An all-party Oireachtas committee has taken the first step to force witnesses to attend its meetings to be grilled on controversial issues.
The Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service has called for Dáil backing to give it access to confidential documents required for its hearings in Leinster House.
If this request is approved it aims to go a step further and seek permission to force witnesses to attend meetings.
In the past, the Finance and the Public Service Committee was left powerless when guests such as retired Financial Regulator Patrick Neary declined invitations to address it on banking regulation issues.
The all-party body will spend coming weeks negotiating its way through a series of complex Oireachtas procedures.
The committee, which has 15 TDs and Senators, aims to be only the second to achieve full compellability powers, which are already enjoyed by the Public Accounts Committee.
“This move by the committee should help our work and give us more teeth to get stuck into issues,” said chairman Michael Ahern.
“We have had our hands tied in the past when witnesses refused to attend and we had no way of compelling them.”
He added: “It will also enhance and develop the role of the committee system within the Oireachtas. We have found that our remit has become more relevant in recent months and these powers would be a big step.”
Disgraced former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Sean Fitzpatrick previously declined to attend the Oireachtas Committee on Economic & Regulatory Affairs in February.
Under the current rules, powers of compellability can only be granted on a case-by-case basis and a committee must prove they are necessary to do its work.
Issues surrounding the Constitution and natural justice must also be taken into consideration.
Meanwhile Mr Ahern confirmed that Anglo Irish Bank executive chairman Donal O’Connor has agreed to attend the Finance and the Public Service Committee after Easter to update members on progress at the nationalised financial institution.
PA