Centre for Public Inquiry

The Centre for Public Inquiry (Irish: Fiosrú an Phobail) was established in February 2005 as a non-governmental body to "...investigate matters of public importance in Irish political, public and corporate life". Its board was made up of Mr Justice Feargus Flood the former chairman of the Planning and Payments (corruption) Tribunal and former High Court Judge, Enda McDonagh the chairman of the board of University College, Cork, broadcaster and former editor of the Sunday Business Post Damien Kiberd and solicitor, writer and human rights campaigner Greg O'Neill. Investigative journalist Frank Connolly was named executive director. His investigations into payments to former government minister Ray Burke, contributed to the establishment of the Planning and Payments tribunal and the Morris Tribunal. It was to have been funded by Atlantic Philanthropies to the amount of €4 million over five years. It closed in April 2006 following the withdrawal of this funding and a critical article by the then Minister for Justice Michael McDowell in the Sunday Independent newspaper.

The mission of the Centre for Public Inquiry was to independently promote the highest standards of integrity, ethics and accountability across Irish public and business life and to investigate and publicise breaches of those standards where they arise. Artist Robert Ballagh designed the logo for the organisation.

The first report, issued in September 2005, concerned the construction of an hotel in the shadow of Trim Castle, Trim, County Meath, a national monument in State care. It raised important issues of public concern including the manner in which the objections of the most senior officials charged with protecting the State's heritage were over-ruled by a former Minister. [] The report was also highly critical of former minister for the environment Martin Cullen who was advised that Dúchas, the department's heritage section, consistently expressed concern regarding the scale of the hotel, which was described as insensitive to a national monument in the State's Care. But the minister recommended only that the development be scaled back and the report claimed that "as a result of the instructions from the minister's office no objection was submitted by the department or Dúchas officials to the planning application". Following the grant of planning permission, the report claimed, two officials from the department prepared an objection but "an intervention by the minister's office put a halt to these efforts to lodge an appeal"

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