ANALYSIS:Decision for experts to investigate crisis is a snub to the Greens and a far cry from the dynamic Dirt inquiry, writes STEPHEN COLLINS, Political Editor
THE GOVERNMENT’S decision to have the banking crisis investigated by a commission of experts rather than an Oireachtas committee represents a snub to parliament and a put-down for the junior party in Government.
A Dáil committee will have an opportunity to make suggestions to two preliminary scoping inquiries and will discuss the commission’s final report, but it will not be directly involved in the conduct of the investigation as it was in the Dirt inquiry.
The shape of the inquiry agreed by the Government yesterday represents a huge loss of face for the Green Party, even though party leader John Gormley insisted last night that he was happy with the outcome. Just a few days ago, he was insisting that the inquiry should be public and open, with an involvement by the Oireachtas. The terms of reference announced yesterday fall short of that.
One thing to be said in favour of the inquiry is that it is scheduled to finish before the end of the year but given the history of so many other inquiries, there is no guarantee on that point either. In fact, recent experience suggests that the commission will seek one extension after another to complete its work.
While Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan was entitled to argue that a Dáil inquiry should not be involved in making judgments on disputed issues of fact, former Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte, who played a notable role in the Dirt inquiry a decade ago, summed up the feelings of many TDs at the sidelining of the Dáil in the conduct of the inquiry.
“This is not even approaching the cathartic public inquiry which the near collapse of our banking system requires. It is designed to delay and to shelter the key players from public scrutiny. It excludes political accountability. It is a bad day for parliament.” What surprised most TDs was that the Greens did not even get a fig leaf to cover their leader’s embarrassment. The fact that the report of the commission will ultimately be presented to an Oireachtas committee is nothing out of the ordinary. It is far from the Dáil having a role in the conduct and scope of the inquiry itself.
It now appears that the huffing and puffing of the Greens last weekend came as a response to the bluntness of a Government source who accurately briefed the media about the nature of the inquiry and did not attempt to cover up the fact that it will be conducted in secret with minimal involvement from the Dáil.
Given what the Greens ultimately accepted, they had few grounds for disputing what appeared in last weekend’s newspapers. It was a fair, accurate reflection of what the Cabinet agreed yesterday morning as an amendment to Labour’s Dáil motion calling for an inquiry.
The nub of the Government’s approach is that two preliminary reports should be conducted by the end of May. One will be from the governor of the Central Bank Patrick Honohan, who will be asked to report on the performance of the bank and the Financial Regulator up to September 2008. The other will be from a recognised expert or experts into the background and causes of the banking crisis and an assessment of what lessons can be learned.
Following completion of these reports, a statutory commission of investigation will be established by June 30th chaired by “a recognised expert of high standing and reputation” to report on the systemic failures that led to the need for the introduction of the State banking guarantee, the recapitalisation of the banks and the set-up of Nama.
The only role for the Oireachtas is that it will meet the governor of the Central Bank and the independent expert or experts at the outset of the work to let them know of its priorities. The two preliminary reports and the report of the commission of investigation ultimately will be laid before the Oireachtas for further consideration.
This is a far cry from the dynamic, cost-effective role the public accounts sub-committee under the chairmanship of the late Jim Mitchell played in the Dirt inquiry. Mitchell, who was in the early stages of the illness that led to his death, drove the committee relentlessly. His ambition was to prove that the Dáil could conduct a public inquiry to the highest standards and he succeeded magnificently.
The pity is that his legacy was subsequently diluted by the manner in which the Abbeylara inquiry was conducted. Now the decision of the Government to sideline the Dáil in the investigation into the banking crisis indicates that the Dirt inquiry, far from heralding a new era of accountability, was a once-off exercise that may never be repeated.