Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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163. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the establishment and annual costs associated with the Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner. [51518/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Public Sector Standards Bill 2015 provides for the establishment of the Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner and the holder of that office shall be known as the Public Sector Standards Commissioner. It provides that the appointment of the Commissioner shall be made by the President on the advice of the Government following a resolution passed by both Houses.

It provides that the legislation will come into operation on the day that is 6 months from the passing of the Bill as an Act, or such earlier day as the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform may appoint by order. The Bill also provides that the Standards in Public Office Commission shall stand dissolved on the establishment of the Office of the Commissioner. The chairman and members of the Standards in Public Office Commission shall cease to hold office on such dissolution.

The Bill was published on the 23rd of December 2015 and completed second stage in the Dáil on the 20th of January 2016. Committee Stage commenced on the 6th of April 2017. The Bill aims to significantly enhance the existing framework for identifying, disclosing and managing conflicts of interest and minimising corruption risks, to achieve a shift towards a more dynamic and risk-based system of compliance and to ensure that the institutional framework for oversight, investigation and enforcement is robust and effective.

The establishment and annual costs associated with the Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner will be mitigated by the cost savings arising from the dissolution of the Standards in Public Office Commission. As the Bill to establish the Office of the Commissioner is still being considered, it is not possible at this stage to provide overall costings in relation to the office. However, my Department will strive to ensure that existing structures are used as much as possible in the transition from the Standards in Public Office Commission to the Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner.

The 2018 estimates provide for an amount of €2.073m in relation to the running of the Standards in Public Office Commission. In addition, the Office of the Ombudsman provides shared corporate services staffing resources, such as HR, IT and Finance Unit services to the Standards in Public Office Commission. The cost of this is not reflected in the estimate provision for 2018.