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 Where applicable, they have resigned their company directorships and withdrawn from other business interests.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.