Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

My question relates to the use of civil servants to brief Members. The briefings given in regard to Northern Ireland have been most welcome and appreciated. The Taoiseach sent a letter to Ministers and Ministers of State in August which is quite Jesuitical in some ways. It states, "in future office holders should not request civil servants to conduct briefings in settings such as parliamentary party meetings". It further states, "but it would not be inappropriate to provide a technical or factual briefing to a group of Members set up by a parliamentary party to deal with a particular issue". Does the Taoiseach wish to bring any clarity to these guidelines, given that a sub-group of a parliamentary party is not inappropriate but a parliamentary party is inappropriate? We appear to be dealing with very fine lines here. Will the Taoiseach clarify the position so that neither we nor the Government would get on the wrong side of that line? Both examples appear to be very similar to me. Has the Taoiseach's own parliamentary party been briefed recently by civil servants and, if so, on what issues?

As Deputy Kenny mentioned, we have had a considerable amount of public debate on the appropriateness of office holders accepting gifts or loans and the need to consult with the Standards in Public Office Commission. In the Taoiseach's statement on that matter, it mentions that failure to abide by the opinion of the commission would constitute an offence. Can the Taoiseach indicate what type of sanction is being considered for such an offence? Is it a resigning matter, as it probably would be across the water, or what does the Taoiseach intend by a sanction in that regard?

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