Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 137: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the Government's response to the ten specific amendments to the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 suggested by SIPO in its most recent annual report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23689/07]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 144: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if the Government is planning amendments to the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23687/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 137 and 144 together.

Deputies will be aware that I published the Ethics in Public Office (Amendment) Bill 2007 earlier this year. The main purpose of that Bill is to amend the Ethics Acts so as to require office holders and non-office holding Oireachtas members, before accepting significant benefits from a friend for personal reasons, to seek the opinion of the Standards in Public Office Commission that acceptance would not be likely to materially influence the recipient in the performance of his or her official duties or functions. It is intended to move the Bill in the Dáil in the current session.

As regards the proposals for further amendment of the Ethics Acts suggested by the Standards Commission, some are of a technical nature. The more substantive of the Commission's proposals are being examined, though I should say that I have no plans for the preparation of a consolidated Ethics Bill at this stage. Furthermore, as I have already indicated in a reply to another question today, I do not intend to amend the legislation to allow the Standards Commission to appoint inquiry officers to carry out preliminary inquiries where a formal complaint has not been made.