The Coalition Government's proposals for the establishment of a permanent Standards in Public Office Commission are a considerable disappointment. This arises from their equivocal nature and from the Government's blatant failure to support specific recommendations made by the McCracken Tribunal.
The decision to oppose the expulsion of TDs and Senators from the Oireachtas for offences against the Ethics in Public Office Act, as recommended by Mr Justice McCracken, is the greatest failure. But the decision to permit Oireachtas Committees to monitor and regulate their own members' behaviour under the Ethics Act - unless they specifically decide to involve the Commission - comes a close second. Escape clauses which allow for human error and oversight in the making of false declarations of interests by elected members are particularly significant in that regard.
Commenting on the efforts of Mr Charles Haughey and Mr Michael Lowry to ensure that offshore payments remained undiscovered by the Revenue Commissioners, Mr Justice McCracken said if other Oireachtas members became involved in such behaviour they would seek to deceive the Oireachtas. Because of that, he recommended that making a false declaration should be made a criminal offence, and not merely dealt with internally by the House of the Oireachtas concerned. Penalties should involve suspension or permanent removal from the Oireachtas.
In resisting such a course of action, the Government has invited Oireachtas Committees of Members' Interests to consider a range of powers and functions for the proposed Commission. Through this course of action, and by revisiting the contentious issues that caused the Ethics in Public Office Act to be filletted on its way through the Dail, the Government has practically guaranteed minimal change. Even where a significant reform is proposed, in relation to the requirement of tax clearance certificates for TDs and Senators, concern is expressed that the removal or suspension of a Member in certain circumstances might encroach on their constitutional rights. In defence of this position, the point is made by the Government that such penalties would be highly vulnerable to constitutional challenge because "no similar prohibition applies to persons convicted of far more serious offences, such as murder, rape or substantial fraud."
Rather than provide an argument against legislative action, surely this state of affairs cries out for reform. In publicising the Government's proposals on Wednesday, the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, described them as radical, tough and aimed at ensuring that only the highest standards operate in Irish public life. Unfortunately, it would seem that rhetoric will swamp reality in this case.