Combined Section 15/16 Manual of the Standards Commission

1.3 Overview of the legislation supervised by the Standards Commission

The principal functions of the Standards in Public Office Commission arise under the following pieces of legislation:

1. the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 (the 1995 Act), and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 (the 2001 Act), which are referred together as the Ethics Acts;
2. the Electoral Acts 1997 to 2004 (the Electoral Acts); and
3. the Oireachtas (Ministerial & Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Act 2001 (Party Leaders Allowance legislation).

Throughout this manual there are references to specific terms contained in the legislation. A glossary of these terms is provided at the end of each Part. Where a specific term first appears in the manual it will be highlighted in bold text.

Overview of Ethics Acts:

The broad focus of the Ethics Acts is to provide for disclosure of interests, including any material factors which could influence a Government Minister or Minister of State, a Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Member) or a public servant in performing their official duties. The principal objective of the legislation is to demonstrate that those who are participating in public life do not seek to derive personal advantage from the outcome of their actions. To meet this objective, a statutory framework has been put in place to regulate the disclosure of interests and to ensure that other measures are taken to satisfy the broad range of obligations arising under the legislation. The legislation is founded on the presumption of integrity but recognises that specific measures should exist to underpin compliance.

Under the Ethics Acts, as well as disclosing interests, evidence that they are tax compliant must be furnished to the Standards Commission by all Members, the Attorney General and appointees to senior office in public bodies. The legislation also requires the drawing up of codes of conduct for Members (other than Office Holders), for Office Holders (e.g. Ministers of the Government and Ministers of State) and for public servants. These codes are published by the Standards Commission.

Further information concerning the requirements of the Ethics Acts is contained in Part 2 of this Manual.

Overview of the Electoral Acts:

The purpose of the Electoral Acts is to ensure that there is openness and accountability in the relationships that exist between, on the one hand, political parties and individual politicians and, on the other, those who would support them politically, whether by way of financial assistance or otherwise. The legislation also seeks to achieve equity in the electoral process by limiting expenditure at elections and by providing a system whereby candidates at elections can, in certain circumstances, recoup election expenses. The Electoral Acts also provide for State financing of qualified political parties which received at least 2% of the first preference votes at the last preceding Dáil general election.

Further information concerning the requirements of the Electoral Acts is contained in Part 3 of this Manual.

Overview of the Party Leaders Allowance legislation:

The Party Leaders legislation provides for the payment of an annual allowance to the leaders of qualified parliamentary parties in relation to expenses arising from the parliamentary activities, including research, of the party. To qualify for payment the party must have had one or more members elected or nominated to Dáil or Seanad Éireann at or since the last general election. The amount paid to the parliamentary party leader is based on the party's representation in Dáil and Seanad Éireann. The allowance is reduced where a party forms part of the government. The "parliamentary activities" to which the funding may be applied are set out in the legislation. The funding may not be used for electoral or referendum purposes.

Further information concerning the requirements of the Party Leaders Allowance Legislation is contained in Part 4 of this Manual.

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