Annual Report 2008

Local Government Ethical Framework

The Standards Commission noted in its annual report for 2007 that it had written to each local authority manager and to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government setting out its role in relation to the Ethical Framework for the Local Government Service and in particular its view that all local avenues provided for by the Local Government Act 2001 should be pursued prior to considering making a complaint to the Standards Commission. It stressed the need for the ethics registrar to pursue minor errors and corrections and to administer properly the receipt of annual declarations by members and employees with a view to ensuring that such persons are fully aware of their statutory obligations and that the incidence of contraventions is kept to a minimum. The provisions concerning the bringing of possible contraventions to the attention of the Manager and/or the Cathaoirleach as appropriate were emphasised. The Standards Commission reminded local authorities of its view that, as the register of interests is a public document of significant importance, it should be made available by each local authority on the internet in order to ensure widespread public awareness of the interests of local authority members and to enhance the standards of integrity and conduct required in the performance of local authority functions.

A local authority and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner contacted the Standards Commission about its view in relation to the register of interests. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner had been asked to consider whether the publication of the register on the internet would be inconsistent with data protection legislation. That Office set out its view that such publication should only take place either where there is a specific statutory basis for doing so or where the consent of the individuals involved has been obtained. It said that there was not an appropriate legislative basis in section 172 of the Local Government Act 2001 for publication without consent.

Following discussions with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, that office subsequently informed the Standards Commission that it had written to the local authority which raised the initial query to say that it was happy to confirm that it could see no particular data protection difficulty with the publication of details in relation to councillors ,where there exists in its view a valid public interest-type basis to conclude that the requirement to make such information available in local authority offices during office hours can be extended to incorporate publication on the local authority's website. It also stated that appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that the publication of this type of information was not automatically available to search engines.

The Standards Commission wrote to the Minister and each City and County Manager again in November 2008 to advise them of the clarification obtained from the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. The Standards Commission also formally requested each City and County Manager to make the necessary arrangements to publish the register of interests on the internet. The Standards Commission remains firmly of the view that the register of public interests of members of local authorities should be available on the internet in the same way as are the registers of members' interests for members of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann.

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