Ethics Acts complaints

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Section 22 of the 1995 Act and section 4 of the 2001 Act (the Ethics Acts) provide that all complaints are to be made "in writing". The Standards Commission requests that a complainant provide details of their name and contact information (telephone number and/or address - email address alone is insufficient). In order to enable the Standards Commission to properly discharge its function of deciding whether or not it is appropriate to carry out an investigation of a complaint, it is essential that it be as detailed and as specific as possible. The Standards Commission is, therefore, of the view that every complaint made under the Ethics Acts should

  • The full name, address and a contact number of the person making the complaint;
  • The name of the person the complaint is about, their title / position / role (if known) and the name of the organisation;
  • A concise description of the alleged act(s) or omission(s) complained of, including names, dates and places; and
  • Any supporting documentation or material in relation to the circumstances of the complaint.

Where documentary material is relevant, copies of that material should be furnished with the complaint where possible.

In the event that you wish to make a complaint under the Ethics Acts please forward the completed Complaints Form, available here. This form can be forwarded by post to:

Standards in Public Office Commission

6 Earlsfort Terrace

Dublin 2

D02 W773

 

Alternatively you can forward details by email to complaints@sipo.ie

 

Complaints

While it is open to any person to make a complaint to the Standards Commission in line with the provisions of the Ethics Acts the Commission requests that all local avenues should be exhausted before such a complaint is made.

Accordingly, if a person considers that an employee or a member of a local authority may have contravened a provision of Part 15 of the Local Government Act 2001, the Commission is of the view that the matter should be raised with the local authority ethics registrar in the first instance. If a person is not satisfied with the outcome of the consideration of the matter following referral to the ethics registrar, he or she may make a complaint to the Standards Commission.

Section 8 of the 2001 Act precludes the Standards Commission from investigating a complaint made to it unless the identity of the person making the complaint is disclosed. However, the Standards Commission may, if it considers it appropriate to do so, restrict the disclosure of such identity for the purposes of the investigation of the complaint or otherwise in the interests of justice.

The following persons can make a complaint to the Standards Commission about an alleged contravention of the disclosure provisions of the 1995 Act:

  • A member of the public
  • A member of Dáil Éireann or of Seanad Éireann
  • The Minister for Finance
  • A Minister of the Government
  • The "appropriate authority" (within the meaning of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956, but excluding a Minister of the Government) in relation to a civil servant
  • The Committee on Members' Interests of Dáil Éireann or the Committee on Members' Interests of Seanad Éireann

The persons listed above can make a complaint about holders of certain positions. Details of the categories of such positions can be found in Section 22 of the Ethics Act 1995

Any person can make a complaint to the Standards Commission where he or she considers that a "specified person", or a person who is a connected person, may

  • have done a "specified act";
  • contravened a provision of the Ethics Acts or
  • contravened a provision of the Electoral Act 1997, as amended (the Electoral Acts).

A specified act is an act made, or an omission done, after the commencement of Section 2 of the 2001 Act (i.e. after 10 December 2001) that is:

  • inconsistent with the proper performance by the specified person of the functions of the office or position by reference to which he or she is such a person or with the maintenance of confidence in such performance by the general public, and
  • the matter is one of significant public importance.

More information can be found in Section 4 of the Standards Act 2001

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