Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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90. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for an update on the proposed revised ethics legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16243/25]

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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Will the Minister provide with an update on the Government's plans, as contained in the programme for Government, for updated ethics legislation. He will be well aware that we have been waiting a number of years to see the enactment of legislation that was committed to in the 2020 programme for Government. In fact, it first took draft legislative form in Brendan Howlin's public sector standards Bill in 2015.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As he is aware, in the recently agreed programme for Government, we agreed to update the ethics in public office legislation. This is on foot of a wide-ranging review of the legislative framework for ethics in public life that my Department undertook during the lifetime of the previous Government. The report relating to that review was published in February 2023. The report's recommendations include that the legislative framework for ethics should be underpinned by a set of overarching integrity principles, that disclosure requirements should be strengthened to improve transparency and that consideration should be given to whether the regime should encompass more office holders. The report also recommends a strengthening of the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO. I am conscious of recent further recommendations in relation to ethics that will also need to be considered in the context of this reform.

This is an area that is complex and that requires careful consideration. I intend to look in detail at the outstanding policy issues, including those I have outlined, and to try to find an appropriate way forward to fulfil the programme for Government commitment. My ultimate goal is to create a fit-for-purpose, easy-to-understand and user-friendly ethical framework that contributes to the quality, efficacy and transparency of our system and builds on the strengths of our existing framework.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I hope the Minister will agree that the standard for this legislation, for want of a better description, was set in the 2015 legislation developed by Brendan Howlin, my then colleague and one of the Minister's predecessors. It has been a considerable number of years since the commitment was made. We have had three Governments since the 2015 legislation was introduced. We have had the review, to which I contributed. I think there were merely ten submissions to that particular process.

Whether the Minister likes it or not, there is a renewed interest in ethics and standards in public life with the invitation to Michael Lowry to participate in Government. The latter was viewed by the relevant tribunal as a corrupt figure, something he has not challenged in the courts. This is a matter of major and genuine public interest. When will the Minister develop the heads of a Bill and bring it to the relevant committee?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In the context of the engagement with the Government Chief Whip and the Attorney General on the legislative programme, that is obviously legislation my Department has responsibility for. We have said we are going to engage in a review. Deputy Howlin was an excellent Member of this House. He did an excellent job in the role I am in. He brought forward the Bill in question, which has not made its way through this House. That is why we are undertaking a review of the statutory framework which the former Minister, Deputy McGrath, advanced. What we are doing is trying to draft that legislative framework in the context of the legislative programme. We will then fulfil the programme for Government commitment. When I have further information about what is possible in terms of a timeline, I will provide it to the House.

The review is ongoing. We will prioritise the drafting of a Bill when we have agreed a legislative framework around it. I want to fulfil the programme for Government commitment and advance the legislation.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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There was a commitment in the previous programme for Government. The Deputy spent time as Minister for public expenditure and reform in that-----

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I did not.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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The Minister has clarified that. I am happy to accept that. I hope then he will bring some renewed vigour, if I can describe it as such, to this particular process. This is fundamental. Parliamentary democracy is a fragile flower. We have seen across the world how bad actors can exploit situations of corruption or perceived corruption. The consequences of that are happening across the world. It is happening on our screens all the time and is having real impacts in the context of the election of populist right-wing leaders to positions of power. When the framework is revised, new obligations are going to be placed on elected officials and public officials, as has been advised in, for example, successive reports from SIPO.

Does the Minister agree that people with criminal convictions should be prohibited from being special advisers to Government Ministers?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. Through this legislative reform, we want to have an effective updated standards framework. Such a framework is integral to the quality and efficacy of public governance in our State. It needs to be future-proofed in that context. The regulation of conflicts of interest is obviously central to building trust in public institutions and in the objectivity of public service decision-making. We have the review that was carried out, the previous legislative proposal and other reports. These will all will inform the broader evidence-based context for how we try to draft this proposal. My focus is to fulfil the programme for Government commitment. When we manage to formalise a particular draft or heads, we will engage through the Oireachtas process in terms of pre-legislative scrutiny. We will engage with parties across the House in making sure that it is a fit-for-purpose public governance framework that updates the ethics legislation appropriately and in line with best practice.