The Constitution and the Abbeylara decision prevent imposition of fines for the abuse of Oireachtas privilege, but also more robust Oireachtas committees.
There is this extraordinary conjunction of interest between the legal profession and parliament. Lawyers in Ireland play a very active part in the political system. In 2010 there were 16 barristers and solicitors in Dáil Eireann – ten percent of the total. There are strong historical associations between the professions of politics and the law. […]