The Government will have the power to wind up tribunals under the terms of proposed new legislation soon to be published.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, today said he had got Cabinet approval for the "urgent" drafting of a Bill to reform the legislation relating to tribunals.
The proposed Bill will incorporate many of the proposals contained in a report published last May by the Law Reform Commission. It will also incorporate provisions of the Department of Justice's current draft short Bill revising procedures for dealing with costs and legal representation.
It proposes giving the Government the power to set and amend the terms of reference for tribunals and require a statement of estimated costs and duration within three months of its establishment. The statement could also be amended in light of significant developments.
The Government would also be empowered to dissolve a tribunal with the support of a resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas. Currently, tribunals are covered by the Tribunals of Inquiry Act (1921). Mr McDowell said last May this act would likely be repealed once the new reforms were made law.
Procedural changes aimed at speeding up tribunals and saving on expensive legal bills are also proposed and the relevant minister will have power to request a progress report.
The cost and duration of tribunals such as those being chaired by Justice Mahon and Justice Moriarty have been a cause of concern politically for some time. It has been estimated the cost of the various tribunals could reach up to €1 billion and take ten years to complete. They have cost over €200 million to date.
Mr McDowell today said: "We cannot be blind to the increasing concerns that have been raised in many quarters as to the length of time it is taking for some of the inquiries to conclude their investigations.
"The length of the investigation naturally impacts on the costs incurred by the tribunals, costs ultimately borne by the taxpayer."
The latest figures show that by the end of 2004, in excess of €190 million had been incurred in relation to completed and sitting inquiries of which almost €140 million related to legal costs.
The new bill, due for publication shortly, will also aim to bring clarity to the rules governing witness costs but co-operation will remain the main determinant and maximum amounts of legal costs recoverable will be established.
The proposed bill will also allow for inquiry findings to be admissible in civil law cases.