Select Committee on Finance and General Affairs debate -
Wednesday, 14 Sep 1994

SECTION 10.

Ms E. Fitzgerald

I move amendment No. 26:

In page 14, subsection (1), lines 37 to 40, to delete paragraph (a) and substitute the following:

"(a) shall furnish a copy of the report to the member concerned and, if the investigation followed a complaint under section 8, the person who made the complaint, and".

This is a technical amendment. The section deals with reports of investigations by select committees. It provides for the provision of a report to the person who made the complaint and the person who is the subject of the investigation where no contravention is found. However, the section fails to make similar provision in a case where a contravention comes to light. This is just a technical flaw which this amendment will rectify so as to ensure that the section conforms with natural justice.

Mr. M. McDowell

In that context is somebody who receives the complaint, either as a person about whom it is made or a person by whom the complaint is made, free to publish the complaint in every circumstance or can they be prohibited, enjoined or required to keep it quiet?

Ms E. Fitzgerald

I refer the Deputy to section 33 (2) (d).

Mr. M. McDowell

That is not adequate. Can the Minister answer the question which I put to her instead of just referring me to a number? It seems to me that under section 33(3) someone who contravenes subsection (1) can be guilty of an offence, that is, disclosure of information under the Act. However, subsection (2) says that it does not apply to people in certain circumstances and subsection (2) (d) says that it does not apply to:

the disclosure, by or with the consent of the person to whom the information relates, of information contained in a report of a Committee under section 10 or the Commission under section 23 that has not been laid before either House.

If I make a complaint am I entitled to hand it to a newspaper man in all circumstances when I receive it? Likewise, if a complaint is made about me, am I free to publish the entirety of that report, to give it to anybody I wish, to comment on it on television and so on?

Mr. Connolly

Will the media be at the meeting or will it be held in camera? Will there be a leak to the newspapers of the Member's interest where nobody knows——

Mr. M. McDowell

That is the point. If there is any dirt on somebody it will get to the newspapers.

Mr. Connolly

Will there be a leak to the media of that Member's interest? Nobody will know who leaked it or the person in the media will not say who leaked the information. That is a serious matter also.

Mr. E. Ryan

When I was a Senator there was a very controversial issue at one stage between a couple of Members. It went before the Committee on Procedure and Privileges and much of what went on at those meetings was leaked and it was very damaging to one person if I remember correctly. It comes back to the point I made originally that if somebody wanted to damage another Member at any time, it is possible to leak it. The Minister gave the impression that they could not, but can they leak it?

Mr. Connolly

They can leak it. This is the point. Members can leak it and there is nothing in the Bill stating they cannot.

Chairman

Deputy Connolly will need another day to tease this out further.

The Select Committee adjourned at 5.30 p.m. until 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday, 27 September 1994.