John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

He does exactly what he says and the truth of what he says is often revealed subsequently. In this regard, the attacks on Deputy Flynn have annoyed me because we often write in the sand all the good that people do while we chisel in marble the few mistakes they make. The Opposition has the chisels out tonight.

The Ethics in Public Office (Amendment) Bill 2007 has been drafted to fulfil the political commitment given in October that the ethics legislation would be amended in respect of gifts or loans to officeholders and Oireachtas Members from friends for personal reasons only. The Bill requires that an officeholder or Oireachtas Member must not accept benefits worth, in total, more than €2,000 from a friend for personal reasons only in a period covered by an ethics statement without first obtaining the opinion of the Standards in Public Office Commission that accepting it would not be likely to influence him or her in the performance of his or her official duties. If offered a benefit on an occasion on which it would not be practical to refuse it, the recipient must seek the opinion of the commission afterwards.

A gift can be a gift of money or property and includes a loan, be it of money or property. It also includes the supply of services. The commission can ask the recipient for any supplementary information it needs to form its opinion. If it cannot form an opinion that a benefit would not be likely to influence the recipient in his or her official duties, the recipient must refuse the benefit. Obtaining the opinion of the commission will be a confidential process. Officeholders and Members will have to make a statement at the same time that they make their annual ethics statement to the commission to the effect that they are in compliance with the new requirement. However, they will not have to state whether they have actually consulted the commission on any benefit or, if they have, provide details thereof.

In addition, the Bill amends the threshold for registerable interests and the threshold at which a gift made to an officeholder by virtue of his or her office is deemed to be a gift to the State. These thresholds are raised to amounts deemed more realistic in today's world. This is appropriate because the monetary thresholds listed in the primary legislation have not been increased since it came into effect in 1995.

Some time ago the Minister consulted the Select Committee on Members' Interests on the Bill. The committee welcomed the fact that the Bill, as introduced, met one of its two concerns regarding the existing ethics legislation. The Minister has announced that he will be introducing an amendment on Committee Stage to meet the second concern of the committee.

To demonstrate the comprehensiveness and detail of the Bill in terms of ensuring the maintenance of good practice, I will refer to the explanatory and financial memorandum. It states that the purpose of the Bill is to provide that ministerial and parliamentary office holders and Oireachtas Members are not to accept benefits worth in aggregate more than €2,000 from a friend for personal reasons in a period, usually a calendar year, comprehended by an interests statement prepared under the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995, unless they have obtained the Standards in Public Office Commission's opinion that acceptance would not be likely to influence the recipient in the performance of his or her functions or duties.

If offered a benefit on an occasion where it would not be practical to refuse it, the recipient must seek the opinion afterwards and must return or give up the benefit or its value if the Standards in Public Office Commission is unable to issue such an opinion. The Bill also increases the monetary thresholds for registerable interests and the monetary threshold at which a gift given to an office-holder by virtue of his or her office is deemed to be a gift to the State, as in the 1995 Act.

Section 1 defines the term "Principal Act", as meaning the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995. Section 2 provides that the statements prepared each year under the 1995 Act by office-holders and Oireachtas Members and sent to the Standards in Public Office Commission are to include a statement that they have complied with Section 4. It also provides that "nil statements", where the person has no registerable interests, are to be furnished to the Standards in Public Office Commission instead of to the Clerk of the relevant House of the Oireachtas, as is currently the case. Section 3 increases from €650 to €2,000 the monetary threshold at which a gift given to an office-holder by virtue of his or her office is deemed to be a gift to the State.

Section 4 defines Ministers, including the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, Ministers of State, the Attorney General, the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Dáil Éireann and of Seanad Éireann, and Members of Dáil Éireann and of Seanad Éireann, as "relevant persons". It provides that such persons are not to accept benefits worth in aggregate more than €2,000 from a friend for personal reasons in a period comprehended by an interests statement, unless they have obtained the Standards in Public office Commission's opinion that acceptance would not be likely to influence the recipient in the performance of his or her function or duties as a relevant person, including the performance of such functions or duties by a person under the relevant person's direction. If offered a benefit on an occasion on which it would not be practical to refuse it, the relevant person must seek the opinion of the Standards in Public Office Commission within 30 days of accepting it.

A benefit can be a gift of money or property and includes a loan, whether of money or property. It also includes the supply of services, including travel facilities, accommodation, meals and entertainment. The value of benefits from the same friend in a period will be aggregated in determining whether the €2,000 threshold has been exceeded. For a gift or loan of money, the amount of the gift or loan will be what counts; for services or a loan of property, the value will be the commercial value less any amount paid by the recipient. Benefits received before the Bill comes into operation will not count.

The Standards in Public Office Commission can ask the relevant person to provide such further information, such as the purpose of the gift, the identity of the donor, his or her occupation, the length of time he or she has been a friend, whether he or she has given similar gifts in the past, as it considers necessary in order to consider the application for its opinion. The commission will notify its opinion to the relevant person in writing.

Unless the person receives the opinion of the commission that acceptance of the benefit would not be likely to influence the recipient in the performance of his or her functions or duties, he or she must not accept the benefit. If the person has already accepted the benefit, he or she must return it to the donor or, if the donor refuses it, must surrender it to the Secretary General to the Government. If the benefit is non-returnable, has already been consumed or used, the relevant person must pay its value to the donor or, if refused, to the Secretary General to the Government. In such cases, its value will be its commercial price as determined by the commission less any amount paid in respect of it by the relevant person.

A relevant person who is obliged to return a benefit or its value must do so within 30 days or such longer period as may be determined by the commission. Where a benefit is surrendered or its value paid to the Secretary General to the Government, it or its value will be disposed of as if it were a gift to the State.

The commission will be precluded from disclosing information about an application for its opinion without the consent of the person concerned or the Minister for Finance. This prohibition will not apply to an investigation by the commission or to a report by it to the Oireachtas.

Section 5 requires the Attorney General, if not an Oireachtas Member, to furnish a statement of compliance with Section 4 to the Taoiseach and to commission at the same time as his or her annual statement of registerable interests under the 1995 Act, or, where he or she has no registerable interests, to furnish a statement on compliance at that time in any event. Section 6 updates the monetary thresholds for registerable interests in the 1995 Act. These are interests that are disclosable in annual statements of registerable interests under the Ethics Acts, and refer to items such as a remunerated trade or profession, shares, interests in land, property supplied or loaned.

This is a comprehensive Bill which covers every possible combination of events. The increase in the amounts and thresholds is a practical application for today's world. I commend the Bill to the House.