Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I appreciate that he is making this a priority. I also appreciate he cannot give me a date, but there has to be recognition that the existing legislation is totally inadequate, that SIPO has repeatedly pointed out a range of difficulties in terms of its lack of power in the context of ensuring that the highest standards in public office obtain. We know that. I am not going to go into individual issues, but there has to be a sense of urgency. The review of the framework was completed in December 2022. It is now 2025 and there is going to be still more consultation and more policy. I cannot understand how the Minister cannot introduce legislation and then amendments could be made along the way. There has to be an urgent recognition that we have failed to update SIPO in order to give it adequate powers to ensure the highest standards in public life. We all have made mistakes in our lives; none of us is perfect. We need an organisation that holds all of us to account to the highest standards. We need to empower and resource SIPO, but most of all we need recognition from the Government in relation to it.

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