Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The public is entitled to expect the highest standards of conduct from all local authority employees. It must also be said that local government personnel have, by and large, a long tradition of honest and committed service to their communities. The core values underlying that tradition are integrity, impartiality and dedication to the public interest. The Local Government Act 2001 made provision for a new and comprehensive ethical framework for those involved in local government. That built on much longer-standing ethical requirements on local authority councillors and staff under planning legislation.

Part 15 of the Local Government Act, which entered force in January 2003, provided for the preparation by the Minister of codes of conduct for employees and councillors, which were subsequently developed and published in June 2004 to coincide with the formation of new councils of elected members following the local elections. The code of conduct for employees, which is a major step forward in local government, includes disclosure requirements concerning employment by serving personnel outside the sector and addresses situations concerning a conflict of personal or public interest.

Deputies will be aware that the tenure arrangements for county and city managers were changed in 1991. Managers are now employed on seven-year contracts, with provision for extension up to ten years. That raises the prospect of their retiring at a relatively young age. Therefore, it is to be expected that some managers will seek to pursue a career in the private sector once their terms of employment expire. I am sure the Deputy will agree that there is nothing wrong in that; they must be entitled to pursue employment opportunities after retirement. However, the issue is one of avoiding undesirable conflicts and the perception thereof.

The question of senior local government officials accepting outside appointments or consultancies following resignation or retirement is not subject to the code of conduct at present. Provisions of that kind were introduced to the Civil Service code only in September 2004, that is, some months after the promulgation of the new local government code. The Standards in Public Office Commission has made observations regarding the matter, including a suggestion for a moratorium on the take-up of employment by senior local authority personnel in consultancies or other areas of the private sector to which they could bring access or information gained in local authority employment.

The code is under active review in the light of experience since its introduction and as part of an assessment of the effectiveness of the regime. It is clearly now appropriate that the review also considers the acceptance by local authority employees of outside appointments and consultancy engagements following resignation or retirement. The Deputy can be assured that the Minister will bear in mind the general concerns raised this evening and that this debate will assist us in the review of the code. Perhaps the public concern, which I understand, will allow the matter to go forward and to be clarified quickly.

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