Legislation requiring politicians to seek advance approval for substantial gifts from friends will also triple the amount of money they can receive without having to declare the contribution.
Under the Ethics in Public Office (Amendment) Bill, published yesterday, politicians must not accept more than €2,000 from friends for personal reasons unless they get approval from the Standards in Public Office Commission. But gifts or donations under €2,000 would not have to be declared, more than three times the current threshold of €650.
However, the Bill has little chance of becoming law before the Dáil is dissolved for the general election. The legislation was promised last October following the controversy created when it emerged that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had accepted more than €60,000 from friends and Manchester-based businessmen in 1993 and 1994.
Labour TD Joan Burton said last night that the publication of the legislation so close to the end of the life of the Dáil proved that the Government wished only to be able to say during the campaign that it had come forward with promised ethics legislation.
If the legislation came into force, it would cover the Taoiseach, Ministers, Ministers of State, TDs, the Attorney General, the Ceann Comhairle and Leas Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann, the Cathaoirleach and Leas Cathaoirleach of the Seanad and Senators.
The content of the legislation was not discussed in advance by the Department of Finance with the Standards in Public Office Commission even though the commission would have to implement it. Last October Minister for Finance Brian Cowen said that it would not be "appropriate" to consult the commission, which is chaired by High Court judge Mathew P. Smith, in advance.
The Government has also decided to increase the disclosure thresholds applying to TDs and Ministers in the annual Register of Members' Interests, first set down in 1995. Under the changes, politicians would not have to declare outside work unless they earn more than €5,000 in any one year, rather than the €2,600 threshold in the current legislation. Shares would only have to be disclosed if their value exceeded €20,000, rather than €13,000, and the same threshold would apply to land. Politicians would also be able to keep gifts received in the course of their duties as long as these did not exceed €2,000 in value, rather than €650 as of now.
Ms Burton said the decision to increase the disclosure thresholds, which she said had not been sought by TDs or by the Standards in Public Office Commission, meant that substantially less information would have to be given by TDs and Senators in the annual Register of Members' Interests.
Rejecting her view, the Department of Finance last night said the existing disclosure limits had remained static since the Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995, was first introduced.
