Vol. 448 No. 1
8 Miss Harney asked the Taoiseach if each member of the Cabinet and the Attorney General has made a declaration of financial interests; if such declaration will be published; if he has ensured that all Cabinet members have resigned from any company directorships or other business interests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1153/95]
All members of the Government and the Attorney General have furnished me with a declaration of their financial interests. Where applicable, they have resigned their company directorships and withdrawn from other business interests.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Ethics in Public Office Bill, when enacted, will require members of the Government to make an annual public disclosure of their own interests. In addition, they will be required to make an annual confidential disclosure to the Taoiseach and the Public Offices Commission not only of their own interests but also of those of their spouses, children, and so on.
Each office holder has furnished me with a comprehensive declaration of his or her interests. It would not be appropriate, in my view, to publish the information received in advance of this legislation. This is because of the extent of the declarations made and the need to protect the legitimate privacy of third parties, such as spouses, children, and so on — a principle enshrined in the Bill in its present form.
The Government is totally committed to the earliest possible enactment of the Bill and to the full disclosure of relevant interests by office holders, in accordance with procedures and guidelines to be worked out by the relevant House committees and Public Offices Commission, once the Bill is enacted.
In the interests of openness and transparency——
And accountability.
The goddess, OTA.
Would the Taoiseach in advance of the enactment of the Ethics in Public Office Bill have these details published?
I would like to have those details published in a form that complies in full with the legislation. I have no problem with individual Ministers making this detail available if they wish to do so. I have made the details of my interests publicly available already but I have doubts from a legal point of view about the wisdom and propriety of asking for declarations to be made that touch on the privacy of third parties, that is not Ministers themselves, in advance of having statutory authority for same. That is the reason I decided not to ask for this declaration at this stage.
I can assure the Deputy that it is this Government's policy to enact this legislation as quickly as possible. We are looking forward to the guidelines being set out for the disclosure of interest by Ministers to the Public Offices Commission to be established under that Bill and we will fulfil in full the requirements set out by the Public Offices Commission. In so doing we would be acting on a statutory basis and there would not be any question of a third party who might be affected claiming that their interests were being interfered with on a non-statutory ad hoc basis. They will be asked to act in compliance with the law.
Given what the Taoiseach said about this a few weeks ago will he, in advance of the passing of the Bill, put in place what the Bill will require? I am not asking him to do anything that would affect third parties.
It is not easy to disentangle the information I have received from all office holders about properties held jointly with third parties. In many cases their spouse is involved in the ownership and management of assets which are also assets of the Ministers.
Any disclosure which will affect a Minister is also likely to affect his or her spouse. I have taken some advice on this and it is my view that it would be better to await the enactment of the legislation before making these disclosures on a directive basis. I have no difficulty with any Minister making a voluntary declaration. I have voluntarily declared my own interests to a Sunday newspaper. If the House wishes to know what my interests are I am more than happy to disclose them here and now.
We must now deal with questions nominated for priority.
