Measures to reduce the costs of public tribunals, including a preliminary Government inquiry and a statutory power by the Houses of the Oireachtas to stop a tribunal if costs are becoming disproportionate, have been suggested by a leading lawyer. Mr Rory Brady SC, who acted for Fianna Fail in the McCracken Tribunal, proposed the terms of reference to a tribunal should always include an obligation to report to the Houses of the Oireachtas at the expiry of a limited period. "In addition, the Houses of the Oireachtas must reserve the power to require a tribunal to cease its investigation if the costs become disproportionate to the issue involved," said Mr Brady, giving his personal views in the recent edition of the Bar Review.
An express statutory power of suspension should be vested in the Houses of the Oireachtas. "At present the Act [the Tribunals of Inquiry Act 1997] and the amending Act are silent as to power of suspension," he stated.
Mr Brady also said there was a compelling case for initially having a preliminary governmental inquiry into a matter of public controversy.
He said that should a preliminary inquiry turn out to be unsatisfactory or not resolve an issue of fact, then a tribunal should be established.
A benefit of the recent success of tribunals was the value of the threat of a tribunal of inquiry.
Mr Brady said the Act and the amending Act also needed to be altered to allow a tribunal power to direct that if somebody was found to be a wrongdoer that that person pay all, or an appropriate amount, of the costs of the tribunal and those appearing before it.
Further, the tribunal should be given power to request that its terms of reference be extended where information revealed other matters of public interest that were not previously known to the Dail or Seanad.