Press Releases

Press Release re Standards Commission's Annual Report for 2007

Date Released: 29.07.2008

"In a general election year, it should be possible for each citizen to have a clear picture of election spending by each candidate and party and also a clear indication of the sources for such funding" according to Mr Justice Matthew P. Smith, Chairman of the Standards in Public Office Commission, in the sixth annual report of the Standards Commission published today. The Standards Commission reported in December on its oversight of the 2007 Dáil general election and noted that expenditure of €11.08 million had been reported to it. That report also noted that donations of €531,000 had been disclosed by unsuccessful candidates at that election. In addition, donations totalling € 1.122 million were disclosed by political parties and by members of the Oireachtas as having been received during 2007. If the intention of the Electoral legislation is to provide for transparency and openness in relation to party funding and expenditure, then it is not achieving this aim. (Pages 2 & 3)

The Standards Commission welcomes the commitment given in the Programme for Government 2007 - 2012 to establish an independent Electoral Commission to take responsibility for electoral administration and oversight.  Once again this year, the Standards Commission has devoted a chapter of its report to what it sees as necessary changes to both the Ethics and Electoral legislation.

Codes of Conduct for Public Servants

The Standards Commission again expressed its concern at the delay by the Minister for Finance in giving full effect to provisions of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 which allow for the drafting of codes of conduct for public servants. In its report, the Standards Commission states that the lack of a statutory code or codes of conduct for the overwhelming majority of persons in the public service could create serious difficulties for it in the event of an issue coming before it, by way of a complaint to it or otherwise, about such a person. While statutory codes of conduct apply to civil servants and local authority employees, around 80% of public servants are not subject to any code of conduct. The Standards Commission reiterates its strongly held view that the Minister for Finance should urgently address this issue in order to provide appropriate ethical guidance to public servants (page 13).

The report deals with a number of complaints including the following:

Complaints against two Killarney Town Councillors

The complaints alleged contraventions of Part 15 of the Local Government Act 2001 by Councillors Patrick O'Donoghue and Sheila Casey relating to a motion to rezone land at the Gleneagle Land, Killarney. An investigation hearing was held in the offices of the Standards Commission on 26 March 2007. It found that Councillor O'Donoghue had contravened the provisions of Part 15 of the Local Government Act 2001 and had acted in disregard of the Code of Conduct for Councillors. It found that two of the contraventions were inadvertent and minor in nature, while one was done intentionally and was a serious matter and one was done negligently and was also a serious matter. Having considered the matter at the conclusion of its investigation, the Standards Commission was of the opinion that offences under the Local Government Act may have been committed by Councillor O'Donoghue. It therefore referred a report on the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In relation to Councillor Sheila Casey, the Standards Commission was not satisfied that it had been established that she had contravened the provisions of Part 15 of the Local Government Act 2001 (pages 9 & 10).

Former Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern, TD

The complaints related to his actions in accepting gifts and loans while he was Minister for Finance. Having considered all the material available to it, the Standards Commission concluded that the complaints did not warrant the initiation of an investigation as the payments were either made before the enactment of the relevant legislation, were outside the scope of the legislation or there was no evidence of any breach of the requirements of the legislation (page 8).

Former Minister Frank Fahey, TD

The complaint was about various actions of Mr Frank Fahey TD during his term of office as Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources. The Standards Commission decided that on the basis of the evidence before it, there was no prima facie case against Deputy Fahey and no basis on which it might initiate an investigation into two of the matters. In relation to a third issue, as the Minister later disclosed his interest in an apartment in Daytona Beach, Florida, the Standards Commission decided not to pursue the matter further (page 8).

The report also deals with the Standards Commission's supervision of compliance with the Electoral Acts by participants at the Dáil and Seanad general elections. The Standards Commission also supervised compliance with the Electoral Acts by TDs, Senators & MEPs, by political parties and their accounting units and by "third parties" (pages 19 to 25).

The report shows that almost €13 million was paid to qualified political parties out of Exchequer funds in 2007 (pages 27 to 30).

Here is a link to the Standards Commission's Annual Report for 2007

The Standards Commission is the independent body charged with oversight of the Ethics and Electoral legislation. The members of the Standards Commission are:

• Mr Justice M. P. Smith, Chairman;
• Mr John Buckley, Comptroller and Auditor General;
• Ms Emily O'Reilly, Ombudsman;
• Mr Kieran Coughlan, Clerk of Dáil Éireann;
• Ms Deirdre Lane, Clerk of Seanad Éireann; and
• Mr Michael Smith, former Minister and TD.

Telephone: 01-6395666
Fax: 01-6395684
email: sipo@sipo.gov.ie
Website: http://www.sipo.gov.ie

For further information please contact SIPOC at (01) 639 5666, or
David Waddell (01) 6395707
Aidan Moore (01) 6395712

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