Part 15 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, sets down an ethical framework for local government, including for elected members of local authorities. The ethical framework imposes a statutory duty on all involved to maintain proper standards of integrity, conduct and concern for the public interest. This framework also takes into account the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995.
Section 171 of the 2001 Act obliges elected members to prepare and furnish to their local authority an annual written declaration containing particulars of their declarable interests, as set out under section 175. This includes, under section 175(j), any contract to which an elected member is a party or is in any other way, directly or indirectly, interested for the supply of goods or services to the local authority during the appropriate period if the value of the goods or services supplied exceeds €6,348.
The Public Sector Standards Bill, once enacted, will consolidate and significantly enhance the existing ethical framework for the public sector, including for elected members of local authorities. My Department has been advised by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform that the Bill commenced Dáil Committee Stage during April 2017. On foot of this, the Committee requested my colleague, the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, to deal with certain matters prior to the re-commencement of Committee Stage. It is understood that the matters involved have now been dealt with and Committee Stage has been scheduled for 27 September 2018. Section 7(3) of the Bill currently provides that any contract in relation to the supply of goods or services to a public body, if the value exceeds €5,000 in a given year, is a declarable interest.
