Press release
Standards in Public Office Commission Publishes Annual Report for 2023
From Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO)
Published on
Last updated on
Today the Standards in Public Office Commission published its annual report for 2023. The report provides a summary of the Commission’s activities during 2023 under legislation relating to ethics in public office, electoral financing, and State funding. It includes information regarding operations and compliance with the ethics legislation, complaints and investigations, political donations, state financing of political parties and the registration of third parties and corporate donors.
Highlights of the 2023 report include:
- The Commission processed 135 complaints under the Ethics Acts and initiated five preliminary inquiries. Three preliminary inquiries were carried forward from the previous year. A total of four preliminary inquiries were ongoing at year end. The Commission initiated three investigations in 2023, all of which were ongoing at year end.
- The Commission was notified of 313 appointments to senior office by public bodies during 2023, up from 170 in 2022.There were two ongoing investigations in relation to “senior office” appointees for non-compliance with tax clearance provisions at the start of 2023. A further six investigations under these provisions were approved during 2023. Seven individuals came into compliance during the year and two remained outstanding at year end. One investigation remained ongoing at year end, 2023.
- Four reports regarding annual disclosures of donations to political parties in 2022, disclosure of donations to TD’s Senators, and MEP’s in 2022, the expenditure of Exchequer funding & Parliamentary Activities allowances in 2022, and statements of political parties’ accounts 2022 were published over the course of the year.
- The Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform completed a review of ethics legislation in late 2022. This was published by the Department in February 2023 with the Commission providing technical assistance to the Department based on its operation experience concerning the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001.
- It undertook numerous outreach activities to raise awareness and improve understanding and compliance with the Acts.
For further information, please contact:
Press Officer
Standards in Public Office Commission
6 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 W773 Phone: +353 (0) 1 639 5666
Email: info@sipo.ie
Website: www.sipo.ie/en/
Twitter: @SIPOCIreland
Background
The Standards Commission was created in 2001, and is the independent body charged with oversight of the Ethics in Public Office Acts (1995 and 2001), the Electoral Act 1997 (as amended), the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Act 2014, and the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015.
The members of the Standards Commission in 2023 were:
- Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, Chairperson;
- Seamus McCarthy, Comptroller and Auditor General;
- Ger Deering, Ombudsman;
- Peter Finnegan, Clerk of Dáil Éireann;
- Martin Groves, Clerk of Seanad Éireann;
- Geraldine Feeney, former member of Seanad Éireann.
The Commission publishes two annual reports each year; one on its activities administering ethics, electoral and State financing legislation, and the other on its activities administering the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. The separate annual report on the Regulation of Lobbying in 2023 was published on 28 June and may be viewed on www.lobbying.ie.
