Cabinet approves powers to wind up costly tribunals
The Government could soon have the powers to wind up tribunals that cost too much or sit for too long, it emerged today.
The Cabinet yesterday approved measures by Justice Minister Michael McDowell that would allow it to dissolve state inquiries if it gets the backing of the Oireachtas.
Mr McDowell said €190m had been spent on tribunals up to the end of 2004 and two-thirds of this accounted for the legal fees of barristers and solicitors.
“We cannot be blind to the length of time it is taking for some of the inquiries to conclude their investigations and to report,” Mr McDowell said today.
“The length of the investigation naturally impacts on the costs incurred by the tribunals – costs ultimately borne by the taxpayer.”
Opposition TDs fear the Mahon and Moriarty tribunals into planning corruption and payments to politicians could cost up to one billion euro if allowed to drag on.
Already there are legislation changes in place to reduce the fees for barristers at the tribunals, changing it from a lucrative daily rate to an annual salary.
The minister said the proposed Tribunals of Inquiry Bill 2005 will enhance justice and public accountability by governing all aspects of a tribunal, from the time of its establishment to publication of its final report.
The main features of the draft Bill are:
:: the process for setting and amending terms of reference of a tribunal will be clarified
:: a tribunal will have to outline its costs and duration after three months in operation
:: the Government will be able to fully dissolve a tribunal for good reasons and if approved by the Oireachtas
:: the costly practice of orally “reading-in” of evidence already available in written form will be stopped
:: the granting of legal representation will be clarified
:: the relevant Government minister will be able to request an interim report on the general progress of, or any specific aspect of the inquiry
:: tribunal reports will be admissible in civil cases
:: the awarding of maximum costs by a tribunal will be set out
Speaking of long-running inquiries, Mr McDowell added: “The complexity of some of the issues being investigated and the degree of cooperation of certain parties before the tribunals has undoubtedly contributed to the lengthy timescales involved.”
