House adopts code of conduct for members

The Dáil has adopted an 11-point code of conduct for TDs, aimed at fostering and sustaining "public confidence and trust in their integrity as individuals and in Dáil Éireann as an institution".

The first item in the code of conduct states: "Members must, in good faith, strive to maintain the public trust placed in them, and exercise the influence gained from their membership of Dáil Éireann to advance the public interest."

Breaches of the code will be treated on the same basis as penalties under the Ethics in Public Office Act, which include suspension of up to a month without pay. TDs cannot accept a gift that might pose a conflict of interest or interfere with the honest and impartial exercise of their official duties, but they may accept "incidental gifts and customary hospitality".

TDs must "endeavour to arrange their private financial affairs" to prevent conflicts of interest, where a deputy is involved in a decision which will "improperly and dishonestly" further their or someone else's private financial interest. The code includes a requirement to co-operate with tribunals and other bodies "inquiring into matters of public importance" established by the Oireachtas.

It also includes a requirement for TDs to base their conduct on consideration of the public interest and reminds TDs they are "individually responsible for preventing conflicts of interest".

Detailing the code, the chairman of the Committee on Members' Interests, Mr Tony Killeen, said the "alleged wrongdoings of decades has been paraded in public and tribunals during a relatively short period of time". There was a "belief among members that there is a need for the system to be open to reasonable scrutiny and accountability".

He said it was there to assist TDs to discharge their duties, while acknowledging "there are areas where members should more properly submit themselves to judgment by the electorate".