The Oireachtas sub-committee on Justice, Equality and Women's Affairs is expected to appeal a High Court ruling that it exceeded its powers by embarking on an inquiry into the shooting dead of Mr John Carthy at Abbeylara, Co Longford, last year.
Such a development should be welcomed. If left unchallenged, the ruling would ensure that necessary Dβil investigations, such as the ground-breaking DIRT inquiry, could not be held in future.
A three-judge divisional court led by the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Morris, concluded that a public inquiry by members of the Houses of the Oireachtas "liable to result in findings of fact or expressions of opinion adverse to the good name, reputation or livelihood of persons not members of such Houses" was outside their authority. And it faulted a number of sub-committee procedures, finding that mechanisms providing for cross-examination did not comply with natural and constitutional justice.
The ruling shocked politicians because of its sweeping nature. But it vindicated the stance of 36 members of the Garda S∅ochβna who had objected on constitutional grounds to the Abbeylara investigation and to appearing before the sub-committee. Earlier, the gardai had sought exemption from attendance on the separate grounds that their evidence could interfere with the prosecution of crime or compromise national security.
There is no doubt that Dβil and Oireachtas inquiries have broken new ground in this State in response to demands for greater transparency in public life. Traditional methods of investigation, such as tribunals and sworn inquiries, are so expensive and time-consuming that governments agree to their foundation with the greatest reluctance. And, as instanced by the McBrearty affair in Donegal, pending criminal and civil actions can indefinitely postpone their establishment. In contrast, the DIRT inquiry was a model of speed and reasonable cost.
The High Court judgement effectively strikes down the new powers given to Oireachtas committees to compel the attendance of witnesses and to force the production of documents. The new system had introduced elements of Senate hearings from the United States; advanced the status of the committee system and rebalanced relations between parliament and the executive. The powers were being sparingly used and, in four years, only three investigations had been launched: DIRT, Abbeylara and the mini-CTC/CIE inquiries.
The Abbeylara inquiry was undertaken after long and serious consideration of the issues. And the terms of reference were agreed by the sub-committee with the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue. They provided for consideration of the official report on the shooting supplied by the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne; to consider submissions from the public in relation to that report, and to hear evidence. When the hearing got under way, it was the first time in the history of the State that senior Garda officers were questioned in public on matters of policy, administration and responsibility arising from an internal Garda investigation. Yesterday's High Court judgement has enormous implications for the role of the Oireachtas and its committees. It must be addressed as a matter of urgency.