My main point in setting up this tribunal is not to find scapegoats or to attach blame, but rather to ascertain what were the real causes of this fatality, with a view to devising measures to prevent a recurrence of such things. The tribunal will be more concerned to ensure that, so far as human foresight and regulations can encompass it, this sort of thing will not happen again. We all know that there are numerous institutions in the country, not of this particular type only, where you have a large number of inmates of one sort or another, and, in view of this great disaster, we want to have an examination made in relation to all such institutions, and also, I should say, in relation to the facilities for dealing with fires which exist in our smaller towns, with a view to making them, so far as we can, adequate to overcome any dangers that may exist. Therefore, as I say, I have advisedly left the terms of reference as wide as possible; but no aspect of the matter will be overlooked.
The next point that was raised was about the constitution of the tribunal. It is my intention to have as chairman a lawyer of long standing. He may be a judge, or a practising member of the Bar. That will depend upon the circumstances of the time. The courts may be fully occupied, and the judges may be going out on circuit, which may mean that we shall have to fall back on a practising barrister, but whoever the chairman will be, he will be a person of standing. It is also my intention to have as a member of the tribunal a person with experience of fire fighting and fire prevention, and the third member of the tribunal, I think, will be a lady—perhaps an inspector of industrial schools. That is the type of tribunal I have in mind —I am not yet pinned down to any particular person, but that is the sort of tribunal I want to get.
It is quite true that I have not given the usual notice to the House with regard to this motion, but this is the first opportunity we have had to ask the House to adopt the necessary resolution. I think that the Seanad will be meeting next week and we hope to get the corresponding necessary resolution adopted there. If this inquiry is to be effective, we should have as little delay as possible in setting up this tribunal. That is the reason for the short notice.