The tribunal report's recommendations will be examined closely in the context of the existing ethics framework to ensure we take whatever further steps are necessary to restore and underpin confidence and transparency in the local government system, to ensure the highest standards are adhered to and to provide protection for the vast majority of members and staff who behave with probity and integrity. It should also be noted that the conduct of local authority members and employees comes within the remit of the Standards in Public Office Commission which oversees compliance with the requirements of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001. In this regard, my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, who has previously highlighted the importance of ensuring the legislative framework in regard ethics is robust, modernised and relevant in today's world is now examining the Mahon tribunal's final report and the Moriarty tribunal report within the Government's overall political reform agenda. In this context, it is worth noting that in its recommendations the Mahon tribunal explicitly calls for the establishment of a statutory register of lobbyists incorporating minimum disclosure requirements, as well as the introduction of a cross-sectoral whistleblower protection Act. The Government's recognition of the vital role that can be played by effective whistleblower legislation in discouraging and disclosing serious wrongdoing is fully in accordance with that of the tribunal. The current position is that at the end of February the Minister published the general scheme of a protected disclosures in the public interest Bill, while work has commenced in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel on the drafting of a Bill.