Annual Report 2002

Establishment of the Standards Commission

The Standards Commission was established by the Standards in Public Office Act, 2001 (Standards Act) which amended many of the provisions of the Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995 (1995 Act) and introduced a number of new provisions in areas which had not previously been regulated. Notably, the Standards Act introduced provisions requiring the production of evidence of compliance with taxation legislation by members of both Houses and persons who were appointed to senior office in the public service after 10 December 2001. It also provided for the drawing up and publication of codes of conduct indicating standards of conduct and integrity for parliamentarians and public servants.

The Standards Commission is now a six person body headed by a permanent Chairman with four ex-officio members and a former member of a House of the Oireachtas. The Chairman, Mr. Justice Matthew P. Smith, a Judge of the High Court, was appointed by the President, on the recommendation of Dáil and Seanad Éireann, on 12 December 2001, for a six-year term. In 2002, the ex-officio members of the Standards Commission were:

• Mr. John Purcell, Comptroller and Auditor General,
• Mr. Kevin Murphy, Ombudsman,
• Mr. Kieran Coughlan, Clerk of Dáil Éireann,
• Ms. Deirdre Lane, Clerk of Seanad Éireann.

As a former member of Dáil Éireann, Mr. Liam Kavanagh, MCC, was appointed to the Standards Commission by the Government in December 2001, following resolutions passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas. Commissioner Kavanagh was a member of the Dáil from 1969 to 1997 during which time he served as Minister for Labour and the Public Service, Minister for Labour, Minister for the Environment and Minister for Tourism, Forestry and Fisheries. He was a member of the European Parliament from 1973 to 1981 and was directly elected to the Parliament for the Leinster constituency in 1979.

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