Labour has called for a constitutional referendum to restore the power of Oireachtas committees to conduct DIRT-style investigations.
The proposal was contained in a wide-ranging plan to reform the Dáil, which includes proposals to double the number of days on which the House sits, extended working hours and shorter holidays.
"The most recent decision of the Government has seemed to encourage the view that the Dáil, and our national parliament generally, is losing its relevance, and that the people who are elected to serve have only their own interests at heart," said the party leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte.
He said the objective of what should be an "urgent" reform process was to increase the relevance of the Dáil, which he said was not merely a "legislation factory".
Published yesterday, the reform proposals contain a demand to reverse the arrangement whereby the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, is obliged to take Dáil questions only twice a week.
They also include a call for the repeal of the Official Secrets Act and for legislation to ensure that Cabinet confidentiality cannot be used to cover up necessary investigations.
He said the party had brought forward publication of the document in the light of the sustained public criticism of the week-long "mid-term" Dáil adjournment.
He said a Constitutional amendment was required because of a Supreme Court judgment on the Oireachtas inquiry into the Abbeylara incident, which constrained the scope of all such inquiries.
Mr Rabbitte said it was possible to amend legislation to bring this about through ordinary legislation, but the right to conduct such inquiries was of sufficient importance to justify its inclusion in the Constitution.
While Mr Rabbitte accepted that "delicate matters" such as the Abbeylara case were probably not appropriate subjects for inquiry by the Oireachtas, he said there was ample scope to address public administration in a wide range of areas. Mr Rabbitte suggested the Government's indemnity deal with Catholic congregations and the cost overshoot on the Luas light rail system were valid subjects for investigation.
Mr Rabbitte said the legal profession had been hostile to the notion of inquiries by parliamentary committees. "Legal counsel think they are the only ones who can ask questions and they go to great lengths to protect that." The Labour document called for a wide range of procedural changes in the Oireachtas. "If the members of the first Dáil were to come back, they'd be quite comfortable with the procedures that apply, even if the society outside was unrecognisable," he said.
Mr Rabbitte also wants written Dáil questions answered during recess periods.
