Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

The Minister for Health made a statement to the House about those matters last night. I accept that statement. The issue of any Member of the House having private business interests is not new. We have procedures as to how that is to be addressed. There is a procedural requirement for a declaration to be made to SIPO which applies to every Member of the House. There is a requirement in respect of officeholders not to take an active involvement in their business affairs. There is a way in which they put that at arm's length while they are holders of office. The Minister for Health described how he had done that in the course of his statement last night. He also informed the House that he had sought the advice of SIPO, as is appropriate for him to do, and that he had complied with that advice. I accept that statement. Regarding issues of conflict of interest, there are rules which govern the way in which all of that is to be dealt with. It is the procedure for declaration and the procedure whereby Ministers do not have an involvement in any private business matter while an officeholder. Where there is any doubt about any of those issues or where any individual officeholder or Member of the House is in doubt, the place to go is to SIPO for advice, which is what the Minister did on this occasion.

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