Vol. 543 No. 2
423 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will introduce legislation or regulations to remove the anomaly whereby members of health boards, other than public representatives, are not obliged to return declarations of interest. [26499/01]
424 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will introduce legislation or regulations which will oblige members of health boards to make a declaration of interest. [26500/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 423 and 424 together.
While the health board members and staff are not currently designated under the Ethics in Public Offices Act, the Second Schedule to the 1970 Health Act outlines the rules in relation to membership and meetings of health boards. Section 30 to the Second Schedule states, "A member of the board who has: (a) any interest in any company or concern with which the board proposes to make any contact, or (b) any interest in any contract which the board proposes to make, shall disclose to the board the fact of the interest and the nature thereof, and shall take no part in any deliberation or decision of the board relating to the contract, and any such disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the board".
In addition, my Department has circulated health boards with the Department of Finance guidelines for State bodies, which outline procedures for the disclosure of interests by members of boards or State bodies.
Additionally, a consultative process is ongoing between my Department, the Department of Finance and the health board-authority chief executive officer group in relation to the designation of certain officers under the Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995. The matter of the designation of health board members under the Act is currently under consideration.
