I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend and extend the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 and to provide for related matters.
I am delighted to introduce this Bill today. It has been in the works for a long time. It aims to amend the current Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. The idea for this Bill came to me during the work on the mother and baby institutions. As we know from the report and the manner in which the commission wrapped up its work in January 2021, the main objective in drafting the Bill was to ensure that former members of a commission of investigation, upon written request, would be required to appear before the relevant Oireachtas joint committee within six months after the presentation of the commission's final report. I want to ensure that members cannot simply discharge their duties without a certain level of scrutiny by the Houses of the Oireachtas. We all remember everything that happened in regard to the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters report, which was delayed for several years. When it finally came out, people were anxiously awaiting it but on its publication, to say they were disappointed is an understatement. A series of events ensued and as Members are aware, the committee on children, which I chair, requested on several occasions that the commission come before us. At that point the commission had been dissolved. There was no obligation on the members but that left a great many questions for people. As we know, when the commission wound up, that happened despite repeated calls for greater accountability and for an opportunity to hear from members on the manner in which the investigation was conducted and on compliance with the terms of reference. That is the key point of this Bill. It is not to interfere with investigations, as that would be totally inappropriate. Rather it is to see how the questions were put, how the investigation was conducted and whether there was compliance with the terms of reference. We all know that if a piece of work is being conducted on which there will be greater scrutiny at the end of it, the work will be done in a different manner. It would have been helpful, had this legislation been in place at the time of the mother and baby homes investigation. Unfortunately it was not. However, we should try to amend this legislation now in order that we can do better going forward. Obviously, we would all love to have a situation whereby commissions of investigations would not be necessary. However, that is unrealistic. We know that they have to take place.
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004, which established commissions' functions, which included investigation and reporting on matters of public concern following referral from Government. One of the main goals of the legislation and this model of investigation and reporting was to reduce both time and money. Previous decades were marked by a series of costly tribunals, mainly synonymous with those who chaired the Mahon, Moriarty and Smithwick tribunals, to name a few. In 2003 it was estimated that the cost of a series of high-profile inquiries during the 1990s had reached IR£100 million and would continue to grow. My desire to see a level of accountability and wider public discussion in the form of the committee setting was the driving force behind this Bill. I acknowledge that a number of wider issues have been highlighted, in particular by the Law Reform Commission, around the benefit of conducting hearings in public as opposed to in private and the tribunal commission model of investigation and reporting. While I acknowledge the broader issues, in regard to the commissions of investigation, I believe we have that model here at the moment. Where we have it we should strive to ensure it is done to the highest level and with the most accountability that we can have. I hope we get support from the Government for this Bill. We have been drafting it for the past year at least in conjunction with the very able Oireachtas Library and Research Service and all the other bodies that I wish to thank for all their efforts, help and support in all the back-and-forth that was involved. This is only First Stage and it has to move on to Second Stage. Sometimes there can be a delay. I hope this will move forward, as I believe everyone would agree that if we could have changed how the situation ended with the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters, we would have liked to have been able to change it. This is the opportunity to do so.
