Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Bill. It is an important debate as it deals with inquiries relating to the actions of Members of the Oireachtas and those who occupy public office. We must accept that politics in this country has been damaged by the actions of a minority of Members of the Dáil and Seanad. It is important to emphasise that point. All politicians, unfortunately, have been labelled or damaged by the actions of a cohort of corrupt colleagues. It is too easy to dismiss politicians as being all the same. In fact, the vast majority are honoured to be elected to the Oireachtas and do their best for their constituents and their country. That is an important point to make in considering this legislation. Regardless of political differences, most Members are in the profession for the right reason. Regrettably, it is all too easy to be cynical or to play the hurler on the ditch.

Having said that, it is vital that politicians uphold certain standards and behave in such a way as to enhance democracy and public life in this country. Bribery and corruption must be rooted out of politics and I hope this legislation will assist that process. It is in this context that I welcome the Bill. The recent by-election was a wake-up call for us in that 62% of the electorate stayed at home. We must be proactive in setting standards. The past week has been a bad one for politics, with a senior Minister crossing a line and acting as if nothing happened. That is only one example of what we are dealing with here. To take another example, I look forward, as a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, to dealing in due course, in a professional, objective and balanced way, with a report on the penalty points issue.

I have major concerns with the way in which whistleblowers are dealt with, but that is a discussion for another day. It is important, however, to acknowledge that issue in this debate.

The Bill aims to develop a comprehensive statutory framework for the Oireachtas to conduct inquiries. The context for the proposals goes back to the Abbeylara judgment, includes the rejected 2011 referendum and the 2012 report by the Committee of Public Accounts on a preliminary framework for an Oireachtas inquiry into the domestic banking crisis, and encompasses the Ivor Callely case, which is awaiting a Supreme Court judgment. The Minister, Deputy Brendan Howlin, stated earlier in the course of his contribution on the Bill:

Such inquiries could represent a very substantial strengthening in the effectiveness and contribution of the Legislature to our democratic system by not only helping us learn vital lessons from past events but, through their recommendations, identifying the legislative reforms and policy changes essential to making sure that egregious policy errors are not repeated.

That is a very welcome statement. We must strengthen the effectiveness of the Legislature. We must learn from the past and from the huge cost to taxpayers of the various tribunals. We also must learn from the disgraceful scandals that emerged in recent years. They must never be forgotten and should be used as an example to clean up Irish politics.

The Minister also said: "The Bill will enhance the effective functioning of our modern parliamentary democracy by facilitating such inquiries." This is a vital aspect of the legislation. As it stands, there are three public inquiry mechanisms, namely, Oireachtas inquiries, tribunals of inquiry and commissions of investigation. Oireachtas inquiries are carried out by Oireachtas committees and, according to the legislation, are set up to investigate internal Oireachtas issues and any issues mandated by legislation. An example of such an investigation is the very successful DIRT inquiry, which brought in a substantial volume of revenue and rooted out corruption within the system. A similar type of investigation has also been undertaken at European level, where the figure for tax evasion is apparently in the region of €1 trillion.

In Ireland, we are chasing householders for a property tax of €200 or €300 while €1 trillion is being scammed across Europe. The European leaders, the Taoiseach and the Minister of State must focus on, and think about, these issues. I mention this in connection with the Oireachtas inquiries. There have also been tribunals of inquiry which were set up by the Oireachtas but carried out independently, usually by a sole member. A tribunal has the powers of the High Court, including to compel attendance and the production of documents. A tribunal is solely inquisitorial. It is set up under the Tribunals of Inquiries Acts, an example being the Tribunal of Inquiry into Payments to Politicians and Related Matters, the Moriarty tribunal. This Government seems to avoid and run away from this process. We must deal with these issues and learn from the examples of the past.

The third type of inquiry is a commission of investigation. This is a body established with specified functions to inquire into a specific and once-off matter under the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. Evidence is generally taken in private and the commission has the power to compel witnesses and documents, for example, the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. They had a very good record and have done fantastic work and are very important. We should not run away from issues that need a commission of investigation, for example, the murder of Fr. Niall Molloy. His family is very concerned as are many members of the media. The family wants a proper investigation of this issue. There was a cover-up and this should be highlighted.

The role of whistleblowers is also important in giving evidence to inquiries. I am deeply saddened by what happened to the two whistleblowers in the recent incident involving Deputy Wallace and penalty points. Those two gardaí were treated very badly and one had to leave the force. I urge the Government to get on with publishing the planned legislation for whistleblowers because if they do not, Deputy Ross has drafted a Bill and the Independent Deputies will bring it in here and deal effectively with it. We must ensure that people who serve this State and expose corruption are protected. I am not talking about cranks. I am talking about genuine people with a good public service ethos.

In Austria, Luxembourg and the Netherlands there is provision qualifying the right by the requirement that it be regulated by law. In a number of countries the power to compel testimony and the production of documents is specifically referred to in the constitution, for example, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Spain. Italy and Portugal specify that parliamentary committees of inquiry are to have the same powers of investigation and to be subject to the same legal limitations on those powers as the courts. In the cases of Germany and Spain, the constitutions state that the findings of a parliamentary inquiry are not binding on the courts though the findings themselves may not be subject to judicial review.

I am a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence. We held a very good inquiry into, and investigation of, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. We did a lot of work, met the victims and the families of those who died and people who were directly and indirectly involved. The Dáil passed a motion supporting the recommendations of the committee which were passed on to the British Government, but it refused to act on them or to facilitate action on them. We need to do something about this because the families of those killed feel very let down. I urge the Government to up its game and raise this issue constantly with the British Government because cover-ups on such matters will not help the peace process. We have heard a lot of talk recently about the peace process and about healing. We need truth and justice for the victims of the conflict.

Part 8 of the Bill, sections 89 to 100, relate to Members of the Oireachtas. The following are only answerable to the Seanad or the Dáil: utterances before a committee, documents, official reports and publications of a committee. Committee documents that are not public cannot be disclosed without written consent from the committee chairman. State employees are barred from expressing an opinion on the merits of governmental and ministerial policy before a committee and the committee cannot request such an opinion. State employees may be called to give factual evidence. The programme for Government 2011 included a commitment to amend this to allow civil servants to comment on policy to reflect the reality of the authority delegated to them and their personal accountability for the way in which it is exercised. This Bill, however, does not include a provision on this policy. That is another example of a Government going back on its word.

Part 2, section 9, provides for a power of inquiry relating to the conduct of a Member of either House of the Oireachtas and section 10 gives the Dáil the power to undertake an inquiry into the conduct of a current officeholder, senior civil servant or CEO of a public body. I welcome those sections. Part 3, section 14, limits the finding of facts that directly impugn a person's good name to certain categories of people. It is important to go through due process when dealing with this area. That is why I was extremely disappointed and angry during the week at the actions of the Minister for Justice and Equality in respect of the Deputy Wallace affair, the breach of privilege and the conduct of that Member. I will leave that to the Data Protection Commissioner and the Standards in Public Office Commission. Everyone, particularly those in public office, is entitled to his or her good name.

I welcome the debate on this Bill. I hope it will go a long way to cleaning up Irish politics. It concerns genuine reform and change. I will support it as that was the mandate we all got at the last election, to bring about change, reform and decency in politics. It is a start but we have a long way to go. If we want to clean up politics and sensible legislation is brought before the House, everybody, regardless of political persuasion, should support it. The day of corruption in Irish politics has to come to an end. It has gone on too long and has destroyed this country. I say the same about people outside politics who are also responsible for bringing this country to its knees. This Bill represents a very big step in the process of clarifying the role of the Houses of the Oireachtas in securing accountability through investigations into matters of significant public importance. We all have the honour and privilege of being elected to serve in this Dáil and we all have a duty to be accountable. When one Member of the Oireachtas is involved in corruption, he or she lets down the Oireachtas, democracy, the country, themselves, their families and the people who voted for them. This Bill is progressive. There are changes that could be made to it but the Government is open to amendments on later Stages. Overall, I welcome the legislation.

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