THE OIREACHTAS committee which former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick declined to appear before this week will not seek to compel him to attend in the immediate future.
The committee on economic regulatory affairs is to await the outcome of an investigation into loans to Mr FitzPatrick before deciding its next move on his failure to attend.
The investigation is being carried out by the director of corporate enforcement Paul Appleby.
Committee chairman Michael Moynihan of Fianna Fáil said last night once Mr Appleby’s report was made available the committee would then decide how best to pursue the matter.
“We have had extensive advice from the parliamentary legal advisors over the last 24 hours,” Mr Moynihan said last night.
Mr FitzPatrick cited legal reasons for not attending the committee meeting on Tuesday to explain why Anglo Irish needed to be nationalised.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Brian Cowen told the Dáil yesterday that any move to compel witnesses to attend Oireachtas committees would have to be subject to very careful legal scrutiny.
“As the House will be aware, if any changes are to be made to this area of compellability the Government will do so very carefully, and any proposed changes will be subject to careful legal scrutiny.”
He said the Government recognized that the terms of reference of committees cannot be expanded to allow for adverse findings to be made against individuals.
“The Supreme Court has held that Oireachtas committees cannot use their compellability powers to make adverse findings of fact or opinion against a non-member of the Oireachtas. According to advice, the only appropriate method for this is a tribunal of inquiry.”
Mr Cowen added that committees could only ask questions which were relevant to its terms of reference and the proceedings it was conducting. Therefore any changes to terms of reference would have to be extremely carefully drafted and strictly adhered to.
He pointed out that certain evidence is exempt from scrutiny, including anything that could prejudice the investigation, apprehension or prosecution of offences.
The Taoiseach noted that recent developments suggest that the Director of Corporate Enforcement and/or the Garda could be interested in investigating developments in the banks.
Earlier, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny noted that a senior member of Fás had refused to attend the Committee of Public Accounts because Dáil committees could not compel or subpoena witnesses to attend and give information in regard to certain matters.
He said that committees could examine issues but could not apportion blame or otherwise. “In view of this situation, people ask why the Oireachtas cannot require people to attend committees and subpoena people to give evidence which is in the public interest.”
Mr Kenny noted that the late Deputy Jim Mitchell had chaired the Dirt inquiry and while the powers of the committee were not changed, the interaction of personalities and the goodwill of the parties involved allowed people to attend that committee.
“I will support the Government if the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, redrafts standing orders to give committees the right to subpoena witnesses to appear before them, whether the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs or otherwise, if it is in the public interest.”
