Office Holders

Certain obligations arise for Office Holders under the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 which are known together as the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001 (the Ethics Acts). An Office Holder is the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, a Minister, a Minister of State and the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Dáil and of Seanad Éireann. A description of the obligations arising is provided under the following headings:

Disclosure of Donations
Disclosure of Interests
Request for Advice
Special Advisers
Gifts
Tax Compliance
Code of Conduct

Obligations under the Electoral Act 1997, as amended, (the Electoral Acts).

As a Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas, you are required, under the Electoral Acts, to furnish a Donation Statement and Statutory Declaration to the Standards in Public Office Commission (the Standards Commission) by 31 January each year. You must disclose all donations with a value, or an aggregate value from the same donor, of more than €634.87 received by you during the preceding calendar year.

A Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas who receives a monetary donation exceeding €126.97 is required to open and maintain a political donations account. If you are required to open a political donations account you must, each year, provide certain information to the Standards Commission relating to that account.

As a Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas you are prohibited from accepting anonymous donations with a value exceeding €126.97. You are also prohibited from accepting foreign donations of any value and donations which are valued in excess of the prescribed maximum limit (€2,539.48 from the same donor in the same calendar year).

A donation is defined in the Electoral Acts as a contribution for political purposes and can include money, property, goods or the free or below cost use of goods, property or services. A donation also includes the net value of a contribution to a fund-raising event.

Further information for Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas on the obligations arising under the Electoral Acts is available in: "Guidelines for Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas and Representatives in the European Parliament on steps to be taken concerning donations and prohibited donations." Advice in relation to the Electoral Acts is available from the Standards Commission.

Obligations for Members (who are Office Holders) under the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 (the Ethics Acts).

Obligations in relation to disclosure of interests.

Under the Ethics Acts, as a Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas you are required each year to furnish a statement of your registrable interests to the Standards Commission. The statement must be furnished by 31 January and should cover any period(s) when you were a Member of either House during the preceding year. The Standards Commission will issue a form to you in early January each year for this purpose. Your statement of registrable interests will be forwarded by the Standards Commission to the Clerk of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann, as appropriate. Your statement will be entered in a register established by each Clerk which will be laid before Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann, as appropriate. You must complete and return the form to the Standards Commission whether or not you have any interests to disclose.

Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas are also obliged to make a declaration if they propose to speak or vote in proceedings in either House, a committee of either House or a joint committee of both Houses and they, or a connected person, have a material interest in the subject matter of the proceedings.

As an Office Holder you have additional obligations in relation to the disclosure of interests. You are required, in respect of each year during any part of which you hold or held a position as an Office Holder, to prepare and furnish, to the appropriate Clerk, a separate statement of the registrable interests of your spouse, your child or child of your spouse which could materially influence you in, or in relation to, the performance of the function of your Office. This is known as a Statement of Additional Interests. The statement must be furnished by 31 January to the appropriate Clerk. If there are no such interests to disclose, you are requested to furnish a nil statement.

If you are the Taoiseach and a function of your position falls to be performed and you have actual knowledge that you, or a connected person, have a material interest in a matter to which the function relates, you must, as soon as may be, prepare and furnish a statement in writing of those facts and of the nature of the interest to the Chairman of the Standards Commission. If you are the Tánaiste, or a Minister or Minister of State, any statement by you of a material interest should be furnished to the Taoiseach and to the Standards Commission. If you are Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Dáil or of the Seanad, any statement by you of a material interest should be furnished to the Standards Commission.

You must also furnish a statement if you, or a person acting on your behalf, propose to make a request to another Office Holder in relation to the performance of a function by that other Office Holder and you have actual knowledge that you, or a connected person, have a material interest in a matter to which the function relates.

Advice and Guidelines

The Standards Commission is responsible for providing advice and guidelines to Office Holders on steps which are required to be taken to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Ethics Acts.

Special Advisers

Any Special Adviser whose remuneration exceeds the maximum salary (standard scale, Class B PRSI) of a Higher Executive Officer in the Civil Service, is required to provide a statement of registrable interests and a statement of additional interests (spouse and children) to the employing Office Holder and the Standards Commission, not later than 31 January each year, if the interests could materially influence the Special Adviser in performing the functions of the special advisership.

As an Office Holder you are required to lay before each House of the Oireachtas the following documents relating to each of your Special Advisers:

(i) a copy of the contract, or a statement in writing of the terms and conditions, under which the person acts or acted as Special Adviser,
(ii) a copy of the statement of the Special Adviser's own registrable interests (not spouse or children) furnished to you by the Special Adviser,
(iii) a statement as to whether you are a relative of the Special Adviser and
(iv) a statement of the qualifications of the Special Adviser relevant to the functions of Special Adviser.

You should note that if the remuneration of the Special Adviser does not exceed the maximum salary (standard scale, Class B PRSI) of a Higher Executive Officer in the Civil Service, you are required to lay the documents above at (i) and (iii) only before each House of the Oireachtas.

Gifts

As an Office Holder, you are required to surrender any gift, with a value in excess of €650, given, by virtue of your Office, to you or to your spouse, your child or a child of your spouse. Any such gift is deemed to be given to the State and will vest in the Minister for Finance. The Office Holder must inform the Secretary General to the Government and retain custody of the property concerned on behalf of the State until such time as the instructions of the Secretary General regarding its disposal are received.

Obligations in relation to tax compliance

All Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas have obligations under the Ethics Acts in relation to tax compliance. Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas must furnish a Tax Clearance Certificate or Application Statement to the Standards Commission not more than nine months following election to the Dáil or election or nomination to the Seanad. The Tax Clearance Certificate or Application Statement must have issued not more than nine months before or nine months after the date of election or nomination.

Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas must also make a Statutory Declaration to the effect that they have complied with their tax obligations and that nothing prevents the issuing to them of a Tax Clearance Certificate. The Statutory Declaration must be made not more than one month before or one month after the date of election or nomination and must be furnished to the Standards Commission not more than nine months after the date of election or nomination.

Code of Conduct

Office Holders are required by law to have regard to and be guided by the "Code of Conduct for Office Holders" which was drawn up by the Government and published by the Standards Commission.

The following publications will provide more detailed information relating to your obligations under the Ethics Acts: