Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 April 2017
250. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 112, 114 to 116, inclusive, and 118 of 9 March 2017, if there is a legal obligation on employees of third level institutions to declare an interest in a spin-out company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16206/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAll HEIs are requested yearly as part of their governance statements to state that a code of conduct for Governing Body members and a Code of Conduct for Employees has been adopted and is being monitored. Guidelines for these codes are included in the IOT and University Codes of Governance (section 3.2).
The University Code of Governance has been implemented since 2007 and was updated in 2012. A copy of the code is available here:
www.hea.ie/sites/default/files/university_code_of_governance_2012.pdf.
The Institutes of Technology Code of Governance published in 2012 replaces an earlier document published in 2003: A copy of the code is available here:
www.hea.ie/sites/default/files/code_of_goverance_jan_2012final_updated_0.pdf.
For example the IoT Code of Governance states:
Code of Conduct for Members and Employees
2.2.1 It is strongly recommended that all Institutes of Technology have written codes of conduct for members of the Governing Body and employees. The codes should be developed via a participative approach and should be approved by the Governing Body taking into account the implications of all the relevant provisions of the Institutes of Technology Acts 1992 to 2006 as well as the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and Standards in Public Office Act 2001. Suggested guidelines for such a code are contained in Part 3.2 of this document. The Code, a copy of which should be made available to all members of Governing Body and Employees for their retention, should embrace such matters as duty to the Institute, principles for addressing conflict of interest, limits on outside activities, acceptance of gifts and honesty in dealings. The up-to-date codes of conduct should also be available upon request with a copy of each such code being accessible through the Institute’s website.
In the financial memorandum signed by both the HEA and HEIs it is a mandatory requirement that they comply with the codes of governance for IoTs and universities, while their annual governance statement also confirms that the approved Code of Governance has been put in place and implemented, and that a Code of Conduct for Employees has been implemented and monitored. This Code of Conduct must cover conflicts of interest and limits on outside activities.
