Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1982 > Committee on State Sponsored Bodies > Special Report - Udaras Na Gaeltachta

SPECIAL REPORT

ÚDARÁS NA GAELTACHTA

1. On 14 July 1982 Dáil Éireann made an Order as follows:—

“That Dáil Éireann, recognising the need for continued support and development of the Gaeltachts and concerned with recent publicity about the operation of Údarás na Gaeltachta, hereby instructs the Joint Committee on State-Sponsored Bodies to examine the affairs of Údarás na Gaeltachta as a matter of urgency and make recommendations for the better functioning of Údarás na Gaeltachta”;

and on 15 July 1982 Seanad Éireann made an Order as follows:—

“That Seanad Éireann, recognising the need for continued support and development of the Gaeltachts and concerned with recent publicity about the operation of Údarás na Gaeltachta, hereby instructs the Joint Committee on State-Sponsored Bodies to examine the affairs of Údarás na Gaeltachta as a matter of urgency and make recommendations for the better functioning of Údarás na Gaeltachta”.

Subsequently in this Report the enquiry being conducted by the Committee pursuant to the above Orders is referred to as “this enquiry”.

2. The Committee is making good progress with the substantial amount of preparatory work which is necessary prior to the taking of oral evidence for the purpose of this enquiry.

3. The Committee has noted that under section 2(1) of the Committees of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Privileges and Procedure) Act, 1976 Members of either House of the Oireachtas, who appear as witnesses before the Committee, have privilege in respect of any utterance made before the Committee; but that such privilege does not appear to apply in respect of the utterances of other witnesses. Further, there is no statutory provision conferring privilege on persons, whether Members of either House or not, sending documents to the Committee.

4. The Committee has come to the conclusion that, having regard to the nature of many of the issues which will have to be examined by it in the course of this enquiry, the effective conduct of the enquiry will prove impossible if the limitations in respect of privilege indicated in the preceding paragraph are to apply.

5. In the circumstances the Committee recommends the introduction of legislation providing that for the purpose of this enquiry a witness before the Committee and a person sending a document to the Committee shall be entitled to the same immunities and privileges as if he were a witness before the High Court. In view of the instruction to the Committee to treat this enquiry as a matter of urgency, the Committee would urge the two Houses to give priority to the recommended legislation.

6. To avoid possible future applications of this nature from the Committee in respect of individual enquiries, it is suggested to the two Houses that they might consider it worthwhile to provide that the recommended legislation apply to all enquiries conducted by the Committee.

(Signed) TOM FITZPATRICK

Chairman of the Committee

28 September 1982