Publication
Governance
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
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- 1. Changes to the Code of Practice For the Governance of State Bodies, Annex Remuneration & Superannuation.
- 2. Changes to the Model Shareholder Expectation Letter.
- 3. Annex on Gender Balance, Diversity, and Inclusion
- 4. A Guide to the Implications for the Annual Financial Statements and the Annual Report
- 5. Appointment of CEOs of Non-Commercial State Bodies
Update: On 29 June 2021, the government agreed to re-affirm and revise the existing framework of governance procedures applying to Commercial Semi State Bodies (CSSBs) in relation to specific superannuation and remuneration proposals. To implement the decision the following changes have taken place:
- a new paragraph in relation to severance schemes (Voluntary Redundancy and Voluntary Early Retirement Schemes) has been included at paragraph 1.7
- a new paragraph in relation to pension schemes has been included at paragraph 2.13
- the text in paragraphs 1.7 and 2.13 outlines that NewERA will provide advice on proposals to both individual Ministers and to DPER
In section 4. Governance Arrangements, a new paragraph, Remuneration and Superannuation is added referring the user to the Annex to the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies.
A new Annex on Gender Balance, Diversity, and Inclusion to supplement the existing Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies was published in September 2020.
The revised and updated Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies (2016) is designed to ensure that both commercial and non-commercial State bodies meet the highest standards of corporate governance. It provides a framework for the application of best practice and is intended to take account of developments in respect of oversight, reporting requirements and the appointment of Board members. The Code is based on the underlying principles of good governance: accountability, transparency, probity and a focus on the sustainable success of the organisation over the longer term.
The updated Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies (2016) is split into a suite of documents comprising of the main Code and more detailed documents setting out the Code requirements as follows:
Leagan Gaeilge - An Cód Cleachtais chun Comhlachtaí Stáit a Rialú
and
A consolidated Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies 2016 is provided. It contains the main Code and the 4 more detailed documents in a single pdf document, which may provide ease of reference.
For commercial State bodies the oversight agreement between the relevant Minister/parent department and the State body is the Shareholder Expectation Letter. A model Shareholder Expectation Letter is included for information: Model Shareholder Expectation Letter.
A list of the significant changes in the 2016 version of the Code of Practice from the 2009 version is available below.
This guidance sets out how the requirements and financial reporting disclosures in the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies (2016) should be reported in the financial statements of State bodies.
The guidance can be accessed below.
A Guide to the Implications for the Annual Financial Statements and the Annual Report
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Leagan Gaeilge - Guidance for Financial Statements - Irish version
In April 2019, the Public Service Pay and Pensions Division (DPER) published Guidelines for Appointments of CEOs of Non-Commercial State Bodies.
The aim of these Guidelines is to assist the Board of Non-Commercial State Bodies (NCSB) and Parent Departments on the process to follow when appointing a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of an NCSB.
The Public Service Pay and Pensions Division (DPER) has prepared the following templates for use by Non-Commercial State Bodies and their parent department:
In May 2019, the Public Service Pay and Pensions Division (DPER) published a revised template contract of employment for appointments of CEOs of Commercial State Bodies.
This template is to ensure that standard contractual terms are applied to Chief Executive Officer posts in Commercial State Bodies. The terms and conditions of these posts are subject to the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
This template contract is updated from time to time and the latest version is available below:
Template Employment Contract for Chief Executives of Commercial State bodies
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As part of the Climate Action Plan 2023, the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform committed to reflecting the requirement to report on the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate within the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies.
The current 2024 Public Sector Climate Action Mandate was approved by Government in December 2023. The mandate highlights what public sector bodies must do to play a leadership role in driving climate action. It will be reviewed annually.
All applicable public bodies are required to report on compliance with the mandate annually, with each public sector body’s Climate and Sustainability Champion holding reporting responsibility. Additional information and guidance on implementing the mandate is available online.
NOTE
These documents may be updated from time to time without advance notification by the Government Accounting Unit. The most recent version will be published on this web page.
The Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies (2016) is provided for reference.