He said the questions had been transferred to the Department of Justice, the questions had been changed and answers bore no relevance to the information sought.
A Government spokesman said the Taoiseach would await the Ceann Comhairle’s reply to the letter before responding.
