Former RTÉ director general Dee Forbes, broadcaster Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly fall within the categories of persons who may be compelled to attend before the Public Accounts Committee.
The Houses of the Oireachtas Inquiries, Procedure and Privileges Act provides that, in general, any person in the State, any Irish citizen outside the State or any person on an Irish-registered vessel, aircraft or on an Irish diplomatic mission may be compelled to appear before a committee once the latter meets certain criteria.
Exceptions exist in certain circumstances for a limited number of people, including the President, Attorney General and judges.
A committee seeking to compel the attendance of certain witnesses must, under the Act, follow a two-stage process.
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First, the Act requires it must have the power “to send for persons, papers and records”, meaning the committee can insist upon the attendance of witnesses and the production of papers and other material. The PAC has that power.
The second stage involves applying to the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight (CPPO) for permission to compel. It is believed the CPP would be likely to grant permission to the PAC to direct Ms Forbes, Mr Tubridy and Mr Kelly to attend.
The remit of the PAC relates to entities audited by the Comptroller & Auditor General. Because the C&AG does not audit RTÉ, the PAC applied this week for an extension of its remit to include RTÉ and a motion to that effect was passed by the Oireachtas last Wednesday.
Because Ms Forbes is no longer director general of RTÉ, she is in a different position in terms of accountability than if she was still director general. Under the Broadcasting Act, the director general of RTÉ is accountable to the Oireachtas Media Committee. Because Ms Forbes is no longer director general, she is not accountable to that committee.
The fact that Ms Forbes has said she is ill raises another issue in terms of any direction to her to appear before the PAC. Legal sources speculated that, if a direction to attend is issued in her case and she says she cannot attend for health reasons, the committee may seek a medical certificate.
According to guidelines issued by the Houses of the Oireachtas concerning persons directed to appear before the committee, a direction will be relevant to the proceedings before the committee. The committee is also required to act with due regard to fair procedures, the rights of the relevant person and any person affected by the direction.
Failure to comply with a direction of a committee may amount to an offence.
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In a case related to a person invited, rather than compelled, to attend before the PAC, the Supreme Court ruled in early 2019 the committee acted “significantly outside its terms of reference” in its treatment of former Rehab chief executive Angela Kerins who tried to take her own life after she attended the PAC voluntarily in February 2014.
The court said Ms Kerins was invited to attend before the committee on one basis but the committee acted in a significantly different matter once she attended. It granted a declaration to Ms Kerins that, by conducting a public hearing in a manner which was significantly outside of its terms of reference and which departed significantly from the terms of an invitation by virtue of which a citizen was requested to attend, the PAC acted unlawfully. The issue of whether or not Ms Kerins is entitled to damages has yet to be decided.
