Annual Report 2005

Introduction by the Chairman

2005 was the fourth full year of the Standards Commission's operation and saw the introduction of regulations by the Minister for Finance which increased, with effect from 1 January 2006, the number of bodies in the civil and public service which are within the scope of the Ethics Acts from almost 400 to around 470. The Standards Commission welcomes the commitment of the Department to keep the regulations up to date. It is important that the reach of the legislation should extend to all publicly-funded bodies. In this report, the Commission emphasises the need for consistent application of the legislation, notably in the publicly-funded health sector.

Complaints may be made to the Standards Commission under the Ethics Acts if it is considered that a breach of the legislation may have occurred. Details as to who may complain are set out in Section 22 of the Ethics in Public Office Act; while the provisions of the section are somewhat technical, any person may complain about possible contraventions of the legislation by, for example, office holders or holders of designated directorships or designated positions in public bodies. A number of examples of such complaints are given in this report. Unless the Standards Commission receives a complaint, it is somewhat constrained in what steps it may take if a possible breach of the Ethics legislation comes to its attention. The Commission wishes once again to stress the need to amend the legislation such as that it may appoint an Inquiry Officer to conduct preliminary inquiries where the Commission may wish to pursue a matter under the legislation but has not received a complaint. Such an own initiative power to investigate would only be used by the Commission in the most exceptional of circumstances. The Commission has made a number of proposals for other amendments to both the Ethics and Electoral legislation; some of these are summarised in Appendix 3.

Chapter 1 of this report gives some details of the position in relation to Deputy Michael Collins. This matter was also noted in the Standards Commission's reports for 2003 and 2004. It appears that the matter is still under consideration by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and An Garda Síochána and the Standards Commission has no indication as to when a decision may be reached. The Commission is concerned at the length of time involved and urges that the matter be resolved without further delay.

In its 2004 Annual Report, the Standards Commission expressed its regret that the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government had not taken on board observations which the Commission had made on the draft Code of Conduct for Local Authority employees. During 2005, the Department decided to review the code and there were indications by the end of the year that the Commission's concerns would be addressed. The Standards Commission welcomes this development.

Chapter 2 of this report deals with the Commission's activities under the Electoral Acts and summarises the donations disclosed by TDs, Senators and MEPs during the year. This chapter also deals with donations disclosed by political parties and by companies. Following a report by the Standards Commission to the Director of Public Prosecutions in the case of former Senator Liam Cosgrave, Mr Cosgrave pleaded guilty on 17 October 2005 at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to having committed an offence under the Electoral Act 1997 and is to receive a community service sentence, subject to an assessment as to suitability. Also, on 10 November 2005, an unsuccessful candidate at the 2004 European Parliament election, Mr Gerard Hannan, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Electoral Act and was fined €250.

In December 2005, GRECO - the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption - finalised its second evaluation round report on Ireland. In relation to public administration, GRECO recommended that the existing fee system for access to official information under the Freedom of Information legislation be reconsidered. It also called for clear rules/guidelines for public officials to report suspicions of corruption as well as for regular training on standards of conduct and expected behaviour. GRECO will report on measures taken by Ireland to comply with its recommendations towards the end of 2007. It is important that Ireland continues to improve its anti-corruption measures in order to maintain and enhance public confidence in public administration.

Also of importance is Ireland's international reputation in this area. Transparency International's Global Corruption Report complimented Irish policy makers on the steps taken to date but emphasised that whistleblower legislation was vital "to combat an engrained cultural acceptance of corruption in Ireland." In 2005, Ireland was placed 19th in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index with a score of 7.4 out of 10. While this score is relatively high in international terms, it falls short of the scores achieved by our northern European neighbours. Effectively, Ireland has slipped from 11th least corrupt country with a score of 8.57 in 1995 to our present position. The Standards Commission welcomes Transparency International's National Integrity System study of Ireland which will be conducted during 2006. The study will provide the first in-depth assessment of the ability of our laws and institutions to prevent corruption and should provide a clearer picture of what further reforms may be needed.

Finally, as in previous years, I want to thank my fellow members of the Standards Commission for their contributions during the year. I also want to thank the Commission Secretary, David Waddell, who joined us in December 2005 and his predecessor, Brian Allen, for their dedication and commitment. The Commission Secretariat has also served us well during the year and has our sincere thanks.

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