John Bruton
Ceist:31 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the proposals, if any, he has for the establishment of Dáil committees. [13701/97]
Written Answers. - Establishment of Committees.
I wish to stress that the establishment of committees of the House is, primarily, a matter for the House itself. All parties, including those in Government, will from time to time have views and proposals regarding committees which they will seek to advance but it is ultimately a matter for the House itself to decide. Committees of the House are not and cannot be regarded as tools of the Executive.
Deputies will be aware that prior to the dissolution of the last Dáil the sub-committee of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges on reform of Dáil procedure, as part of its adoption of formal positions on matters of common agreement, initiated a review of the committee system to be conducted by an outside consultant. This review was carried out by Professor Michael Laver and a team from Trinity College, Dublin, and has now been completed. An interim report has been presented and the final report will be presented shortly.
I expect that the consultant's reports will be considered by the incoming Committee on Procedure and Privileges or by its sub-committee on reform of Dáil procedure if it is agreed to reestablish that sub-committee. I consider it would be most appropriate that any Government proposals in relation to the establishment of committees should be presented to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges or the sub-committee for consideration in the first instance, taking account of Professor Laver's report. I hope that the principle of consensus which marked the workings of the sub-committee in the last Dáil will continue to operate in the current Dáil.