About the Ethics in Public Office Legislation

The legislation (the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 - cited together as ‘the Ethics Acts’) provides a statutory framework for the disclosure of interests, regulation of gifts, and personal appointments (Special Advisers).

It also provides for oversight by the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) or the Select Committee on Members’ Interests in each House of the Oireachtas, and, the requirement that tax clearance certificates are furnished on election/nomination to either house of the Oireachtas, appointment to judicial office or senior office.

More information can be found on the Standards in Public Office Commission here .

Review of Ethics Legislation

The 2020 Programme for Government contains a commitment to “reform and consolidate the Ethics in Public Office legislation”. To meet this commitment, a review of Ethics legislation was undertaken in advance of bringing proposals for reform to Government.

The Review commenced in September 2021 and the Government approved its publication and recommendations for reform and consolidation of Ethics in Public Office legislation in December 2022.

The Review’s recommendations centre on five key themes that seek to address the limits to the current statutory framework:

A legislative framework for Ethics underpinned by a set of overarching integrity principles
New specific statutory prohibitions, including on the use of insider information
Strengthening disclosures requirements to improve transparency and examining whether the regime should encompass more office holders
Strengthening the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO)
Post term employment restrictions for elected officials/public servants that address matters not already covered by lobbying regulation and should align closely with that legislation

The Review can be viewed here .

The Review was informed by a public consultation.

The consultation and submission documents are available here.