Our politicians have only just finished completing the declarations due under the Electoral Act, in which all donations of more than £500 had to be declared for public record by the end of January. But they now face filling in the lengthy form of the Ethics in Public Office Act and submitting it by March 2nd. This comprehensive document lists nine areas in which public representatives must declare all. It covers income from sources other than the public purse, and includes benefit from shares, directorships, lands, property, gifts of more than £500, services, travel, lobbying, contracts in excess of £5,000 and so on and so forth.
In today's climate of accusation, investigation and tribunal, many deputies and senators are beset with doubt about what exactly they should declare - aware that the files will be open to public perusal - and what they can keep private.
The Dail Committee on Members' Interests, under the chairmanship of Fianna Fail's Tony Killeen, has examined the whole area in advance of promised Government legislation and its report will be presented on Tuesday.
It favours amalgamating the three areas in the ethics regime - the Ethics Act, the Electoral Act and the proposed new commission - and having deputies complete only one, comprehensive statement each year.
It also addresses areas of difficulties in the Ethics Act such as what should be done if there is disagreement over what is and isn't registerable; how to treat anonymous complaints; how legal advice on whether a particular benefit is relevant should be made known to all deputies. There's many a deputy and senator with little good to say about former Labour minister Eithne Fitzgerald who initiated the legislation.
The committee also addresses how the new ethics commission will work, how complaints will be processed, whether it should be in constant session or meet to adjudicate on a specific complaint against a member of the Oireachtas, and whether prosecutions can follow from findings of fact at a tribunal. The Seanad committee has already submitted its report.
To help them in their deliberations the Dail committee members travelled to Australia before Christmas to study how the independent commission against corruption operates. Australia has a reputation for sleaze and is dealing with it. The Public Accounts Committee returned a couple of weeks ago after a similar mission.