Sweeping reforms to modernise the Oireachtas and to make it financially independent of Government have been recommended in the report of the Public Accounts Committee.
The report sharply criticises antiquated procedures and poor staffing, saying that matters such as the DIRT scandal could be exposed and investigated if parliament is modernised and properly funded. Oireachtas procedures, practice and resources have not kept pace with the expansion of the economy, it says.
The recommendations will add to the pressure for a major programme of Oireachtas reform, coming as part of a parliamentary inquiry widely seen as a remarkable success. Advocates of change say that parliamentary inquiries carried out under a reformed system could be considerably more efficient and cost effective than tribunals of inquiry
The report makes a vigorous case for giving more power, money and independence to the Oireachtas. It strongly criticises the "totally unacceptable subjugation of Parliament to Government when one of Parliament's fundamental roles is to hold Government to account".
To illustrate this point, it explains how the Public Accounts Committee has had to repeatedly seek sanction from the Department of Finance for staffing, resources and even minor expenditure.
Extra resources and staffing are needed "to ensure true accountability which would minimise the number of extra-parliamentary inquiries in the future", it says.
This point was echoed last night by the former Progressive Democrat leader, Mr Desmond O'Malley, who described the report as "a watershed in relations between Parliament and Government. This relationship in which Parliament is supposed to be supreme has been clouded in recent decades by the growth of executive power and the decline of parliamentary power and accountability."
The central recommendation is for an independent, permanent Oireachtas Commission to oversee and control the funding, staffing and organisation of the Houses of the Oireachtas. This Commission should be given much more money that currently goes to the Houses of the Oireachtas, and its budget should be prepared independently of the Department of Finance.
The staffing arrangements in other parliaments, including the newly established Scottish and Northern Ireland assemblies, "are far more realistic for a modern Parliament than is the case in the Oireachtas".
It also calls for the establishment of an Oireachtas law agent to act as legal adviser to the Dail, Seanad and Oireachtas committees and sub-committees. It recommends that parliamentary inspectors be appointed from time to time by the Oireachtas to inquire into specific matters and report to an Oireachtas committee.
To strengthen the Oireachtas committee system, it suggests committees could be given a greater role in the passage of legislation and could be a forum for the taking of Dail questions for which there is no time in the House. It says meetings of committees should not be scheduled for the same time the Dail is meeting.
The report also recommends a comparative study be undertaken by the Department of Finance and the Attorney General's Office into parliamentary inquiries and tribunals of inquiry, and this be completed by December 2000. It recommends that future parliamentary inquiries be broadcast live on television.
The report sharply criticises parliamentary procedures and says the Oireachtas is seriously understaffed.
There was no Government response to these recommendations last night. However, the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, said the recommendations in the report "will be examined in full by the Department and by the other relevant agencies".