Services
We provide a range of services in line with the terms of four legislative Acts for which the Standards in Public Office Commission is responsible:
- Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001
- Electoral Act 1997 (as amended)
- Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Act 2014
- Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015
The services we provide include:
o Publish guidelines and provide advice on compliance with the legislation
o Manage the disclosure of interests and tax clearance regimes
o Investigate possible breaches of the legislation
o Publish guidelines and provide advice on compliance with the legislation
o Manage and report on regulatory regimes for disclosure of political donations election expenses, State financing of political parties and the registration of third parties
o Conduct enquiries as necessary
- Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices)(Amendment) Act
o Manage and report on expenditure of the parliamentary activities allowance
- Regulation of Lobbying Act
o Maintain an online lobbying register
o Monitor compliance with the rules for registration and returns
o Make decisions under certain provisions of the Act
o Implement and maintain a code of conduct for people lobbying
o Provide guidance and assistance
o Investigate and pursue breaches of the legislation
Our work involves engaging with stakeholders including:
- Ministers/Ministers of State
- Members of the Oireachtas (TDs and senators)
- Irish MEPs
- Special advisers to ministers
- Political parties/candidates
- Local authority-elected officials and staff
- Persons in designated positions and directorships in the civil and public service
- Third parties
- Corporate donors
- People lobbying
- Members of the public
Our service users’ charter sets out what you can expect from us when you contact the Commission.
Contact by telephone
If you contact us by phone we will:
- Answer your call promptly
- Give you our name when we answer your call
- Be courteous and helpful to you at all times
- Answer your query in full.
- If we cannot do so immediately, we will take your details and call you back as soon as possible
- Respond to all voicemail messages promptly
Written correspondence
If you send us a letter, email or online enquiry we will:
- Acknowledge your correspondence within five to six working days
- Ensure you receive a full reply within 28 days. If we are unable to meet this deadline, we will contact you to explain why and let you know when to expect a full response
- Give you a contact name and contact details
- Write to you in simple and clear language and avoid using technical terms
Visitors to the Office/Outreach events
If you visit us in person we will:
- Treat you with courtesy, respect your privacy and be fair in our dealings with you
- Meet you at the agreed time if you have an appointment
- Provide appropriate facilities for meetings
- Keep our public offices clean and tidy and ensure they meet health and safety standards
Service through Irish
We will assist people who wish to carry out their business with us through Irish
- If you write to us in Irish, we will reply in Irish
- We will publish key documents, including our annual reports, in Irish and English
- We will ensure that information leaflets aimed at the public are available in both Irish and English
- An Irish version of our website will, as far as possible, mirror the English version
- We will meet our other commitments under the Official Languages Act 2003 and the Commission’s official languages scheme as published on our website
Equality/Diversity/Disability/Privacy
We commit to dealing with you without discrimination or prejudice and will:
- Respect equality and human rights in line with Public Sector Duty principles
- Aim to have our services and facilities easily available and accessible to you
- Respect your right to privacy The contact email for our access officer under the Disability Act is: accessofficer@sipo.ie
Staff complaints
We have a policy for handling complaints against members of staff, which is available on our website. You can also ask for details by contacting us directly.
Help us to help you
You can help us to give you a high-quality service by:
- Stating your complaint as clearly and as concisely as you can
- Sending us copies of relevant documents when submitting your complaint
- Treating our staff and our service with respect
- Commenting or making suggestions about the service you receive
Consultation and feedback
We are always interested to hear suggestions on how we can improve our service. If you would like to comment or make a suggestion, please e-mail info@sipo.ie
Where to get more information
This document and details of our other activities, policies and contact information, is available on our website, www.sipo.ie.
Where to find us
Our full contact details are available on the “contact” webpage.
Our address is: Standards in Public Office Commission, 6 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 W773. The Office is open: Monday to Friday, 9.15am-5pm.
Telephone: +353 1 639 5666
Lobbying: +353 1 6395722 Email: Sipo enquiries: info@sipo.ie Ethics and electoral complaints: complaints@sipo.ie Lobbying enquiries: info@lobbying.ie FOI officer: foi@sipo.ie Data protection officer: dataprotection@ombudsman.ie