Twelve months ago, the Coalition Government announced that agreement had been reached between the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, on the establishment of a permanent ethics commission which would have the status and independence of the High Court and the powers of a tribunal of inquiry. Since then, arising from the report of the McCracken Tribunal, the Government has been forced to establish the Moriarty Tribunal into the affairs of Mr Charles Haughey and Mr Michael Lowry, and the Flood Tribunal into planning matters and the affairs of Mr Ray Burke. Rather than contemplate the possibility that yet another tribunal may be required to investigate matters arising from the plethora of investigations now underway, the Government has chosen the option of a permanent ethics commission, to be called the Standards in Public Office Commission.
The new body will be designed to act as "a permanent tribunal". It will subsume the work of the Public Offices Commission and some of the powers of the Ombudsman, according to a spokesman for the Government. The Cabinet discussed the matter once again yesterday and will return to it next week. A broad outline of the functions, powers and responsibilities of the new body is scheduled to be referred for discussion and elaboration to the Dail Select Committee on Members' Interests. And work on the proposal is due to continue over the summer months. Following a report from that Committee, the party whips will consider the outcome and the Government will then order the drafting of legislation. A Bill may be ready before Christmas but, given the complexity of the issues and the reluctance of some elected representatives to establish a watchdog with teeth, there could be some slippage in that timescale.
Details of the Government's intention were contained in a submission made by Fianna Fail to the McCracken Tribunal last year. But while Mr Justice McCracken described the proposal to establish a permanent ethics commission as an "interesting one", he felt there was insufficient justification to establish a permanent body. Instead, he recommended extending the jurisdiction and powers of the Ombudsman and Public Offices Commission established under the Ethics Act. He proposed three new steps: that a tax clearance certificate from the Revenue Commissioners be required by all Dail and Seanad candidates; that making a false declaration over political funding should become a criminal offence and that offences under the Ethics in Public Office Act should debar people from holding seats in the Oireachtas.
The Government would appear to have taken on board the extra measures proposed by the McCracken Tribunal, while holding to its original idea of a permanent Commission headed by a person with the status of a High Court Judge. In current circumstances, there is a need to reassure the electorate that any wrongdoing in public life will be investigated thoroughly and quickly and that penalties will match any offences. It is too early to pass definitive judgement on the Government's proposals, given their provisional nature. On the face of it, however, they must be welcomed as the start of a new regime.