Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

The Code of Conduct for Office Holders states with regard to people who move from Government office to private business that "...office holders should act in a way which ensures it could not be reasonably concluded that... an unfair advantage would be conferred in a new appointment by virtue of, for example, access to official information the office holder previously enjoyed". The former Minister of State and Deputy, Mr. Tom Parlon, got a top job with the Construction Industry Federation following the recent general election. As a Minister of State he had access to privileged information, not least with regard to the decentralisation programme. He was also responsible for the Office of Public Works.

I am not suggesting that Mr. Parlon did anything wrong. However, the code of conduct states that former office holders "should be careful to avoid any real or apparent conflict of interest with the office they formerly occupied". It is no secret that this Government has had a special relationship with the construction industry down through the years——

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