Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We made a commitment in the programme for Government to reform and consolidate the ethics in public office legislation. As the Deputy’s question mentions, and as a first step in meeting this commitment, I asked my Department to undertake a review of ethics legislation in advance of bringing proposals for legislative reform to Government.

Following Government agreement, this review got under way in September 2021. Formal stakeholder engagement commenced last November. A public consultation exercise, based on a detailed policy approach set out in a public consultation paper, launched in November 2021 and closed in mid-January 2022. Ten responses were received, including a limited number on behalf of individual citizens, as well as submissions from political parties and bodies such as Transparency International.

Key elements of context for the review's findings have been prepared, including a detailed survey of Ireland's current provisions and a survey of the arrangements in some comparable jurisdictions. Initial engagement has also taken place with relevant Departments and the Office of the Attorney General. I expect that the process will be completed during the course of the summer. The review's outcome will then inform proposals for legislative reform that I intend to bring to Government later in the year.

In seeking to develop a renewed legislative approach, my Department will take as its point of departure the policy framework developed for the Public Sector Standards Bill 2015. Very broadly, this involves consolidation of the statutory framework for ethics and giving effect to relevant recommendations of the Mahon and Moriarty tribunals. In particular, it would see a significant strengthening of the legal obligations on public officials to disclose, as a matter of routine, actual and potential conflicts of interest, including, for the first time, provision for the confidential disclosure of liabilities over a certain threshold, in addition to sources of income and assets. In this, my ultimate goal is to build a fit-for-purpose, easy-to-understand and user-friendly statutory framework for ethics that contributes to the quality and effectiveness of our public governance and, by so doing, enhances trust and confidence in public officials and our democratic institutions.

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