136. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 99 of 13 February 2025, for an update on the plans to review and strengthen the ethics in public office legislation, following the completion of the review of the statutory framework in December 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27769/25]
Sentiment score: 0.01
I have to agree with the previous speaker on this. I looked back to April. This is not a priority. In its 2009 annual report, SIPO "recommends that the Department of Finance should draft new legislation to be based on best practice for dealing with conflicts of interests and ... consolidate". Fast forward to the 2021 annual report, SIPO states "For a number of years, the Commission has called for a comprehensive review of the existing ethics framework...in annual reports" and so on. It says it over and over. It is not good enough for the Minister to come in today and say it is complex and he is still looking at it. The review was completed more than two years ago. It took years to get the review. I am quoting from an annual report from 2009. It is now 2025. It is more than two years after the departmental review and the Minister has no heads of Bill for us, no date or no anything. There is an absolute failure to recognise what SIPO is telling us in terms of governance, oversight and its lack of power to act.
Sentiment score: -0.03
I will stick with what SIPO tells us. I will go back to 2019 and to the submission to public consultation on the regulatory impact analysis. It states that SIPO's "mandate includes oversight of the electoral Act". It then goes on to outline some of the challenges for SIPO in this role and the lack of independence of SIPO in terms of budgets, staffing and reporting to the Oireachtas. It states that SIPO does not have its own Vote, unlike in other jurisdictions and that a dedicated Vote would allow it more independence, which is vital, and autonomy. It outlines the "burdensome framework for reporting" and that seven statutory reports are required under the electoral Act alone. Four of the six members of the SIPO Commission are ex officio with other commitments, which limits the time they have to focus on SIPO. SIPO's secretarial staff also have responsibility for other operations within SIPO's remit. There is a need for a definition of "political purposes" and "third parties". On expenditure limits, there are no limits on expenditure for Seanad elections or referenda, unlike other elections. There are inconsistent disclosure requirements for political parties and so on. It has little power by way of investigation. Local elections are treated differently. That is only a small sample of the inadequacies of the existing legislation. It is the opposite to what democracy needs.
Sentiment score: -0.02
They were outlined by SIPO in 2019.
Sentiment score: 0.00
169. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 37 of 11 February 2025, the timeline for the passage of the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 that incorporates a ban on imports and services from these areas, supported by the advisory opinion on the illegality of Israel’s occupation and settlements issued on 19 July 2024 by the International Court of Justice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27350/25]
Sentiment score: 0.00
I understand this question is in a group, such is Deputies' concern about the occupied territories Bill or, to give it its proper name, the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018, which incorporates a ban on imports and services from the occupied areas, supported by the advisory opinion on the illegality of Israel’s occupation and settlements issued on 19 July 2024 by the International Court of Justice. It takes on added meaning with Israel's announcement today that it intends to establish 22 further new settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Sentiment score: 0.14
When questions are grouped, the Deputy with the first question gets 30 seconds and everyone in the group gets the same time, thereafter, one minute. No one is deprived of time.
Sentiment score: -0.32
Does the Tánaiste see the date on the occupied territories Bill? It is 2018. It is now 2025. I welcome that some progress has been made. However, it has taken the deaths and slaughter of 54,000 Palestinians, and that figure, which I read out this morning, is totally inaccurate. According to The Lancet, the figure is much higher than that. At the very least, this occupied territories Bill needs to be pushed through before this summer to ban goods and services, if our word is to mean anything. I do not mind or care whether our trade is limited. This is something that needs to be done at its most basic level. During the week the Government refused to vote to stop the selling of bonds in Ireland or, rather, the approving of the prospectus. It said to do so would not comply with EU law. I have a completely different view, if you look at EU law. I asked a question and the answer I got is really shocking. First of all, I asked a very specific question about all State investments in Israeli bonds. It took until the end to get the answer, namely, that the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund has invested in Israeli bonds. The most recent figures available are for the end of 2023. There are no figures for 2024. That entity now holds direct holdings in Israeli war bonds totalling €2.62 million.
Sentiment score: -0.13
The occupied territories Bill, however limited, has to be passed for goods and services. It is the least we can do. The constant refrain that Europe might take infringement proceedings against us is unacceptable. Let us face that if it happens. There is a genocide happening in our name while we stand here and talk, so we need to take action. The limited way that the Government is dealing with the Central Bank's role and its refusal to look at that is also part of this discussion. It is limiting it to the three Cs, namely, comprehensibility, consistency and some other C. The Government is not looking at the overall obligation on the Central Bank to comply with its own Central Bank Act. That Act says it must comply with European law, which lays down fundamental human rights. It is not even being measured against that, or public policy. It is similar with State investment. We are actually investing in war bonds. We have moved beyond asking the Central Bank to stop the role that it has and if it cannot do so, we should then bring in the necessary legislation. We now find out that we are investing public money in war bonds.
Sentiment score: -0.21