Politicians ‘must wait’ for private sector jobs

POLITICIANS and civil servants should be made to wait for a set period before taking up employment with a firm which could benefit from internal Government knowledge, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said.

“It is unacceptable for a politician, political adviser, civil servant or agent of any agency to go out the door on a Friday having left a job and take up another job a week later, having replied to an advertisement or been head-hunted, because the person is then on the other side perhaps dealing with a file about which he or she knows all about because he or she has actually written it,” said Mr Ahern.

Responding to questions from Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins on the ethical issues involved in staff leaving Government circles for immediate private sector contracts, Mr Ahern for the first time said he would like to clamp down on the practice.

The Government has faced increasing criticism in recent months over staff, including former Government press officers and advisers, who have left to set up and work in the PR and lobbying companies.

The latest criticism involved the awarding of part of the advertising and PR contract for the Government’s electronic voting system to a company run by former adviser to the Taoiseach, Jackie Gallagher, who moved directly from Government into the lobbying world.

However, Mr Ahern yesterday sent a strong signal that anyone closely involved with Government work should not be able to make a direct transfer into business or lobbying.

Mr Ahern said people leaving on a Friday and taking up a post on a Monday was not a good idea because of suspicions that would arise. “If the deputy asked me if I would be comfortable with that position, that would give rise to suspicion regarding oneself as an individual if one were to do that.

“One could be in association with some company and the following day one could be in a different position. As an individual, that leaves oneself open. If there was a rule, people would have to abide by it and nobody could undermine them,” he said.

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte asked why Mr Ahern’s Government had rejected a 1995 Labour Bill aimed at introducing a cooling-off period for politicians and civil servants.

“If he thinks that way, what is stopping him? He has been Taoiseach for seven years. My colleague, Senator O’Meara, introduced a bill in the Seanad that would do precisely what the Taoiseach suggested but his Government voted it down,” he said.

“People have left the heart of the Taoiseach’s administration and come in the other door as lobbyists,” Mr Rabbitte added.