The Government is "putting in place a fundamental lie" on EU laws and keeping crucial information "under a legal veil", a Seanad committee on EU scrutiny has heard.
The Seanad Select Committee on EU Scrutiny and Transparency was set up to examine how, each year, "hundreds of pages of EU legislation" are transposed into Irish law, Senator Mark Daly said.
Mr Daly, who is the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, said the committee aims to provide "crucial transparency and democratic oversight in this process".
He claimed that the committee is denied access to more than three-quarters of all legislation before it is enacted.
Independent Senator Michael McDowell voiced his "whole-hearted objection" to the Government's approach. "It is wrong," he said, adding "it is putting putting in place a fundamental lie".
Mr McDowell said "Ireland has completely fallen down on the spirit of European law".
He added that the country has "fallen well behind" many EU states in their scrutiny of European directives as they are transposed into national law.
Senator Daly said comments from Taoiseach Micheál Martin on this matter included a "red herring".
He said the committee does not need early drafts of legislation, nor does it want details of any "back and forth" between officials.
"We want to see what's about to become law because the Irish people are entitled to see what's about to become law," he added.
Mr Daly accused the Government of "clouding in smoke what we were looking for".
Senator McDowell said that it is "completely unacceptable" to simply expect Government departments to comply with EU directives as they transpose them to Irish law, and urged that adequate oversight be provided.
He also warned that "nobody carries the can" when taxpayers have to foot the bill for fines Ireland has to pay when EU directives are not transposed into law.
"No minister says, 'sorry I just cost us five million'," the senator said, adding that nor is any explanation ever given.
Senator McDowell said that the Seanad simply wants to provide "an early warning system" for EU directives that - if not transposed - could result in very significant penalties.
"All we asked for was to be sent statutory declarations in draft form so that we could look at that and alert the various sectoral committees as to what should be coming their way," he said.
But this was "effectively sabotaged for years", Mr McDowell claimed.
He said a compromise has been reached by which "the statutory instrument is kept under a legal veil".
Senator McDowell said this may well be "worse than nothing".
"We effectively wipe our public scrutiny, accountability and transparency," he warned Minister of State Thomas Byrne, who was in attendance.
Minister Byrne said that the Government is committed to providing the committee with the first draft and the last drafts of transposed legislation.
But Senator Daly said that final drafts - which "are supposed to be with us six months in advance" - rarely reach the committee.
Four out of five drafts do not reach the committee before they become law, Senator Daly added.
