Enda Kenny eyes second poll to beef up Dáil probe powers

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that he would consider the possibility of holding a second referendum to give more powers to Oireachtas inquiries in future.

Speaking amid criticisms of the banking inquiry, Mr Kenny said a more robust process would be preferable.

Mr Kenny said: “I do accept that it was limited and constrained in what the members could do, and they did a great deal of work on it.”

He said: “I think I would like to reflect again on whether we should decide whether the Oireachtas and future members of the Oireachtas would be able to conduct an inquiry like this to the extent that would be warranted, and whether it should be considered if we should have a future referendum again on that matter”.

The Taoiseach said: “So that if inquiries of this nature are ever to be carried out again, and we hope that they wouldn’t, whoever serves on them from the Oireachtas would actually have the constitutional and legal authority to carry out full and investigative inquiries.

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“They would have been able to, had the referendum been carried, so I think that’s an issue I will reflect on.”

Former Labour leader and minister, Pat Rabbitte, in his last address to the Dáil, also called on the next government to redraft a constitutional referendum and put it to the people.

The banking inquiry report has been described as “worse than useless” by a US expert who also said it gets “all the key things wrong”.

Bill Black said we would not learn anything from the report that could prevent another financial collapse.

Mr Black, who is a professor in economics and law at the University of Missouri, was one of the first witnesses to the inquiry. He previously described the bank guarantee as “insane”.

He said the inquiry was hamstrung from the outset and we had learned nothing new.

“It’s worse than useless and gets all the key things wrong in terms of preventing the next crisis,” he said.

In the Dáil, several members of the inquiry were critical of the limitations imposed on them by the terms of the legislation. Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesman, Michael McGrath said that because of the ongoing legal actions relating to Anglo Irish Bank, the inquiry was only able to “scratch the surface” of a major component of the crash.

“It has to be acknowledged that we did not tell the full story. We were only able to scratch at the surface of the story of Anglo Irish Bank, the bank which will cost the State in the region of €30bn”.

The Cork South-Central TD paid tribute to his former colleague, the late Brian Lenihan for coping with what he said was an “unbelievable” level of stress while he was minister. He expressed regret at not being able to have taken evidence from Mr Lenihan, given his death in 2011.

“We did get some insight as to the pressure he was under. He must have been under the most extraordinary pressure as a human being and we will never know whether the pressure and stresscontributed to the illness he eventually succumbed to. I wouldn’t be surprised if it did,” Mr McGrath said.

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