I am delighted to have the opportunity of opening the debate this morning on the new legislative committees.
The setting up of the new select committees and the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs is the most far-reaching, innovative and substantive development in the evolution of reform structures that the political parties have sought over 20 years to bring into being in order to make the proceedings of this House and the Oireachtas more efficient and relevant not only to us as Members but also to the the general public. It would not be rash to hope that the success of the new arrangements will help to determine the thrust and structure of even more reforms.
Each of the committees has parallel and very extensive functions under their orders of reference in respect of legislation, consideration of Estimates and law reform. These new committees in dealing with the essential constitutional work of Dáil Eireann are in effect microcosms of the Dáil and I am glad to record that they are already establishing a political, parliamentary and media profile for themselves. Undoubtedly, the committees substantive remit will enable them to play an integral role in helping to facilitate greater and more frequent participation by Members in those areas in which they may have a particular interest or expertise. Such opportunities for participation by Members can only enhance their role in the business of the House and, by virtue of the specialist nature of each committee, encourage Members to articulate their views on the wide spectrum of activity of each committee. In so doing they will improve the overall quality of debate on the business of Dáil Eireann.
My experience to date as Chairman of the Select Committee on Finance and General Affairs suggests to me that the co-operative spirit in which the new committees were established has translated extremely well into positive and efficient work in committee. There is a palpable sense of co-operation and goodwill on the part of all Members and even at this early stage in our existence the Select Committee on Finance and General Affairs has been successful in progressing extremely complex Bills through Committee Stage, i.e. the Finance Bill and the Waiver of Certain Tax, Interest and Penalties Bill. Certainly the working relationship between Members seems to be less confrontational and more amicable in committee than on the floor of the House itself and I feel that this has been achieved without the Opposition Members on the committee in any way putting at risk or diminishing their primary role as an effective Opposition Indeed, it has been a personal and political pleasure for me to chair proceedings where invaluable work has been accomplished efficiently and without any evidence of parliamentary rancour or frayed temper manifesting itself.
The select committees, of course, are still obviously in their infancy and over time it will be interesting to see how we proceed to develop and explore our role. There are many possibilities open to us to develop in a substantive way our powers to operate through sub-committee, and this is an avenue we will explore as we gradually establish through familiarity with our terms of reference and practice over time, an integral and purposeful role for ourselves as the Select Committee on Finance and General Affairs.
One point I would like to make is that I feel that the private sessions on Bills at which committees are briefed by officials will themselves have benefits for Civil Service management. These sessions will, I am sure, broaden their understanding and experience of the role of committees in the parliamentary system and of the function of the Opposition in its role vis à vis the Government of the day. I think I can say that civil servants, perhaps wisely or unfortunately, may have tended in the past to approach committees of the Houses with a certain trepidation and this is understandable. The involvement of civil servants even in this limited and still embryonic way in parliamentary business will, one would hope allow for a greater flow of information between parliamentarians and administrators and the rapport being created must make for a greater appreciation on the part of all of each other's respective roles. Certainly the experience to date in my committee should serve to illustrate for civil servants the fact that parliamentarians are not political ogres and that we genuinely seek to improve qualitatively the efficiency of Government administration and equally, if not more importantly, our input into the legislative process. I fervently hope that the Government will watch the operation and effectiveness of this particular initiative and no doubt over time we will identify other areas in which this consultation facility between parliamentarians and civil servants could be expanded.
At present, the proceedings of the committees are only televised when they relate to consideration of departmental Estimates and Committee Stages of Bills. This will change, of course, when the promised legislation on the question of witnesses's privilege has been put in place and I understand this will happen before the end of the year. Indeed I am sure all Members will look forward to the additional scope this will give all committees of the Houses to make their proceedings even more relevant for the wider public. Such a development will go some way to demystify and make less remote the workings of Parliament for the wider public and, in particular, our own constituents and to let them see the broad spectrum of economic, social and financial issues that we deal with in their interests in the course of a parliamentary session.
At this stage, I wish to say a few words about our particular operations. Since this select committee was established we have, as I have already mentioned, completed the Committee Stages of the Finance Act, 1993 and of the Waiver of Certain Tax, Interest and Penalties Act, 1993.
