Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Independent)
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217. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will detail the findings of the corporate governance final reports undertaken in Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland to date, with specific reference to the independence of the board, conflicts of interest of board members and corporate governance execution by the board of SEAI; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10362/14]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The Sustainable Authority of Ireland (SEAI), was established under the Sustainable Energy Act 2002 and appointments to its Board are made in accordance with that Act. As a State body, SEAI must comply with the revised Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies published by the Department of Finance in 2009. On an annual basis, the Board reviews its compliance with the Code.

Arising from this, the SEAI board has developed its own Code of Governance Framework, which is available on its website. It addresses the governance requirements set out in the Code of Practice and also details the annual declarations of interests process and the procedures for dealing with conflicts of interest.

In the context of SEAI's most recent Annual Report 2012, the Chairman confirmed that SEAI's Code of Business Conduct for Board members is in place. This is circulated to all Board members upon appointment. Thereafter, all Board members are required to sign an annual Declaration of Understanding relating to disclosure of interests. The Chairman also confirmed that each Board member and person holding a designated position has complied with the requirements under the Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995 and the Standards in Public Office Act, 2001.