Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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171. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the measures he plans to take to improve and modernise systems of administrative accountability at senior levels and political accountability at Ministerial level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5121/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has developed and continues to enhance the administrative accountability of the State in regard to the responsibility and accountability of public officials at senior levels. High standards of administrative accountability are fundamental to good governance and vital to ensuring trust in public administration with a range of legislation and instruments to ensure a high degree of administrative accountability across the public sector in areas such as corporate governance, risk management, internal audit, standards in public office, freedom of information and financial reporting.

One such measure that my Department is currently rolling out, is a major financial reporting reform that is improving and modernising Central Government’s system of administrative accountability. The first Central Government Accounting Standards (CGAS) for the preparation of Departments’ Appropriation Accounts came into effect in 2024. The CGAS are based on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) which are developed by the International Federation of Accountants and are intended to facilitate high quality transparent financial reporting.

As the Deputy is aware, the role and levels of accountability of senior officials across the civil and public service has evolved significantly over the last number of years during which we have seen marked developments in the importance of oversight, transparency, disclosure and the management of risk and change. An example of this are the State boards selection procedures introduced by the Government which underpin the transparency, independence and objectivity of State board membership.

Furthermore, during the last Government, my Department carried out a wide-ranging review of the legislative framework for ethics in public life and published a report on its findings in February 2023. Our recently agreed Programme for Government commits under the political reform chapter to “update the Ethics in Public Office legislation”. I will be considering the outcome of the Department’s review and engaging with my officials to determine the most appropriate way to move forward on this commitment. I am anxious to ensure that any new legislation provides for an easy to understand and user-friendly ethical framework that can contribute to the quality, efficacy, and transparency of our system and that builds on the strengths of the current system.

Transparency is also an important tool in terms of accountability. Since the introduction of the updated Freedom of Information legislation in 2014, there has been a large expansion in FOI usage. The number of organisations covered by the legislation was significantly increased and the number of requests received annually has almost doubled. Notwithstanding the success of the legislation on its own terms, this does not mean that there is no room for improvement and an extensive review of the current regime has been carried out by my Department. Broadly speaking, the key strands in the review involve considering potential reforms leading to a more coherent approach to information governance and access, supplementing formal FOI requests and improving the request process. I expect to receive the final report shortly and then intend to bring it to Government for approval in due course.

My Department will continue to develop such measures already introduced and look to international best practice such as the introduction of CGAS and the review of ethics legislation to ensure that the State continues to improve the systems of administrative accountability of senior official and Ministers.