Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In certain investigations in the House of Commons, the Comptroller and Auditor General may sit in on committee meetings and almost act in the capacity of a member. He or she may even ask questions directly of witnesses that appear before the committee. One can have an expert resident in that case. With a view to being as neutral as possible, let us assume that the balloons of a balloon manufacturing company are bursting and upsetting children all over the country, resulting in our having an investigation. I am trying not to mention any subject that might not come before us so I thought of something as remote as I could. I do not want to create dilemmas further down the line. If a committee, in making its proposal to refer a matter to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, were to carry out a scoping exercise, what would the position be? The terms of reference, resource requirements and timeframe of an inquiry would have to be agreed by the Houses. Is there a facility in the legislation, as presented, such that proposals made to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges would allow for the inclusion of an expert or other resources?

With a view to being as neutral as possible, let us assume that the balloons of a balloon manufacturing company are bursting and upsetting children all over the country, resulting in our having an investigation. I am trying not to mention any subject that might come before us so I thought of something as remote as I could. I do not want to create dilemmas further down the line. If a committee, in making its proposal to refer a matter to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges, were carry out scoping work, what would the position be? Perhaps this gets us around the proposal are considering at the moment. The terms of reference, resource requirements and timeframes of an inquiry would have to be agreed by the Houses. Is there a facility in the legislation, as presented, such that a proposal for the Committee and Procedure and Privileges could result in the use of an expert or some sorts of resources?