Good afternoon members. I would like to bring to your attention an article entitled “Judge attacks modern tribunals as grotesque”, published in The Irish times last Friday the 15th July.
Supreme Court Judge Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman launched a strong attack on modern Tribunals of Inquiry describing their powers as ‘truly awesome’, their expense enormous, the cost of participating ‘grotesque’ and the duration of some ‘nothing less than appalling’.
Mr Justice Hardiman has agreed with Mrs Justice Susan Denham that it is well settled law, since then Chief Justice Thomas Finlay’s decision in 1992 on a challenge by Larry Goodman to the beef tribunal, that tribunal reports were “sterile” of legal effect.
The Director of Corporate Enforcement has been attempting to rely on certain aspects of planning tribunal reports in seeking orders against developers, namely Michael and Thomas Bailey.
If tribunal reports cannot be used for judicial proceedings then we must question the value of tribunals.
In these times of economic austerity we must ensure that any money spent must achieve credible results that will be favourable to the public at large.
It can be argued that credible outcomes or judgments have not always been executed.
Going forward we must question what role if any the tribunal of public enquiries have in the future.
I would like to ask the Minister for Justice to address this house to outline any proposals for dealing with any future tribunals of public enquiry.
I would also like to know the Minister for Justice position regarding meetings held in private and their validity for the outcome of public enquiries.
A careful balance needs to be struck between the administration of justice in public and any similar system of public enquiry within the remit of the Houses of the Oireachtas in the future.
