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

I am not familiar with the exact detail of the An Bord Pleanála issue under review, so I am not going to comment on that. The Public Sector Standards Bill, which was brought forward in 2015, was last discussed on Committee Stage in April 2017, which was five years ago. It is in need of modernising and reform. The review we are undertaking is the best way to approach that. It is a comprehensive review. Ultimately, it is about ensuring we have openness and transparency in public life and the way in which we as elected representatives conduct our business and also how our public officials and non-elected public servants do so. The current Acts provide for the publication of codes of conduct for officeholders, non-officeholder Members of both Houses and public servants. I commit to working in a collaborative way across the House to ensure we get this legislation right. It is, perhaps, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to update the ethics framework within which we and the public servants who serve the public across this State operate. I will engage co-operatively with colleagues across the House to make sure it is the best legislation possible.

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