Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1: To ask the Taoiseach his plans to amend the code of conduct for officeholders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35239/09]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 2: To ask the Taoiseach his plans to introduce amendments to the code of conduct for officeholders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37272/09]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 3: To ask the Taoiseach if it is planned to amend the code of conduct for officeholders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44306/09]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together.

The code of conduct for officeholders was drawn up by the Government pursuant to section 10(2) of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001, following consultation with the Standards in Public Office Commission, and was published in July 2003.

Deputies will be aware that the Ethics in Public Office (Amendment) Bill 2007 provides for changes to the ethics framework. A review of the code will be carried out, in consultation with the Standards in Public Office Commission, after that Bill has been enacted.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The recent revelations about expenses incurred by Ministers have shocked and outraged the country. I do not think any Minister set out deliberately to do something like this, or at least I hope not.

Within the understanding of their responsibilities as Ministers, and the requirements of the Ethics in Public Office Act, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government spent €6,500 printing leaflets for delivery in his constituency, which cost a further €4,500. There are in-house printing facilities here and party membership delivers the leaflets. The Minister for Defence incurred a charge of €46,000 a couple of years ago delivering Fianna Fáil leaflets in his constituency, which the taxpayer paid for. This is just not on, as the Taoiseach knows.

In view of this continuing litany of expenses and charges, with €9,000 incurred by the Tánaiste to keep a limousine waiting at a hotel 1.5 km from a meeting in Switzerland, has the Taoiseach introduced changes that clearly require Ministers know in advance that these charges will be incurred so the taxpayer will not be continually outraged by the collation of such charges? Has he introduced a minimum standard for officeholders when they go abroad above which, if they want to stay in a higher class facility, they pay the difference? That way the public would understand that they are there to do their job on behalf of the country. We must not have a continuous litany of gross excess in terms of the expenses incurred by the taxpayer.

In view of the Ethics in Public Office Act, have there been changes on the instruction of the Taoiseach?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The next set of questions deals with that issue. This question relates to whether there are any changes envisaged in the code of conduct. That code of conduct does not stand in isolation, it stands as part of a wider ethics framework established by the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001. Section 10(7) of the Standards in Public Office Act binds officeholders to have regard to and be guided by the code. The code cannot impose any new requirements that are not already set out in legislation; it mainly attempts to provide guidance at a level of detail that would be difficult to express in legislation. I am not aware that any of the issues raised by Deputy Kenny has been brought to the attention of the Standards in Public Office Commission in any way or is in breach of the code of conduct.

In the new economic circumstances in which we find ourselves, all Departments and agencies are required to be mindful of the costs of conducting business in every respect, both at home and abroad. That is being done and various subsistence and travel allowances have been cut extensively and, rightly so, in present circumstances. Obviously arrangements have been put in place to deal with that. The important point to make regarding the code of conduct is that it does not stand in isolation, it is a more detailed code in respect of the statutory provisions laid down by the 1995 and 2001 Acts.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I understand the Department of Finance set out guidelines that apply in the case of Ministers who go abroad. Are those guidelines published and are they available? For example, if the Minister for Health and Children attends a conference in Italy, Spain or France, does she know in advance the arrangements made for her? Obviously Ministers are very conscious of the requirement not to be seen or perceived to be outside normal guidelines. Are those guidelines published by the Department of Finance?

In respect of the Ethics in Public Office (Amendment) Bill 2007, which I raised with the Taoiseach some weeks ago, the change was to increase the value of a gift from €650 to €2,000 for Ministers and persons serving in parliamentary office. Given the changed circumstances that apply, does the Taoiseach consider a gift costing €2,000 for a Minister attending a function is excessive? Does he consider it should be reduced to a more realistic level?

The Standards in Public Office Commission has been seeking an opportunity to initiate an inquiry where it considers it is of public interest. When the Taoiseach was Minister for Finance he refused that request. He made the point, I think, that it could have serious consequences for those who become the subject of an inquiry. I can understand that. Persons who know their remit obviously would be vindicated in terms of any inquiry that might arise. What is his view on it now as Taoiseach? If a request were received again from the Standards in Public Office Commission to initiate an inquiry if it considered it was in the public interest, would it receive favourable consideration?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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These matters are dealt with in another set of questions with which we will deal later. In any event, to be of assistance I will deal with any questions that arise. In regard to the third supplementary on the issue of allowing the office to initiate an inquiry, I believe a balance has to be struck between a proper investigation where there is a potential breach of guidelines and the good reputation of Deputies, Senators or Ministers being upheld. If there is a problem, a complaint should be made. On foot of a complaint an investigation should take place. If there is a problem in the public domain that the people feel is of a serious nature, presumably a complaint would be made by an affected or third party. On that basis it would trigger an investigative mechanism. I do not believe it is necessarily right that the investigator should be able to instigate an investigation at his or her own volition, with all the impact that would have, and find at the end that there was nothing at the back of it. All the loss of reputation and distress caused to the person against whom the complaint was made would have been without foundation. A balance has to be struck. The legislation sets out that balance and that is where things stand. Processes should be initiated on foot of complaints not on foot of someone deciding he or she wants to proceed with a process because of something out in the ether or because of something someone heard or said. One should put it on paper, make a complaint, deal with it properly and let us have fairness all around.

On the question of the amounts considered in the Ethics in Public Office (Amendment) Bill, the initial amount of €650 was mentioned 14 years ago. We are considering changing it for today's values and to set it for 14 years' hence as well. It is always a question of judgment, of deciding what should be the threshold, taking into account the situation does not remain static and to avoid having to make further amendment two or three years hence. It would need to be suitable over a longer period of time. It is a question of a judgment call because it is not an exact science. This is where the legislation currently stands as it is being considered.

Departmental travel policies are based on guidelines from the Department of Finance and these are applicable to all staff. The guidelines set out the policy regarding appropriate class of air travel, standard of hotels to be used and use of own transport. The aim of the guidelines is to minimise official travel costs, achieve value for money for expenditure necessarily incurred consistent with the effective discharge of official duties. This is the basis upon which these matters are dealt with.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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In his opening reply the Taoiseach said that codes of conduct for office-holders would be amended after the Ethics in Public Office (Amendment) Bill has been enacted. If this is the case we will have a long time to wait. This Bill has been around for a long time. The Taoiseach will recall this Bill was first announced in October 2006 by the then Tánaiste, Mr. Michael McDowell, when he announced on the steps of Government Buildings that new legislation would be introduced governing payments from private persons and gifts and the size of gifts and loans being made to office-holders. He told us the Bill would be introduced as a matter of urgency. The Bill was introduced in the Seanad and it completed its passage in the Seanad in July 2007 but we have seen neither sight nor light of it since then. On a number of occasions I have asked the Taoiseach as to its whereabouts and when it would be brought into the House.

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy is broadening out his question.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I am not broadening it, I am responding to something that was specifically referred to in the Taoiseach's reply. He told the House that the changes in the code of conduct would be brought in after the Ethics in Public Office (Amendment) Bill is enacted. I am pointing out to the Taoiseach that the enactment of the ethics Bill is a long-playing record at this stage. That Bill was passed in the Seanad in July 2007. On a number of occasions I have asked in the House for the reason it was not brought before the House and I have not received a satisfactory response. Perhaps the Taoiseach might take the opportunity today to tell us when it will be brought before the House so that we can see when these changes in the codes of conduct might be likely to be made.

In this context is the Taoiseach considering any change in the code of conduct as it might apply to State agencies? There is a provision in the code of conduct that office-holders should not accept offers to meet the costs of travel or commercial accommodation from private citizens or enterprises. There is also reference to discretion where the office-holder is the official guest of another government or body but there is no explicit reference to where the Minister might be entertained by a State agency and particularly by a State agency which is under the Minister's own remit.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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On the progress towards enactment of the Ethics in Public Office (Amendment) Bill, such inquiries are best directed to the Minister for Finance whose Department has responsibility for this area. The Bill has completed all Stages in the Seanad. The taking of the Bill in this House is a matter for the Whips who arrange the business of the House. The House has been dealing with legislation on finance and other issues and this has taken priority over the Bill. It is not a question of not proceeding with it but rather a question of the Whips arranging time for when they would like to take it. It obviously will be the next session at the earliest. There is no withdrawal of the legislation in that sense and, having completed All Stages in the Seanad, as Deputy Gilmore noted, it can be debated further in this House. I take the point that the Bill has been on the Order Paper for a long time and we should try to complete it.

Regarding further guidelines on ministerial expenses - the issue of hospitality from State agencies, etc. - arising from the February 2009 report of the Committee of Public Accounts on the FÁS organisation, the Department of Finance issued revised foreign travel policy guidelines in 2009. These guidelines and the related amendments to the code of practice for the governance of State bodies took account of the recommendations on travel policy in the committee's report. The Minister for Finance wrote to his colleagues, including me, asking that the same principles, as set out in the foreign travel guidelines 2009, be observed by Ministers, Ministers of State and other officeholders when travelling abroad on official business.

The Department of Finance also noted the conclusion in the February report by the Committee of Public Accounts that FÁS should not have paid for airline tickets, for example, for civil servants or Ministers. The general practice has been that expenses relating to representational duties by a Minister or other officeholder on behalf of a State body are paid and accounted for by the body in question. In light of the committee's conclusions, this matter is under consideration by the Department of Finance and a final decision will be made in the context of a forthcoming second special report by the Comptroller and Auditor General on travel in the FÁS organisation and recommendations from the Committee of Public Accounts following its examination of the report.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I will take up the Taoiseach's invitation to ask the leader of the majority wing of the Government about the location of the ethics Bill. In respect of the recommendations which arise from the report on FÁS, what are the practical, net implications of the recommendations and what specific changes are being made in the arrangements for travel and other entertainment by Ministers where this is organised by State agencies? As the Taoiseach will recall, much of the controversy surrounding this area related to travel which was organised by State agencies, including FÁS, Horse Racing Ireland and the Irish Sports Council. What are the changes being made to travel arrangements?

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy is anticipating the next group of questions which deal with travel.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I do not have before me the foreign travel policy guidelines 2009 which were issued by the Department of Finance. It would be best to submit a question to the Department to obtain the detail directly. The Government speaks as one on these issues.