Move to widen terms of Morris tribunal

The Labour Party will this week use a private members' motion to call on the Government to widen the terms of the Morris tribunal.

Labour believes the terms of the tribunal agreed by the Dáil last March are too narrow and should be widened to include the role of both the offices of the Minister for Justice and other relevant State agencies such as the Attorney General.

The move follows a similar motion tabled in the Seanad last week by Fine Gael calling for an extension.

The Labour party's justice spokesman, Mr Joe Costello, said the State should also begin negotiations with the McBrearty family to formulate acceptable arrangements to enable the family to have legal representation for the duration of the tribunal.

Given the serious nature of the allegations before the tribunal it was unthinkable that the offices of the Minister for Justice and other agencies should be excluded from the remit of the tribunal, he added.

Despite Government sources insisting the terms of reference can be widened only by a request from Mr Justice Morris, the Tribunals of Inquiry Act allows the Attorney General to seek changes to the terms of reference of a tribunal by consulting with the tribunal.

"The Labour motion, if passed, would instruct the Government to initiate this process of consultation," Mr Costello said.

He added that while he was confident the McBrearty family would be awarded their legal costs at the end of the tribunal, it was "entirely unreasonable" that the family should be expected to fund their legal representation at the inquiry until after the tribunal was over.

Mr Costello said monies should be advanced from the State to the McBrearty family as was the case with the Irish Haemophilia Society during the Lindsay tribunal.