Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 March 2022
97. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the planned changes regarding Standards in Public Office rules and regulations; the expected timeframe for the finalisation of the general changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11507/22]
View answer120. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of his review of the Ethics Framework; the date he plans to reintroduce the public sector standards Bill 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11385/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 97 and 120 together.
The Government agreed to my proposals for the Review of the statutory framework for Ethics to which Deputy Farrell's question refers in September 2021. In brief, this Review is examining:
- Ireland’s existing ethics legislative framework,
- The recommendations of relevant tribunals of inquiry,
- Recommendations made by the Standards in Public Office Commission based on its operation of the current regime,
- The views of key stakeholders;
- Current EU/international best practice; and
- The views submitted by way of a public consultation.
Formal stakeholder engagement for the Review commenced in November. A public consultation exercise launched in November and closed in mid-January 2022. Key elements of context for the draft review report’s findings have been drafted, including a detailed survey of Ireland's current provisions, and a survey of the arrangements in a number of relevant and comparable jurisdictions. An initial engagement has also taken place with relevant Government Departments and the Office of the Attorney General.
I expect the Review to be completed by end June. The outcome will then inform proposals for legislative reform that I intend to bring to Government later this year. In seeking to develop a renewed legislative initiative, my Department will take as its point of departure the policy approach underlying the 2015 Public Sector Standards Bill (and set out in November's Public Consultation Paper), which lapsed when the Dáil was dissolved in January 2020 in advance of the last General Election. Very broadly, this involves consolidation of the statutory framework for ethics and giving effect to relevant recommendations of the Mahon and Moriarty Tribunals.
