Annual Report 2007

Codes of Conduct

Section 10 of the 2001 Act provides for the introduction of codes of conduct for the following categories, following consultation with the Standards Commission:

• members of both Houses of the Oireachtas;
• office holders;
• public servants.

Codes of conduct for members of both Houses of the Oireachtas, as drawn up by the Committees on Members' Interests of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann, were published by the Standards Commission in 2002.

The Code of Conduct for Office Holders, as drawn up by the Government, was published by the Standards Commission on 3 July 2003.

The Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour, as drawn up by the Minister for Finance, was issued by way of circular 26/04 on 9 September 2004 and was subsequently published by the Standards Commission.

In each Annual Report since 2003, the Standards Commission has referred to its consultations with the Department of Finance regarding codes of conduct for public bodies in the wider public service. The Standards Commission is not aware of any progress in 2007 in regard to the development of such a code. In its Annual Report for 2005, it noted that in discussions with the Department of Finance, it had been advised that separate codes of conduct for the commercial and non-commercial sectors were under consideration. However, there were no developments in this regard subsequently.

In its Annual Report for 2006, the Standards Commission expressed its concern at the delay in implementing the provisions of Section 10 of the 2001 Act for directors and employees of public bodies other than in the Civil Service, noting that the failure to set out the general principles of conduct and integrity by which such persons should abide in performing their functions could give rise to difficulties where issues arise in future concerning such performance. The response of the Minister for Finance to the Standards Commission's proposal to amend the "specified act" provision has been noted in Chapter 4 of this report. The Minister indicated that among the reasons for rejecting that proposal was that there were already codes of conduct to guide the ethical behaviour of Oireachtas members, office holders and civil servants in their day-to-day business and that these codes can be taken into account by the Standards Commission in an investigation of an alleged breach of the legislation.

However, the absence of such a code or codes in the wider public service gives further grounds for the Standards Commission's view expressed in the 2006 Annual Report 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 employes, 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 for public servants.

Code of Conduct for office holders

The Standards Commission reported in its Annual Report for 2006 about two issues concerning the Code of Conduct for Office Holders which arose on foot of its consideration of two complaints against office holders. These concerned the use of public resources in the context of public events or advertising, and the attendance by civil servants at parliamentary party meetings on the invitation of ministers. The Taoiseach had written to office holders in respect of both issues. He also informed Dáil Éireann in October 2006 that when legislation is enacted to amend the Ethics Acts to deal with gifts to office holders and members of the Oireachtas, the Government, in consultation with the Standards Commission, would consider the need to update the code of conduct and that whenever the code is to be updated, it would reflect the additional guidance he conveyed to office holders, as referred to above and any further guidance that may be required consequent to enactment of the amending legislation. At the time of writing, the Amendment Bill has yet to be passed - see Chapter 4. It is presumed that consideration of revisions to the code will follow the Bill's enactment.

Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour

As reported in the 2006 Annual Report, consideration will also have to be given by the Minister for Finance to amending the Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour to reflect the Taoiseach's advice to office holders and the Standards Commission had written to the Department of Finance in that regard.

In the 2006 Annual Report, the Standards Commission noted that it had brought the attention of the Department to a discrepancy between the provisions of section 20.2 of the Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour concerning acceptance by civil servants of outside appointments or of consultancy engagements following resignation or retirement and the representation of those provisions in the summary provided in an appendix to the Code, which is reproduced in Department of Finance Circular 26/04.

Section 20.2 states, inter alia,

"civil servants who hold positions which are designated positions for purposes of the Ethics Acts shall not, within twelve months of resigning or retiring from the service:

• accept an offer of appointment from an employer outside the Civil Service or
• accept an engagement in a particular consultancy project,

where the nature and terms of such appointment or engagement could lead to a conflict of interest, without first obtaining approval from the appropriate authority as outlined at 20.4."

However, the appendix to the Code summarised this as follows: "Civil servants shall not accept an appointment, or particular consultancy project, where the civil servant concerned believes that the nature and terms of such appointment could lead to a conflict of interest or the perception of such, without first obtaining the approval of the Outside Appointments Board or the Secretary General or Head of Office as appropriate".

The Standards Commission informed the Department that the reference to the belief of the civil servant in the summary gave the misleading impression that the provision concerns a subjective test as to whether a conflict of interest exists. However, it is clear that what is provided for in the code is an objective test, which is that the nature and terms of the appointment or engagement could lead to a conflict of interest and that this is an important distinction which civil servants must be made aware of when they come to consider any offer of an outside appointment or an engagement in a consultancy project. The Standards Commission had written to the Department of Finance pointing this out and requesting that the appropriate amendment be made in the context of an update of the Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour.

The Department accepted the Standards Commission's view on this matter. It issued a letter to Personnel Officers in July 2007 revising the summary of the code in line with its substantive provisions, to read as follows:

"Civil servants shall not within twelve months of resigning or retiring from the Civil Service, accept an appointment, or particular consultancy project, where the nature and terms of such appointment could lead to a conflict of interest or the perception of such, without first obtaining the approval of the Outside Appointments Board or the Secretary General or Head of Office as appropriate."

The Standards Commission welcomes the Department's decision in this matter. The text of the summary of the code has been amended on the Standards Commission's website.

Codes of Conduct for Local Authorities

In its Annual Report for 2006, the Standards Commission reported on amendments made to the code of conduct for local authority employees by the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr Dick Roche TD, concerning post-retirement or post-resignation employment and outside business interests.

That Annual Report also referred to other observations previously made by the Standards Commission in 2004 which had not been accepted on the draft codes both for local authority employees and members, in which it noted the Minister's indication in 2006 that he was open to the development of suitable provisions concerning protection for local authority employees who make complaints. The Standards Commission welcomed this indication and pointed out to the Department that it would welcome an opportunity to examine any detailed proposals which the Minister may be considering. There have been no developments in this regard since that time. However, the Standards Commission would be willing to assist the Department in considering such proposals in the context of the Green Paper on local government reform being prepared in the Department.

Back to contents