Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 December 2025
255. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if his Department maintains any record of instances since January 2020 in which senior civil servants sought approval to proceed with official functions notwithstanding a declared conflict of interest under the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995; and if he will provide the number of such requests recorded by his Department. [68788/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have previously described to the Deputy the procedures to be followed under the statutory framework for ethics in public life where a senior official finds that they or a family member has a material interest in a function of their office that falls to be performed.
If they find themselves in the situation described in the Deputy’s question, Section 18 of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 requires that they do not perform the function concerned unless there are compelling reasons to do so. Where they propose to perform the function, they must furnish before such performance (or if not reasonably practicable, as soon as may be after), a written statement detailing the compelling reasons to the relevant authority, which would, in this case, be the Secretary General of the Department concerned. If the senior official is a Secretary General, the statement must be furnished to the Secretary General of my Department, and in the case where the senior official concerned is the Secretary General of my Department, he must furnish his statement to the Secretary General of the Department of Finance.
As I have previously informed the Deputy, details of any such statements are a matter for the relevant Department or office concerned and my Department does not hold any centralised records in this respect. In the cases of statements made to the Secretary General of my Department, I am informed that no statements concerning the matters detailed in the Deputy’s question have been made to the Secretary General since January 2020.
