Annual Report 2008

Introduction by the Chairman

For some years now, the Standards Commission has been highlighting the changes which it believes must be made to our Ethics and Electoral legislation in order to ensure that Ireland maintains and enhances its reputation as a country which is serious about promoting integrity and preventing corruption in public life. Ireland's existing anti-corruption mechanisms are recognised as being strong by international standards, but a continuing effort is required to ensure that this remains the case. The trust of citizens in our public institutions is essential for a healthy democracy. International perceptions are also crucially important - research at Harvard and at the World Bank Institute points to a link between the level of foreign direct investment and a country's ranking in, for example, Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index.

The table shows Ireland's performance in the index since 1995; the scores demonstrate that there is no room for complacency as far as our international reputation is concerned.

Corruption Perception Index - Ireland's Score 1995 to 2008

Source: Transparency International, www.transparency.ie

Once again this year, the Standards Commission has devoted a separate chapter of this report to the necessary changes in the statutory framework which governs ethical and electoral matters. Both sets of legislation are concerned with ensuring high standards of probity in public life - whether the public servant concerned is an elected or an appointed official. The link between the two is that all participants in Irish public life - whether citizens, public service employees, candidates at elections, or public representatives are assured that the law requires public servants and elected representatives to perform their functions in the public interest rather than in any personal or connected interest, to declare and manage any possible conflicts of interest and that donations, gifts and election expenditure are subject to transparent controls. The Standards Commission does an important job in supervising the law in these areas and the Commission believes that the connection between the ethics and electoral areas ought to be maintained and that supervision be vested in a single independent body. The independent Electoral Commission proposed in the Programme for Government 2007 - 2012 should, in addition to a comprehensive supervisory role under electoral law, also have a supervisory role in relation to ethics legislation, including the ethical framework for local government.

The Standards Commission welcomes the proposed changes to the electoral laws - many of them first suggested by the Commission itself - which are designed to enhance openness and transparency in the funding of political parties. The introduction of expenditure limits for local elections for the first time in 2009, as well as promised changes to the rules governing campaigning at referendums, are also very welcome developments. Details of campaign expenditure - whether by candidates or by campaign groups - ought to be available to the public and the sources of those funds must also be disclosed.

Governance standards in both the private and public sectors became very topical during 2008. As far as the public sector is concerned, the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 provided for the development of statutory codes of conduct for various categories of persons covered by the legislation. In Chapter 2 of this report, the Standards Commission again highlights its concerns about the lack of a statutory code of conduct for directors and employees of state agencies. To date, codes have been published for office holders, TDs, Senators and civil servants. Separate codes for local authority members and employees have been published by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. It remains the case that there is no statutory code of conduct for directors and employees of agencies in the wider public service, despite the fact that more than seven years have elapsed since the enactment of the 2001 Act which provided for their introduction.

Rightly, there is public expectation that the highest standards be demonstrated by all public servants in the exercise of their functions and in the use of public resources. The clearly expressed intention of the Oireachtas in the 2001 Act was that codes of conduct be introduced across the public service to provide clarity about the standards of ethical conduct required. It is in the public interest that there be no further delay in introducing these statutory codes. The Standards in Public Office Act provides that persons governed by such codes must have regard to and be guided by the code in the performance of their functions. A non-statutory code is no substitute for a statutory code of conduct. The Act also provides that the Standards Commission be consulted as the codes are being drawn up. As well as providing useful guidance to directors and employees of the many state agencies, such a code also becomes part of the terms and conditions on which a person holds a directorship or occupies a position in a state agency and due notice may be taken of the code in the event of a complaint to the Commission or in court proceedings.

As the Standards Commission begins its seventh year of operation, I would like to thank my fellow Commissioners for their contribution during 2008. In particular, I would like to extend special thanks to Mr John Purcell who retired as Comptroller and Auditor General in May 2008. John served as a member of the Public Offices Commission from 1995 and then as a member of the Standards in Public Offices Commission when it was established in 2001. John's contribution to both commissions was invaluable and, on behalf of the Commission, I would like to wish him a lengthy and a happy retirement. Mr John Buckley was appointed by the President as Comptroller and Auditor General on 15 May 2008 following his nomination by Dáil Éireann. I welcome him as a member of the Standards Commission. I would also like to thank the staff of the secretariat and the Commission Secretary David Waddell for their total commitment and dedication to the work of the office during the year.

Back to contents