Former AG cautions on Oireachtas inquiries

THE OIREACHTAS should be very cautious in carrying out inquiries that could have an impact on citizens’ reputations, a former attorney general has warned.

John Rogers SC was speaking to the Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, where he had been asked to address a number of questions relating to the powers of the Oireachtas to conduct inquiries. Asked about the holding of inquiries by the Houses of the Oireachtas in exercise of their “parliamentary accountability function”, he said it was necessary to define what this might be.

“It is vital to establish who is to be accountable to the Houses of the the Oireachtas and for what purpose such accountability is said to exist.”

The Oireachtas had the power to give itself authorisation to carry out investigations, and it was authorised to expect accountability from the Government. But was it sought that every citizen in the land should be accountable to the Oireachtas?

“That would be such a far-reaching proposal that you need an authorisation for it,” he said. “Does the Oireachtas want to extend its remit beyond law-making and beyond the answerability of the Government? It would be difficult without a constitutional amendment.”

It was entirely permissible for the Oireachtas to conduct inquiries either under a general law like the tribunals of inquiry Act or on a specific matter.

Asked whether there should be restrictions on the scope of investigations by the Oireachtas, he said that this jurisdiction should only be applied where there was a matter of grave public importance giving rise to a collapse of public confidence in a service or institution. Matters of local or private interest should be outside the scope of such investigations.