Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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158. To ask the Minister for Health the number of civil servants who have left and or retired from his Department in the past ten years who were bound by a cooling-off period in respect of taking up new employment in the private sector by grade, year and sector the staff moved on to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38154/19]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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159. To ask the Minister for Health the number of civil servants who have left and or retired from his Department in the past ten years who were not bound by a cooling-off period in respect of taking up new employment in the private sector by grade, year, and sector the staff moved on to; the reason for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38170/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 158 and 159 together.

Civil Servants at my Department are subject to the terms of the Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour. Section 20 of the said Code addresses the matter of officials engaging in private sector employment or in consultancy work following resignation or retirement.

Section 22 of the Regulation of Lobbying Act, 2015 addresses the matter of Designated Public Officials engaging in employment and or consultancy work following resignation or retirement.

Under the Code of Practice and the Regulation of Lobbying Act, the onus is on the individual former employee to inform and seek consent from the appropriate authority, i.e. the Secretary General of the Department or the Outside Appointments Board, as appropriate. This consent is required if they intend to take up employment within one year of their retirement or resignation which could constitute a conflict of interest in the context of section 20 of the Code of Conduct.