NEW RULES making the Government accountable to the Dáil for its handling of EU negotiations are expected to be recommended in an important report to be published tomorrow.
The report from an Oireachtas subcommittee chaired by Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton, on the role of the Oireachtas in European affairs, will make recommendations on how parliament can have more input into the process.
The subcommittee heard evidence from a number of witnesses, including Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, and also received a wide range of written submissions. The task facing the committee was to find a way of bridging the disconnect between citizens of the State and the EU decision making process.
One of the key decisions to be made in the report is whether the Dáil and Seanad should develop a role in the oversight of the EU negotiating process through a new scrutiny system that would make the Minister for Foreign Affairs accountable before and after decisions are made.
The Government has always resisted attempts to mandate the Minister for Foreign Affairs with negotiating instructions before decisions are made at EU level. But the subcommittee heard strong arguments for changing the traditional approach to the process.
Having looked at the way the governments of other member states are held accountable to their parliaments, the committee is expected to decide on a major shift in policy with the creation of one powerful new EU committee, instead of the current two, which would oversee EU policy.
While taking into account the Government’s desire not to have its hands tied in advance of negotiations, the committee looked at the option of allowing TDs and Senators to put questions to Ministers in advance of EU council meetings and to have their views considered in the formulation of the Irish negotiating position.
A majority of committee members agreed that the Oireachtas is entitled to exert some political influence over the position which a Minister proposes to adopt at EU Council meetings and that Ministers should also report back to the EU committee on the outcome of those meetings.
The introduction of a system of accountability would involve an amendment to the 2002 Scrutiny Act and the creation of a scrutiny reserve system. The committee considered an urgency clause to allow a Minister to override the reserve in extreme situations but such decisions could be balanced by ensuring a Minister had to justify himself to the committee.
The subcommittee is expected to spell out in detail how the new system would work and the staffing levels and resources that would be required by the Oireachtas in order to ensure strict adherence to the administrative procedures and reporting duties.
A greater role for the Seanad in EU affairs involving oversight of the transposition of EU directives into Irish law was also considered.
The subcommittee comprises five Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members, three from Fine Gael and two from Labour.
