More powerful body to replace State’s public ethics watchdog

Legislation to replace the State’s public ethics watchdog with a more powerful body has been introduced in the Dáil but will not be enacted before the election.

The Public Sector Standards Bill will also ban public officials from using insider information to further their private interests and prohibits councillors from dealing professionally with land in certain circumstances.

Introducing the legislation which will replace the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) with a public sector standards commissioner, Minister for Reform Brendan Howlin said it was a "new, robust and positive framework for identifying, disclosing and managing conflicts of interest".

He said no legislation could eliminate corruption, but the Bill would ensure such conflicts were “appropriately identified well in advance and controlled”.

The Bill will also allow the commissioner to initiate investigations without receiving a complaint where there is a suspected contravention of the legislation.

Public officials

The level of declarable interests for public officials “will be significantly extended in line with the Mahon tribunal’s recommendations”, said Mr Howlin.

Senior officials will also have to disclose liabilities above a certain threshold and gifts given in a private capacity, “to be disclosed periodically on a confidential basis”.

Fianna Fáil spokesman Seán Fleming said people might say it was just a name change “but we are essentially broadening the remit of the work done by that commission [Sipo] and the work will still need to be done”.

He welcomed the establishment of a more effective, streamlined and efficient process for the submission of periodic statements of interest.

“That is important as people may be in a job for a number of years while issues change which means the original declaration may not tell the full story as time goes on.”

He believed trust was fairly high in Ireland and relative to other countries “we do not have a bad name”. He said “perhaps the tribunals highlighted some very bad aspects, but it is important to note they were the exceptions rather than the norm”.

Mr Fleming said some people thought it was a case of “public sector, good; private sector, bad”. There were “lots of people who worked in Revenue who are probably now good tax advisers. People might say this is good or bad. I do not know. I think it is an open debate”.

And referring to the move by officials from the public to private sector, he said “some people think people should be almost sterilised, hosed down and put in quarantine for two years after they leave the job”.

Conflicts of interest

He added: “ I do not think that is fair, but I accept there can be conflicts and we need a system to deal with conflicts of interest.”

Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said it was “unfortunate and a great pity that the Bill will not come into force before the dissolution of the Dáil”.

She said it represented a lost opportunity by the Government to bring together both local and national ethics requirements which give effect to the recommendations of the Moriarty and Mahon tribunals.