User:Jnestorius/Public inquiries in Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland, a tribunal of inquiry is a tribunal established to produce findings of fact in relation to a matter of urgent public importance. Typically, a tribunal is a response to a political scandal or controversy. Its proceedings use an inquisitorial system. It produces a report for the Oireachtas, documenting its findings and making recommendations arising.

Legal procedure

A tribunal consists of one of more Members, typically lawyers or judges, one of whom is the chair. The chair may be the sole member. Assessors, experts in the topic under review, may assist the members. The Tribunal has powers equal to those of the High Court to order witnesses to appear and give evidence, and for the production of documents. Witnesses and the tribunal itself can have legal counsel as at a trial. However, a tribunal is not a trial, and does not decide questions of justice.

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. The terms of reference of the inquiry are given as part of the chair's Warrant of Appointment.

The primary legislation governing tribunals is the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921, passed by the Westminster Parliament prior to the 1922 creation of the Irish Free State. Subsequent amending Acts have been passed by the Oireachtas: in 1979, 1997, 1998 (twice), 2002, and 2004.

Politics

In recent decades, the length of proceedings of individual tribunals has increased, as has the concomitant cost. On the one hand, there is a tendency for those outraged by a new scandal to demand a Tribunal of Inquiry to investigate it. On the other hand, there is resentment of the increased cost of proceedings. The expenses of the legal counsel retained by witnesses are often paid in whole or part by the state. After the Beef Tribunal ended, a common joke was that its unprecedented length and cost ought to be investigated by another Tribunal.

Alternatives to a Tribunal of Inquiry include:

• a non-statutory Parliamentary Inquiry, which is overseen by the Oireachtas but has lesser powers to compel witnesses to attend
• a Commission of Investigation, often established as a preliminary step and later replaced by a more powerful Tribunal

List

Year(s)	Subject	Member(s)	Resolution(s)	Reports(s)	Type Tribunal, Commission, etc.
1926	Retail prices of articles in general consumption
1926	Ports and Harbours
1928	Shooting of Timothy Coughlin
1929	Whether mixture of maize meal and maize products with home-grown cereals would be in the national interest
1930	Marketing of butter
1933	Pig production
1934	Grading etc. of Fruit and Vegetables
1935	Town Tenants
1936	Pearse Street Fire
1938	Public Transport
1943	Fire at St. Josephs Orphanage, Cavan
1943	Dealings in Great Southern Railway Stocks between 1 January 1943 and 18 November 1943
1946	Allegations concerning Parliamentary Secretary
1947	Disposal of Distillery of John Locke and Co. Ltd., Kilbeggan
1957	Cross Channel Freight Rates
1967	Death of Liam O'Mahony in Garda custody
1969	"7 Days" report on illegal moneylending
1975	Allegations made in the Dáil against James Tully (Irish politician), then Minister For Local Government
1979	Whiddy Island Disaster			Costello Inquiry
1981	Stardust Disaster
1984	Kerry Babies Tribunal
1991	Beef Industry	Liam Hamilton
1997	Payments to Politicians by Ben Dunne			McCracken Tribunal
1996	Hepatitis C
1997–	Payments to Politicians by Ben Dunne			Moriarty Tribunal
1997–	Certain Planning Matters and Payments			The Mahon Tribunal
1999	infection of haemophiliacs with HIV and Hepatitis C from contaminated blood products.			Lindsay Tribunal
2002–2006	shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara, County Longford			Barr Tribunal	Tribunal
2002–	complaints concerning some Gardaí of the Donegal Division			Morris Tribunal	Tribunal
	Dublin and Monaghan bombings	Patrick MacEntee		Commission of Investigation: Dublin and Monaghan Bombings 1974	Commission
2005	clerical sexual abuse in the Catholic Diocese of Ferns			Ferns Report
2000-2009	child abuse at religious-run institutions			Ryan Report
	Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse				Commission
2006-2009	Sexual abuse scandal in Dublin archdiocese			Murphy Report