A decision by the Government to reintroduce a Bill in the Dáil next week giving it the power to shut down tribunals and to control their length and cost has been attacked by the Opposition parties, who questioned the timing of the move.
A proposed addition to the Bill designed to protect tribunal confidentiality through jail sentences and heavy fines was also criticised as an attempt to introduce sanctions against journalists who have reported on the Taoiseach's financial affairs.
Minister for Justice and Law Reform Brian Lenihan last night rejected Opposition claims that the reintroduction of the Tribunals of Inquiry Bill, 2005, was designed to intimidate the Mahon tribunal.
"There is no intention to apply this legislation to the current tribunals within their envisaged timescale for completion. All the tribunals have indicated when they intend to complete their work and there is no intention of applying legislation to them," he said.
Mr Lenihan added it was important that lessons be learned, especially with regard to the length and cost of tribunals. "It appears from the Opposition comments that they have no interest in curtailing the costs of future tribunals," he said.
He also moved to allay concerns about a proposed amendment to the Bill to protect tribunal confidentiality and promised the wording of the amendment would not be finalised until after the Supreme Court made a decision in the Irish Times case. "I will await the Supreme Court decision on confidentiality before I proceed at all on this matter," said Mr Lenihan.
Irish Times Editor Geraldine Kennedy and public affairs correspondent Colm Keena are appealing a High Court order requiring them to answer questions from the Mahon tribunal relating to the source of an article about financial payments to Bertie Ahern when he was minister for finance in 1993.
The Tribunals of Inquiry Bill, originally published in November 2005, was scheduled for debate a year ago, but was withdrawn after Opposition claims that the timing was inappropriate in advance of Mr Ahern's evidence to the Mahon tribunal. Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan queried the timing of the Bill, saying it smacked of an attempt to intimidate the tribunal before it hears more evidence from Mr Ahern before Christmas.
He also questioned the proposed amendment to the Bill to punish breaches of confidentiality.
"I am concerned that this Bill is an underhand mechanism to allow new sanctions to be brought against certain journalists who are currently before the tribunal after obtaining leaked papers concerning the Taoiseach," he said.
