Committee Reports::Special Report - Terms of Reference and Resources, Joint Committee on Commercial State-Sponsored Bodies::26 November, 1991::Appendix

APPENDIX III

AN BILLE UM CHOISTI THITHE AN OIREACHTAIS (PRIBHLEID AGUS NOS IMEACHTA), 1976

COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS (PRIVILEGE AND PROCEDURE) BILL, 1976

Mar a tionscnaíodh

As initiated

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS


Section


1. Definition.


2. Privilege and immunity of committees.


3. Power of committees to summon witnesses.


4. Repeal.


5. Short title.



AN BILLE UM CHOISTI THITHE AN OIREACHTAIS (PRIBHLEID AGUS NOS IMEACHTA), 1976

COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS (PRIVILEGE AND PROCEDURE) BILL, 1976

BILL 5


entitled


AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION REGARDING PRIVILEGE, IMMUNITY AND PROCEDURE IN RELATION TO COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS.


BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS: 10


1.—In this Act “a committee” means a committee appointed by either House of the Oireachtas or jointly by both Houses of the Oireachtas.


Privilege and immunity of committees.


2.—(1) A member of either House of the Oireachtas shall not, in respect of any utterance in or before a committee, be amenable to 15 any court or any authority other than the House or the Houses of the Oireachtas by which the committee was appointed.


(2) (a)The documents of a committee and the documents of its members connected with the committee or its functions,


(b)all official reports and publications of a committee, and 20


(c)the utterances in a committee of the members, advisers, officials and agents of the committee,


wherever published shall be privileged.


Power of Committees to summon witnesses.


3.—(1) A committee may for the purposes of its functions do all or any of the following things— 25


(a)summon witnesses, by letters delivered to them personally or by registered post, to attend before it,


(b)examine the witnesses attending before it,


(c)require any such witness to produce to the committee or require any person, by letter delivered to him personally 30 or by registered post, to send to the committee, any document in his power or control.


(2) A witness before a 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. 35


(3) A summons shall be signed by at least one member of a committee.


(4) If a person—


(a)on being duly summoned as a witness before a committee 5 makes default in attending, or


(b)being in attendance as a witness before a committee refuses to take an oath or to make an affirmation when legally required by the committee to do so, or to produce any document in his power or control legally required by the 10 committee to be produced by him or to answer any question to which the committee may legally require an answer, or


(c)fails or refuses to send to a committee any document in his power or control legally required by the committee to be 15 sent to it by the person, or


(d)being in attendance as a witness before a committee does anything which would, if the committee were the High Court, be contempt of such court,


he shall be guilty of an offence and, upon summary conviction, shall 20 be liable to a fine not exceeding £300 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both the fine and the imprisonment.


(5) In subsection (4) of this section “person” includes a person who is a member or former member of either House of the 25 Oireachtas other than such a person who has been summoned by a committee under section 3 (1) (a) of this Act to attend before it for examination in relation to an utterance made by him, while he was such a member, in a House of the Oireachtas or in or before a committee.


Repeal. 1970, No. 22.


30 4.—The Committee of Public Accounts of Dáil Éireann (Privilege and Procedure) Act, 1970, is hereby repealed.


5.—This Act may be cited as the Committees of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Privilege and Procedure) Act, 1976.



AN BILLE UM CHOISTI THITHE AN OIREACHTAIS (PRIBHLEID AGUS NOS IMEACHTA), 1976

COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS (PRIVILEGE AND PROCEDURE) BILL, 1976

Mar a ritheadh ag dhá Theach an Oireachtais

As passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS


Section


1. Definition.


2. Privilege and immunity of committees.


3. Short title.



AN BILLE UM CHOISTI THITHE AN OIREACHTAIS (PRIBHLEID AGUS NOS IMEACHTA), 1976

COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS (PRIVILEGE AND PROCEDURE) BILL, 1976

BILL 5


entitled


AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION REGARDING PRIVILEGE, IMMUNITY AND PROCEDURE IN RELATION TO COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS.


BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS: 10


1.—In this Act “a committee” means a committee appointed by either House of the Oireachtas or jointly by both Houses of the Oireachtas.


Privilege and immunity of committees.


2.—(1) A member of either House of the Oireachtas shall not, in respect of any utterance in or before a committee, be amenable to 15 any court or any authority other than the House or the Houses of the Oireachtas by which the committee was appointed.


(2) (a)The documents of a committee and the documents of its members connected with the committee or its functions,


(b)all official reports and publications of a committee, and 20


(c)the utterances in a committee of the members, advisers, officials and agents of the committee.


wherever published shall be privileged.


3.—This Act may be cited as the Committees of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Privilege and Procedure) Act, 1976. 25