Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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250. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of conflict-of-interest statements received by the Standards in Public Office Commission since January 2020 relating to Ministers, Ministers of State, special advisers or senior civil servants whose family members hold financial interests in companies involved in the manufacture or supply of pharmaceuticals or medical devices; and the number of such statements that related specifically to decisions on paediatric or adolescent healthcare policy. [68782/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I have previously described to the Deputy the statutory procedures to be followed where an office holder such as a Minister or Minister of State, or a senior official, finds that they or a family member has a material interest such as that described by the Deputy in a function of their office that falls to be performed.

Where the statements to which the Deputy refers are required under the legislation he cites, these must be furnished, in the case of a Minister or Minister of State, to the Taoiseach and the Standards in Public Office Commission. Where the office holder concerned is the Taoiseach, he or she must furnish any such statement to the Chairman of the Standards in Public Office Commission. Any other office holder will furnish any such statement to the Commission. Special Advisers furnish their statements to the relevant Minister and to the Commission. Details of the statements received by the Commission are a matter for that body, which is independent the performance of its functions.

Senior officials are treated separately under the legislation. In their case, the statement at issue must be furnished to the relevant authority, which would be the Secretary General of the Department concerned. Details of any such statements are a matter for the relevant Department or office and my Department does not hold any centralised records in this respect. If the Senior Official is a Secretary General, the statement must be furnished to the Secretary General of my Department, and, where relevant, the Secretary General of my Department must furnish his statement to the Secretary General of the Department of Finance.

In the cases of statements made to the Secretary General of my Department, I am informed that no statements concerning the matters in the Deputy’s question have been made to the Secretary General since January 2020.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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251. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will outline any plans to establish a central reporting mechanism for recusals or conflict-of-interest statements made under the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and Standards in Public Office Act 2001, in order to ensure consistent oversight in areas of emerging medical policy, including paediatric gender-related services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68783/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I have previously described to the Deputy the procedures to be followed under the legislation that he cites where an office holder such as a Minister or Minister of State, or a senior official, finds that they or a family member has a material interest in a function of their office that falls to be performed.

Where the statements to which the Deputy refers are required under the legislation he cites, these must be furnished, in the case of a Minister or Minister of State, to the Taoiseach and the Standards in Public Office Commission. Where the office holder concerned is the Taoiseach, he or she must furnish any such statement to the Chairman of the Standards in Public Office Commission. Any other office holder will furnish any such statement to the Commission.

Senior officials must furnish a written statement to the relevant authority, which would be the Secretary General of the Department concerned. If the Senior Official is a Secretary General, the statement must be furnished to the Secretary General of my Department, and, where relevant, the Secretary General of my Department must furnish his statement to the Secretary General of the Department of Finance.

The 2025 Programme for Government contains a commitment to “Update the Ethics in Public Office legislation” and proposals to reform the legislative framework are currently being prepared by my Department in order to deliver this commitment. The general issue of the suitability of the procedures described above will be considered as part of this comprehensive reform process.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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252. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if any review has been undertaken by his Department since January 2020 on whether current ethics legislation is sufficient to address conflicts of interest arising from new or emerging medical technologies, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, surgical pathways for minors and related digital health systems; and if he will list any recommendations identified. [68784/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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257. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department has identified any gaps or deficiencies in the current conflict-of-interest framework as applied to emerging medical or technological policy areas, and if he will outline any proposals under consideration to address those gaps. [68791/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 252 and 257 together.

During the last Government, my Department undertook a comprehensive review of the statutory framework for ethics in public life, the report of which was submitted to Government at the end of 2022 and published in February 2023. The Review process included, notably, a public consultation process and engagement with Committees of the Oireachtas. The issues referred to in the Deputy’s question were not raised by any party with which the review engaged or during the public consultation process. The particular matters referred to in the Deputy’s question are not covered in the Review report or in its recommendations.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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253. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of Departments that have notified his Department since 2020 of internal policies or protocols for managing conflicts of interest in healthcare-related policy development; and if he will provide a list of those Departments. [68785/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The statutory framework for ethics in public life covers matters such as conflicts of interest and applies to elected and appointed public officials. The Code of Standards and Behaviour for Civil Servants, which is also under the auspices of my Department, contains conflict of interest provisions for civil servants. While these general provisions apply to the civil servants of all Government Departments, any further internal policies or protocols are a matter for individual Departments and there is no requirement under this regime that they be notified to my Department. In the above context, I am not aware of any such notification since 2020.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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254. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department has carried out any assessment of the adequacy of existing guidance on conflicts of interest within the civil service where officials have personal, family or financial links to organisations involved in gender-related clinical services, research, training or advocacy; and if he will provide details of any findings. [68787/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Code of Standards and Behaviour for Civil Servants, which falls under the policy responsibility of my Department, sets out the values, standards and behaviour expected of civil servants and includes certain general provisions on the management of conflicts of interest by civil servants. The Code’s provisions are broad, and intended to be so, and in this context my Department has not carried out any specific assessment of its adequacy in respect to the particular matters described in the Deputy’s question.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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255. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department maintains any record of instances since January 2020 in which senior civil servants sought approval to proceed with official functions notwithstanding a declared conflict of interest under the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995; and if he will provide the number of such requests recorded by his Department. [68788/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I have previously described to the Deputy the procedures to be followed under the statutory framework for ethics in public life where a senior official finds that they or a family member has a material interest in a function of their office that falls to be performed.

If they find themselves in the situation described in the Deputy’s question, Section 18 of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 requires that they do not perform the function concerned unless there are compelling reasons to do so. Where they propose to perform the function, they must furnish before such performance (or if not reasonably practicable, as soon as may be after), a written statement detailing the compelling reasons to the relevant authority, which would, in this case, be the Secretary General of the Department concerned. If the senior official is a Secretary General, the statement must be furnished to the Secretary General of my Department, and in the case where the senior official concerned is the Secretary General of my Department, he must furnish his statement to the Secretary General of the Department of Finance.

As I have previously informed the Deputy, details of any such statements are a matter for the relevant Department or office concerned and my Department does not hold any centralised records in this respect. In the cases of statements made to the Secretary General of my Department, I am informed that no statements concerning the matters detailed in the Deputy’s question have been made to the Secretary General since January 2020.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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256. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of engagements, consultations or meetings his Department has held since January 2020 with the Standards in Public Office Commission to review or update guidance on conflicts of interest, and if any of these engagements addressed medical or technological policy areas involving minors. [68789/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 (collectively cited as the Ethics Acts) provide inter alia a legal basis for the management of conflicts of interest by elected and appointed public officials at national level. Under this statutory framework, it falls to the Standards in Public Office Commission, which is independent in the performance of its functions, to review and update guidance on compliance with the legislation and my Department has no role in this. While the Department has had regular and ongoing meetings and consultations with the Commission on a number of issues since January 2020, this engagement has not covered the matters referred to in the Deputy’s question.