Public inquiries in the Republic of Ireland

In Ireland, there are several kinds of public inquiry. A Tribunal of Inquiry, often simply called a tribunal, is a powerful type of statutory inquiry whose procedures are governed by the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 as amended.[1] An Oireachtas inquiry is a less powerful non-statutory inquiry controlled directly by the Oireachtas (parliament). A 2013 proposal to strengthen the power of Oireachtas inquiries was defeated at a referendum. The Law Reform Commission published a report in 2005 examining the operation of public inquiries and recommending changes.[2] A commission of investigation is a different form of inquiry, with evidence generally given in private; provided by the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 to address scandals relating to medical care and child abuse.[3][4]

Tribunals of inquiry

Tribunals have been held to address many political controversies, increasing in frequency since the Beef Tribunal of the early 1990s. While they have been the subject of many dramatic revelations in Irish politics, they have also become known for running long beyond their intended length – the longest being the Mahon Tribunal (previously the Flood Tribunal) which began in 1997 and issued its final report in 2013.

The Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 was enacted by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland before the setting up of the Irish Free State and as such remains in the Republic of Ireland.[5] It has, however, been amended since by several Acts of the Oireachtas. The chair of the inquiry is mandated by the Oireachtas (following resolutions in both the Dáil and the Seanad) to carry out the inquiry into matters of urgent public importance by a Warrant of Appointment. The terms of reference of the inquiry are given as part of that warrant.

Tribunals of Inquiry are established by the Oireachtas where the evidence of malfeasance might not be enough to secure a criminal conviction, but where public policy requires answers. Critics of the system say that tribunals: are relatively toothless; may give witnesses immunity that they would not obtain from a court; allow legal representation to all parties, resulting in a higher final cost to the State than the cost of the original malfeasance; and that they can delay difficult political decisions.[6] The Comptroller and Auditor General published a report in 2008 into the cost of Tribunals of Inquiry and making recommendations. It noted that 50%–85% of the cost of recent tribunals had been legal fees for third parties, as distinct from administration and the tribunal's own legal fees.[7]

Tribunals of Inquiry are invested with the powers, privileges and rights of the High Court. It is not a function of a Tribunal to administer justice; their work is solely inquisitorial. Tribunals are required to report their findings to the Oireachtas. They have the power to enforce the attendance and examination of witnesses and the production of relevant documents. Tribunals may consist of one or more persons, though the practise has been to appoint a Sole Member. Tribunals may sit with or without Assessors (who are not Tribunal members). Sittings are usually held in public but can, at the Tribunal's discretion, be held in private.

List
Tribunals of inquiry since the foundation of the state in 1922[8]
NameSubjectMember(s)[n 1]Dáil
resolution[n 2]		Seanad
resolution[n 2]		Ministerial order[n 3]Report laid[n 4]Cost[n 5]
Food Prices TribunalRetail prices of "articles in general consumption"Samuel Lombard Brown, Joseph Johnston, John Busteed, Richard A. Butler, Máire Ní Chinnéide, Bryan Cooper, Thomas Farren, J. F. Maguire, Patrick Shaw[9] 16 December 192527 January 1926£1,667[n 6][10]
Ports and Harbours TribunalPorts and harboursH.B. O'Hanlon, C.H. O'Conor, Michael Keegan 19 January 192627 January 192612 May 19261930
Shooting of Timothy CoughlanGeorge P. Cussen, Cyril Beatty, J. S. Troy[11] 15 February 192815 February 192814 April 1928[12]
Grain Inquiry TribunalWhether mixture of maize meal and maize products with home-grown cereals would be in the national interestJ.J. McElligott, Joseph Whelehan, J.H. Hinchcliff 27 November 192928 November 192929 November 192912 October 1931
Marketing of butterJohn Dulanty, John P. Colbert, Thomas Duggan, Michael B. McAuliffe, Patrick Vaughan[13] 30 April 193014 May 1930December 1930 (interim report[n 7])
Pig Industries TribunalPromotion of pig productionHenry J. O'Friel, Daniel Twomey, Joseph B. Whelehan, Patrick A. Rogan 5 May 193311 May 193318 May 193326 January 1934
Grading etc. of Fruit and VegetablesHenry J. O'Friel, Joseph B. Whelehan, Hugh Bradley 12 December 193419 December 193421 March 193514 September 1940
Town Tenants (Occupation Tenancies)Hardships in rented urban accommodationWilliam Black, et al.[15] 13 December 193518 December 19351936[15]early in 1941[15]
Pearse Street fireMartin C Maguire, William Ian Bloomer, William Maguire 25 November 1936N/A[n 8]5 January 193715 September 1937£622[16]
Public TransportPublic transportJoseph Ingram 7 December 19387 December 19381939
Fire at St. Josephs Orphanage, CavanJoseph A. McCarthy, James J. Comerford, Mary E. Hackett 3 March 194310 March 194325 March 194317 September 1943
Dealings in Great Southern Railways Stocks between 1/1/1943 and 18/11/1943A.K. Overend, Cahir Davitt, Barra Ó Briain 24 November 194325 November 19431 December 194320 September 1944
Ward TribunalAllegations by Patrick McCarvill against Conn Ward, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Local Government and Public HealthJohn O'Byrne, Kevin Haugh, William G. Shannon 5 June 19465 June 19467 June 19461946£4,389[17]
Supply of milk for the Dublin sale districtMartin C. Maguire, Robert A. O. O'Meara, William C. Kenny 30 November 19446 December 19441 March 19458 July 1947£650[18]
Disposal of Locke's Distillery, KilbegganJohn O'Byrne, Kevin Haugh, Cahir Davitt 5 November 19476 November 19477 November 194720 December 1947
Cross Channel Freight RatesShipping between Ireland and Great BritainPádhraic Ó Slatarra, F. Vaughan Buckley, John J. Walsh 23 October 195713 November 195719 November 195712 June 1959£2,989[19]
Pay of clerical-grade public servantsGerard Quinn, Edward J. Gray, Charles McCarthy, Cathal O'Shannon, Joseph S. Quigley 3 October 196510 October 196530 November 196525 May 1966
Death of Liam O'Mahony in Garda custodyWilliam FitzGerald, George D. Murnaghan, John Charles Conroy 18 July 196719 July 196719 July 19671 December 1967£13,000[20]
Tribunal on Teacher's SalariesTeachers' salariesLouden Ryan, Ernest Benson, Maurice P. Cosgrave, L.M. Fitzgerald, Cathal O'Shannon 15 December 196723 May 1968
"Seven Days" Television programme on Illegal MoneylendingSeán de Buitléir, A. Denis Pringle, Patrick O'T— 18 December 196917 December 196922 December 19695 August 1970
Allegations made in the Dáil by Bobby Molloy and Brendan Crinion against James Tully, the Minister For Local GovernmentSéamus Henchy, Weldon R.C. Parke, John Charles Conroy 3 July 19754 July 19754 July 19751 August 1975
Costello InquiryWhiddy Island DisasterDeclan Costello 6 March 19796 March 19799 April 197926 July 1980
Fire at Stardust Club, ArtaneRonan Keane 18 February 198119 February 198120 February 198112 November 1982
Kerry Babies TribunalKerry Babies caseKevin Lynch 11 December 198412 December 198413 December 19844 October 1985£1.645m[21]
Beef TribunalBeef Processing IndustryLiam Hamilton[22] 24 May 199129 May 199131 May 19919 August 1994€27.233m[23][24]
Finlay TribunalHepatitis C infection of pregnant women from Rho(D) immune globulinThomas Finlay 17 October 199617 October 199624 October 199611 March 1997€4.57m[23][24]
McCracken TribunalAlleged Payments by Dunnes StoresBrian McCracken 6 February 19976 February 199725 August 1997€6.56m[23][24]
Moriarty TribunalPayments by Ben Dunne to Charles Haughey and Michael LowryMichael Moriarty 11 September 199718 September 199726 September 1997December 2006 (Pt 1) March 2011 (Pt 2)€46.15m[n 9]
Mahon TribunalPlanning matters (including rezoning by Dublin local authorities)Alan Mahon, with Mary Faherty and Gerald Keys; prev Feargus Flood 7 October 1997 / 1 July 1998 / 5 July 2001 / 28 March 2002 / 3 July 2003 / 17 November 2004[n 10] 8 October 1997 / 2 July 1998 / 5 July 2001 /

28 March 2002 / 4 July 2003 / 17 November 2004[n 10]

 4 November 1997 / 15 July 1998 / 24 October 2002 / 7 July 2003 / 3 December 2004[n 10][25]22 March 2012 (Vol I-IV); 31 July 2013 (Vol V)€159m[n 11]
Lindsay TribunalHIV and Hepatitis C infection of haemophiliacsAlison Lindsay 2 June 19992 June 19995 September 2002€46.649m[23]
Barr Tribunalshooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara, County Longford on 20 April 2000Robert Barr 17 April 200218 April 20021 July 200220 September 2006€20.7m[29]
Morris Tribunalconcerning some Gardaí of the Donegal DivisionFrederick Morris 28 March 200228 March 200224 April 2002June 2004–September 2008 (8 volumes)€70-72m[n 12][30]
Smithwick Tribunalwhether Irish officials colluded in the murder of two RUC officers on 20 March 1989[31]Peter Smithwick 23 March 200524 March 200531 May 20053 December 2013€12m[n 13][32]
Disclosures Tribunal[33]Garda whistleblower scandal[34]Peter Charleton 16 February 201716 February 201717 February 2017[35]TBDTBD
Notes
  1. Where multiple members are listed, the first listed chaired the tribunal.
  2. Date of resolution mandating establishment of Tribunal. External link is to the resolution debate.
  3. Date of order by minister, or by Governor-General until 1936, establishing tribunal.
  4. Date report was laid before the houses of the Oireachtas. External link is to the report: either an official webpage or a PDF scan from the Oireachtas library.
  5. Estimated or actual cost, generally excluding legal costs of third parties where not paid by the state.
  6. 1927 projection
  7. No other report was issued.[14]
  8. Seanad had been abolished
  9. Total up to August 2011; made up of €42.706m to the Tribunal itself and €3.444m in Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources legal costs.[23]
  10. First date is of original resolution; later dates are of resolutions amending its terms of reference.
  11. September 2014 estimate.[26] A December 2014 Supreme Court decision may increase this by a further €36m,[27] though this is disputed.[28]
  12. 2011 projection
  13. 2013 projection

Other inquiries
See also: Commission of investigation (Ireland)

Non-tribunal official inquiries, and subsequent reports, include:[36]

Bibliography
  • MacCarthaigh, Muiris (2005). "6: Tribunals of inquiry and judicial accountability". Accountability in Irish Parliamentary Politics. Institute of Public Administration. pp. 187–237. ISBN 9781904541318. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  • "Tribunals of Inquiry". Citizens Information. Citizens Information Board. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  • Report on Public Inquiries including Tribunals of Inquiry (PDF). Law Reform Commission Reports. LRC 73-2005. Dublin: Law Reform Commission. 2005.
  • "Special Report: Tribunals of Inquiry" (PDF). Comptroller and Auditor General. December 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  • Reports of particular tribunals of inquiry, listed in the "Report laid" column of the table above.
  • Oireachtas debates

References
  1. Citizens Information Board 2009
  2. "Report on Public Inquiries Including Tribunals of Inquiry". Law Reform Commission. 30 May 2005. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  3. "Commissions of Investigation Act 2004". Irish Statute Book. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  4. "Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Second Stage". Dáil Éireann debates. Oireachtas. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  5. "Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  6. "Another stinging attack on tribunal". Irish Examiner. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  7. Comptroller and Auditor General, 2008, p.24 §2.16, fig 2.3
  8. "Tribunals of Inquiry". Government Legislation Programme. Department of the Taoiseach. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  9. Johnston, Roy (1999). "1926 Prices Tribunal". Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  10. "Questions; Oral answers: Cost of tribunal on prices". Dáil Éireann debates. 3 November 1927. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  11. The Irish Law Times and Solicitors' Journal. J. Falconer. 62: 42. 1928.
  12. Doherty, Gabriel (Spring 1995). "'A Star Chamber affair': the death of Timothy Coughlan". History Ireland. 3 (1).
  13. Dept. of agriculture and technical instruction (1929). Annual General Report of the Department. Dublin. p. 18.
  14. Maltby, Arthur; McKenna, Brian (2 October 2013). Irish Official Publications: A Guide to Republic of Ireland Papers, with a Breviate of Reports 1922–1972. Elsevier. p. 182. ISBN 9781483188829. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  15. "Public Business. - Rent Restrictions Bill, 1944—Second Stage". Dáil Éireann debates. 10 October 1945. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  16. Pearse Street fire tribunal Report, p.5
  17. Dwyer, T. Ryle (4 July 2009). "Tribunals end up as corporate welfare for overpaid lawyers". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  18. Milk Supply Tribunal, report p.2
  19. Cross Channel Freight Rates Tribunal report, p.2
  20. "Questions; Oral Answers: Departmental and semi-State Body Reports". Dáil Éireann debates. 17 February 1972. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  21. "Written Answers: Kerry Babies Tribunal". Dáil Éireann debates. 16 December 1986. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  22. Moloney, Eugene (28 November 2001). "£19m on and beef tribunal bills still pouring in". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  23. "Written Answers - Tribunals of Inquiry". Dáil Éireann debates. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  24. Comptroller and Auditor General, 2008, p.96 fig.A.3
  25. "Amended terms of reference". Mahon Tribunal. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  26. O'Connell, Hugh (26 June 2014). "It turns out the Mahon Tribunal is going to cost less than was previously thought*". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  27. McConnell, Daniel (28 December 2014). "Tribunal fiasco: politicians and developers will be paid €100m". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 January 2015. While the Government had expected to spend €64m on third-party legal costs, that figure could now top €100m, senior Government sources have conceded.
  28. Collins, Stephen. "Mahon tribunal apologises to former FF minister Ray Burke". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 January 2015. In a statement on its website last week the chairman of the tribunal, Mr Justice Alan Mahon, said the estimate of €159 million for its total costs still stood, despite the outcome of the Redmond case.
  29. "Chapter 15: Lease of Accommodation for a Probation Service Project (Continued)". Committee of Public Accounts proceedings. Oireachtas. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  30. "Ministerial briefing" (PDF). Department of Justice and Law Reform. March 2011. p. 9. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  31. McGee, Harry (7 June 2011). "Smithwick tribunal to hear evidence from witnesses". Irish Times. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  32. "Smithwick Tribunal: Garda counsel criticises PSNI". BBC Online. 22 June 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  33. Brennan, Cianan (25 February 2017). "The Charleton Tribunal has an official (different) name, and its opening statement is due next Monday". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  34. Bardon, Sarah; Clarke, Vivienne; O'Regan, Michael; O'Halloran, Marie (14 February 2017). "Kenny 'gave wrong information' about Zappone meeting". The Irish Times. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  35. "Opening statement of Mr Justice Peter Charleton". Disclosures Tribunal. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017. By instrument under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921, as amended, the Minister for Justice and Equality on the 17th day of February 2017 appointed this Tribunal, following resolutions of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann of the previous day.
  36. Comptroller and Auditor General, 2008, p.95 fig.A.1
  37. "RTÉ.ie". RTÉ.ie. 9 March 2005. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  38. "2005 Ministerial comment in the Dáil". Historical-debates.oireachtas.ie. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  39. "Baker-Tilly report". Scribd.com. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
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