Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

There is a code of conduct for Members of the Dáil and Seanad which outlines that it is open to people to accept hospitality up to a certain value. The issue is that people need to be able to see that there is no conflict. It is more about people believing there is in place a regulatory framework which ensures no conflict will arise. As I stated last night, currently there are no limits in respect of a person receiving a benefit for personal reasons from a friend. There is a blanket exemption in that regard under the current Act. A controversy arose in the second half of last year which resulted in the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste subsequently making a statement on the Government's intention to legislate to tighten up this area by creating a threshold in that regard. Under the current legislation a person is not required to register his or her acceptance, for personal reasons, of an amount up to €2,000. Where a person receives more than €2,000 he or she must bring the matter to the attention of the Standards in Public Office Commission. If it believes the circumstances and context are such that the sum involved in no way materially influences the officeholder in the conduct of his or her public office, no issue arises.

This legislation provides that where an officeholder receives more than €2,000, he or she is required to bring the matter to the attention of the Standards in Public Office Commission which will deal with the matter first in a private manner, given its personal nature, and will then decide whether the sum received is declarable. The circumstances, context and content will be taken into account. I think that answers the question.

Apart from this legislation, it has been suggested that where a person receives something for political purposes, for example, an invitation issued by virtue of the office he or she holds, limits on the declaration of such gifts should go up to, say, €2,000, which is included in this legislation, and that anything less than that figure should not be regarded as a political matter that should go into the public domain. An example would be the McCracken tribunal which dealt with other issues. From my recollection, Mr. Justice McCracken dealt with those issues expeditiously and brought forward a very succinct report. It was quickly suggested thereafter, if memory serves me correctly, that any sum under €10,000 should not be a matter for consideration by the tribunal. There is a threshold under which it can be accepted that people are not engaged in something which requires public scrutiny or imprimatur . The normal social intercourse that takes place should not require that everything of value should be declared and that where a person omits to do so, consequences will result. We need to avoid that level of intrusion.

The controversy that arose during the second half of last year brought about the tightening up of this legislation which requires that there be some threshold above which the Standards in Public Office Commission should have a role to play in terms of determining whether there should be someone other than the officeholder who decides on the matter. The legislation provides that the Standards in Public Office Commission can rule on whether an issue arises in respect of a gift or benefit and whether a person may retain it bearing in mind the circumstances which brought about its involvement.

It is best to recognise that there is a threshold above which a body or person other than the officeholder may be involved. People need to know this in the context of deciding whether to accept a benefit. I accept many people in the course of their business lives become involved in this type of situation. However, we are trying to strike a balance between recognising that and recognising that public culture in this country now is such that one has to have in place a framework which sets out, in a transparent way, what is permissible. The acceptance of a gift per se is not to suggest that people are any less independent or honest now than in the past. I do not buy that argument. As I stated, one can be corrupt in respect of €30 and as straight as an die in respect of €20,000. The issue is what one does as a result of this.

Our public culture, as a result of what has happened in Ireland, requires that this framework of transparency and accountability reinforces and confirms that those involved in public life are reputable people in whom the public can entrust the performance of public duties based on their membership of Parliament, Government and so on. That is the context in which these regulations are being introduced.

The focus, ambit and scope of the legislation are quite specific. It deals with one of the three existing blanket exemptions which are not declarable, namely, gifts from a relative or friend for personal use. By maintaining a private consideration of such a gift between the Member and the Standards in Public Office Commission we recognise the need to avoid unwarranted intrusion into personal matters while, on the basis of a value threshold which is a matter of judgment, protecting everybody, including the recipient of such a gift or benefit.