I wish to present the report from the Committee on Enterprise and Economic Strategy. Since the committee was established on 5 May we have considered an Estimate for the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Estimates for the Department of the Marine, the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications, the Department of Tourism and Trade and the Department of Enterprise and Employment. The committee has also been given the task of taking Committee Stage of the Aviation Authority Bill and this is currently under consideration.
The committee is served by one officer at assistant principal level who is its clerk. There are problems regarding the staffing arrangements because clerical staff has not been available to the secretary of the committee to date, this is a major problem. I understand the Department has been requested to provide back-up staff at all levels but we are still awaiting clarification.
Since the committee was established we have encountered some problems and I note the points by the chairman of the Committee on Finance and General Affairs, Deputy Ellis, who contributed to the debate this morning. The committee is hampered by the restrictive nature of its terms of reference. The fact that we cannot summon a witness is a major obstacle to the development of the committee system. There is also the question of privilege for those making submissions to the committee. They should be entitled to the privilege extended to Members of this House. Without this facility problems could arise in the coming months, particularly in view of the Glackin report which was presented to us recently. This is the first time that any committee has had an opportunity to discuss a report of this nature.
Before we embark on this course it will be necessary to ensure that we have satisfactory back-up available to the committee, that we have expert advice available to us and that proper funding will be provided. This is essential if the committee is to carry out its functions properly. The report has been submitted to the committee for consideration. Precisely what the Dáil requires of the committee will have to be spelled out, carefully noting the very sensitive nature of this report.
I have the utmost faith in the continuing development of these committees. We had some initial problems regarding hours of sitting. We also have a problem regarding a suitable venue and this matter has already been raised here this morning. There is some confusion as to whether we should sit on days when there is a plenary session of the Dáil, and Deputy Rabbitte referred to this already in his contribution this morning. This matter must be examined carefully because members of the committee have been called away to vote in this House. I accept that proceedings in this House take precedence over the functions of the committees and I realise we are subject to the rules and regulations which govern business in this House. For that reason it is essential that the teething problems are resolved, hopefully before sittings of the committees are resumed. There is now ample time for us to consider how we will tackle these problems.
There is also the question of the extent of funds available to the committee. To date the liaison committee, which is responsible for providing funds to the various committees of this House has not met. How much funding will be available to us? What legal back-up and expertise will be available to us? There is another problem in that civil servants who would be called to brief or give evidence to the committee do not enjoy privilege. I see this as a likely obstacle in the way of a full discussion of the various issues that will arise from time to time. If this privilege cannot be extended to the Civil Service what effect will that have on the running of the committee? I believe it could be disastrous. If people in the employment of the State feel the evidence they present to the committee might leave them open to prosecution, it would hamper the work of the committee considerably. For that reason, these problems must be addressed.
There are precedents in this regard. Our counterparts in Britain have used the committee system for many years. There are a number of points which I have studied regarding the manner in which they conduct their business. For instance, what happens when there is no agreement at committee level? This will become relevant in the coming months when we depart from Committee Stage of a Bill, for which there is ample precedent, and indeed the consideration of Estimates. There is a traditional method of dealing with these matters and it does not present a challenge. We are carrying out work normally done in the House on Committee Stage. We are breaking new ground in the consideration of various reports but if a problem arises regarding the presentation of a report from this House what procedure must the committee follow? There must be some clarification regarding the committee's terms of reference. What type of report will the House require in this regard and in what detail? Is the committee required to examine work already covered in this case by the Glackin report? I perceive our committee's role as one where, arising from the Glackin report, we would identify any weakness in the system and the areas where there is a need for legislation to cover matters such as taxation and company law, rather than going over the ground already covered by the committee in an interim report, a final report and in the earlier McDonagh report on this issue.
I would thank the clerk of the committee, Cliona O'Rourke, who was presented with a daunting task. I realise that civil servants are not normally mentioned in the House but it is only right that this young woman should be mentioned because she did tremendous work on behalf of the committee. She dealt with an uncharted area and for that reason it was an extremely difficult task. We tend to work on precedent here but, in its absence, it requires someone who is extremely resourceful to make a system work effectively.
I thank both convenors, Deputy Lawlor on the Government side and Deputy Creed of Fine Gael, and all those who participated in the various debates in a constructive manner during the past few months thereby ensuring that the committee system proved successful. I have no doubt that in the years ahead it will be recognised that the decision to set up these committees was a wise one. I sincerely hope that we will be able to overcome the problems we have encountered to date and thereby improve the system. As Deputy Michael Ahern said, we have been given an opportunity to discuss legislation in greater detail on Committee Stage. This will prove to be of benefit in relation to legislation that emerges from this House.