A GOVERNMENT measure designed to assist Dail inquiries such as that into the Dunne/Lowry affair could have the opposite effect, a confidential report on the Bill concluded.
The report on the Houses of the Oireachtas (Compellability, Privileges and Immunities of Witnesses) Bill 1995, drafted by a senior counsel for the Select Committee on Finance and General Affairs, found there were a number of provisions in the Bill which were the opposite of what would be expected in a Bill of its nature.
Passage of the Bill into law is being accelerated to allow its use by the sub-committee of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges which is investigating alleged payments by Mr Ben Dunne to politicians and public servants.
The Bill completed the committee stage last week and is due to go through the report stage next week. A three-party Government whip was applied at committee stage. The Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Ms Avril Doyle, has promised to consider a substantial number of amendments for report stage.
The sub-judice provisions in the Bill go beyond what is necessary, are open to abuse, and have the potential to seriously undermine committees of the Oireachtas in the discharge of their functions, according to the report.
Under the provisions of the Bill as currently drafted a distinction is made between civil servants, Garda and Defence Forces personnel, and others. The Taoiseach is given the power to determine if exemptions listed in the Bill apply to information known to civil servants or Garda and Defence Forces personnel,
In the case of members of the public it is the High Court which makes this assessment.
The exemptions concern information given in confidence, information that relates to another person's business, profession or occupation, or information relating to the family life or private affairs of a person.
The distinction between the two categories of person seems anomalous and unnecessary, according to the report on the Bill. If the purpose is to grant some discretion to the Taoiseach, then this should be expressly stated.
However, in either case, granting this role to the Taoiseach could cause real problems if the investigation concerned the Taoiseach himself, or matters relating to the Taoiseach and civil servants, gardai or members of the Defence Forces.
The report emphasises the importance of Article 28.4.1 of the Constitution which states: "The Government shall be responsible to Dail Eireann." It says the Bill gives the persistent impression of a less-than-wholehearted commitment to the objective of the article and to the concepts of openness, transparency and accountability.
A section which exempts meetings of committees appointed by the Government and including government ministers or ministers and ministers of state from the powers of compellability in the Bill is not conducive to achieving the objective of making the Government responsible to the Dail, according to the report. It would appear to achieve the opposite result.
