Annual Report 2002

Guidelines and Advice

The commencement of the Standards Act, which introduced amendments to 26 of the 38 sections of the 1995 Act, meant that the guidelines for office holders and for public servants which had been published by the former Public Offices Commission under section 25 of the 1995 Act were no longer reflective of the full range of amended and new provisions. The Standards Commission drew up new Guidelines for Office Holders (Third Edition) which were circulated to the Ministers and Ministers of State of the 29th Dáil and to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Dáil and Seanad Éireann. New Guidelines for Public Servants (Second Edition) were also drawn up and were circulated to Government departments and offices and to the Company Secretaries of the public bodies prescribed by Statutory Instrument No. 32 of 1997. The guidelines were posted, in downloadable form, on the website of the Standards Commission (www.sipo.ie).

Additionally, the Standards Commission has agreed with the Department of Finance, as the body charged with prescribing the forms to be used for disclosure of interests by office holders, special advisers and public servants, that, with effect from the 2003 reporting year, it will make the forms available on the Department's website (www.finance.gov.ie).

The Standards Commission continued to provide its statutory advice function under section 25 of the 1995 Act. Advice was given to both office holders and public servants on a wide range of subjects relating to their obligations under the legislation arising in the course of 2002.

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