Draft 'power of inquiry' Bill published

THE GOVERNMENT has published the draft legislation that will give Oireachtas committees increased powers to conduct inquiries if the referendum on the issue is passed later this month.

The Houses of the Oireachtas (Powers of Inquiry) Bill 2011 was published in draft form by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin yesterday. He said the reason it was being published only as a draft was he did not want to prejudge the outcome of the referendum.

At the same time, Mr Howlin, said he wanted the draft published as it would be an important contribution to the public debate and give people a clear indication of the nature of powers the Oireachtas would have to conduct full inquires.

The proposed change in the Constitution will allow Oireachtas committees to carry out inquiries into issues of general public importance, a role that was severely curtailed in the wake of the adverse High Court judgment on Abbeylara.

The referendum is one of two being held along with the presidential election on October 27th. The other referendum proposes to remove the constitutional bar on reducing the pay of the judiciary.

The draft Bill published yesterday is similar to an earlier draft published in September with the exception of a few key changes.

There is new guidance to Oireachtas committees in determining if a matter is of general public importance and if an inquiry should be held on it.

The new draft puts the onus on the committee requesting an inquiry to draw up the terms of reference. In the earlier draft, it was the oversight and petitions committee – which will essentially vet all requests – that had that responsibility.

There are also more powers given to the oversight committee to reinforce its supervisory role.