Bertie Ahern was among the members of government who opposed the proposed introduction of the Ethics in Public Office Act in the 1990s, records show.
Files released by the National Archives show that Ahern, then the minister for finance, objected to various elements of the draft legislation.
The proposals were championed by then-tánaiste and minister for foreign affairs Dick Spring. The Labour leader proposed the legislation as a way to address public concern over ministerial conduct after a number of controversies including the Beef Tribunal.
The Ethics in Public Office Bill provided for the establishment of the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) and set out requirements for office holders including TDs, senators and senior public servants to disclose financial interests and gifts.
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A memorandum prepared for the government by Spring in November 1993 revealed that Ahern objected to the creation of Sipo and opposed members of the Oireachtas having to declare the interests of their spouses and children.
“The Minister for Finance objects to the creation of the Commission, the creation of a Select Committee on Members’ Interests, the requirement for office holders to declare the interests of spouses and children, and the provisions regarding directors of State bodies,” the file noted.
The grounds for Ahern’s objections appeared to be “based largely on concerns that its activities will impact adversely on the abilities of Ministers and State bodies to discharge their responsibilities in relation to discipline and conduct in the public sector”.
The filed said Ahern argued that the proposed involvement of the Commission “would be counterproductive in that it would dissipate responsibility for these matters”.
“It is suggested that it would be preferable that responsibility for enforcing the Act should be left to Ministers and State bodies.”
In the document, the then-tánaiste said he understood “the concerns expressed by the Minister given the novel nature of the proposed Commission”.
[ What does the Standards in Public Office Commission do?Opens in new window ]
However, Spring said the establishment of Sipo was “an essential element” of the legislation and “a concrete expression of the need to have in place a recognisably independent and powerful, monitoring and enforcement agency”.
The tánaiste said it was very unlikely Sipo would intervene in a matter affecting a State body if that organisation was willing and able to take appropriate action itself.
However, he proposed changes to the legislation that would oblige Sipo to consult with the minister for finance and the relevant authority before undertaking any investigation on its own initiative.
Spring said that removing the requirement to declare the interests of spouses and dependent children “would be seen publicly as allowing a mechanism whereby office holders could avoid declaring certain interests by the simple expedient of transferring assets etc into the name of the spouse”.
In Spring’s view, “this would severely damage the credibility of the Bill and thus could not be countenanced”.
The file showed another senior Fianna Fáil member of the Government, the minister for defence and the marine, David Andrews, also opposed elements of the legislation, describing it as “very extreme” and “unwarranted”.
He also suggested that any register of interests of TDs and senators should be kept confidential “at least for the life of the present Dáil”.
According to the document, then attorney general Harry Whelehan “expressed reservations” about whether it was constitutionally permissible that the legislation would allow a member of the Oireachtas to be suspended without pay.
“He did say, however, that the matter is not free from doubt. The Tánaiste has decided to retain the relevant Head,” the file noted.
The Ethics in Public Office Act came into effect in 1995, followed by the Standards in Public Office Act in 2001.
