Annual Report 2008

Codes of Conduct

Code of Conduct for the Wider Public Service

In previous annual reports, the Standards Commission highlighted its concerns about the lack of a statutory code of conduct for directors and employees of state agencies. The 2001 Act provides for the drafting and publication of codes of conduct for different categories of persons including directors and employees of public bodies. 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 its introduction.

The absence of such a code could lead to serious difficulties in the event of a complaint against an employee or a director of a state agency under the Standards in Public Office Act 2001. Notwithstanding the Standards Commission's view that the Minister for Finance should address this issue as a matter of urgency, there have been no developments in this area in the past year. The Minister for Finance has issued a Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, most recently revised in 2001. That code includes the elements of a draft code of ethics for adoption by state bodies. However, that code applies on an administrative basis only and does not have the statutory status that a code of conduct under the 2001 Act would enjoy. The Standards Commission understands that the Department has been engaged in drafting a further revision of the code. However, it has not sought any observations on the code from the Standards Commission.

The question of the standard of governance of state agencies has been the subject of much public comment in the recent past; allegations have also been made about impropriety on the part of certain persons in state agencies. Rightly, there is public expectation that high 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 is no further delay in introducing these codes.

Code of Ethics for An Garda Síochána

The Garda Síochána Act 2005 provides for the drafting by the Garda Commissioner of a code of ethics for An Garda Síochána. The Act also provides that the Commissioner must consult with a number of persons and bodies, including the Standards Commission, about the draft. Having been consulted in November 2007, the Standards Commission provided the following observations:

1. it would be appropriate to make reference in the code to statutory protections afforded to members of an Garda Síochána who report corruption and malpractice;
2. the provisions in the draft code concerning disclosure of conflicts of interests would be strengthened by the inclusion of a statement to the effect that a member of An Garda Síochána should not use his or her official position to benefit him/herself or others with whom he or she has personal, family, business or other ties. In addition, as a general rule the code should provide that a Garda must disclose any matter in which he or she has a commercial interest to the Commissioner and should not be involved professionally in that matter;
3. the code should make specific reference to the obligations on designated members of An Garda Síochána to comply with the provisions of the Ethics Acts;
4. the code should provide that a member of An Garda Síochána should not engage in, or be connected to, any outside business or activity which would be inconsistent with his or her official position or which would weaken public confidence in An Garda Síochána;
5. the code should also contain a statement of general principle to the effect that a member of An Garda Síochána should not receive a gift or other benefit from a third party which might reasonably be seen to compromise his or her personal judgement or integrity. It would also be appropriate to include a statement of the general principles in relation to the acceptance of hospitality;
6. the code should provide that members of An Garda Síochána must inform the Garda Commissioner of any intention to leave the force and to take up a position with any outside business with which he or she has had official dealings or which might gain an unfair advantage over its competitors by employing him or her. This would protect against members taking up employment in the private sector to which they would bring access/information/contacts gained in the course of their membership of the force. The Standards Commission also suggested that it would be appropriate to consider the imposition of a moratorium of perhaps one year on members occupying designated positions in An Garda Síochána prior to taking up another position after leaving the force.

The Standards Commission's observations were informed by similar provisions which apply to the civil service under the Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour. The arrangements in relation to post-resignation/retirement employment suggested at point 6. apply both under the civil service code and in the code of conduct for employees of local authorities.

The Standards Commission is pleased to report that An Garda Síochána accepted all of its observations. At the time of writing, the draft code had yet to be published.

Inappropriate use of Oireachtas Envelopes

The Standards Commission has indicated in previous reports that it is inappropriate for TDs and Senators to provide Oireachtas envelopes to other persons such as election candidates. In its Annual Report for 2007 the Standards Commission noted that, while envelopes provided to members of Dáil Éireann were bar-coded so as to be traceable to the TD to whom they were issued, the Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges had decided not to implement this measure. The Standards Commission stated that it was regrettable that the procedure had not been adopted for members of Seanad Éireann, as this could have deterred Senators from supplying Oireachtas envelopes to persons not entitled to avail of them. The Committee on Members' Interests for Seanad Éireann replied saying that it had decided to bring the matter to the attention of the Seanad Committee on Procedures and Privileges to consider again the matter of bar-coding. It had also written to all members of Seanad Éireann informing them of its view that pre-paid envelopes should not be handed over to any third party for use in an election campaign and to remind members of the provisions of the code of conduct for members of Seanad Éireann requiring them to apply public resources prudently and only for the purposes for which they are intended.

Since the publication of the 2007 Annual Report, the Standards Commission has been informed that the Seanad Committee on Procedures and Privileges had again decided against traceability and that following this, the Dáil Committee reversed its earlier decision. Accordingly, pre-paid Oireachtas envelopes are no longer bar-coded. The Standards Commission regrets these decisions which mean that there can be no assurance that €2.7m of public resources provided to members of the Oireachtas are being used for the purposes for which they have been authorised.

In March 2009, the Chairman of the Standards Commission wrote to the Taoiseach again setting out its view that resources, such as Oireachtas envelopes, provided to TDs and Senators at public expense in order to facilitate the performance of their functions as public representatives should not be passed on to others who have no entitlement to use them. Such a practice is an abuse of public resources and is entirely inappropriate. The Chairman requested the Taoiseach to bring the Standards Commission's concerns to the attention of office holders. The Chairman also provided a copy of that letter to the Chairpersons of the Committees on Members' Interests of Dáil Éireann and of Seanad Éireann. The Taoiseach replied stating that he had brought the letter to the attention of all office holders. The Committees on Members' Interests of Dáil and Seanad Éireann also replied stating that the letter would be circulated to all members who are not office holders. The Standards Commission issued a press release in April 2009 setting out its views on the matter in advance of the local and European elections.

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