Ethical guidelines: then and now: Ethical guidelines for government members in the early 1990s advised that ministers should not accept expensive gifts and that they should declare any potential conflicts of interest when making government decisions.
The guidelines, which had no legislative force, were contained in the so-called cabinet "Green Book", which was given to all office-holders at the time.
In 1995, these guidelines were superseded by the Ethics in Public Office Act, which set down strict enforceable criteria to which ministers were legally required to adhere.
The "Green Book" guidelines were in place at the time in 1994 when as minister for finance, Bertie Ahern received the equivalent of €10,000 following a speaking engagement to businessmen in Manchester.
The guidelines stipulated: "The practice has been for ministers and ministers of state to accept relatively inexpensive gifts to mark occasions such as official openings etc, and not to accept expensive gifts or when presented to return them".
The guidelines also advised that ministers "should not engage in any activities that could reasonable be regarded as interfering or being incompatible with the full and proper discharge of the duties of his office".
In relation to potential conflicts of interest, the "Green Book" advised that "where any matter before the government is one in which a member of the Government or his family has a material interest, this should be drawn to the attention of the government before the matter comes up for discussion".
These guidelines were replaced in 1995 by the Ethics in Public Office Act. This was again updated in 2001 by the Standards in Public Office Act.
The present coalition Government has drawn up its own code of conduct for the Taoiseach and members of Government under the legislation, the latest version coming into force in 2003.
The current code of conduct "seeks to ensure that office holders must at all times observe, and be seen to observe, the highest standards of ethical behaviour in the carrying out of the functions of their office".
Under the code's guidelines, office holders are required to declare any gift they receive exceeding €650 in value in a given year.
"Excluded from this requirement is a gift given to an office holder, for purely personal reasons, by a relative or friend of the office holder or of his or her spouse or chil,d or of the spouse's child [child being a son or daughter of any age], unless acceptance of the gift could have materially influenced the office holder in the performance of his or her functions as a member or office holder."
The code also places a requirement on an office holder to make a "statement of material interest" in certain cases.
"In circumstances where an office holder [the first office holder] proposes to perform a function of his or her office, and he or she has actual knowledge of a material interest . . . the first office holder is required to furnish a statement in writing of the facts and the nature of the interest concerned.
"The statement should be furnished before performance of the function or, if this is not possible, as soon as may be afterwards."
The clause has in the past been explained by the ethics watchdog the Standards in Public Offices Commission (SIPO) as meaning that if an office holder believes there is a potential conflict of interest in relation to a decision by Government, they must notify the relevant person with an official declaration.
In relation to the Taoiseach, he or she is required to furnish such a statement, in confidence, to the chairman of SIPO.