Councillors' conduct could be scrutinised by watchdog

Local councillors should come under the remit of the Standards in Public Office Commission watchdog, it was claimed today.

Commission chairman Justice Matthew Smith, who normally monitors the conduct of TDs and Senators, said local authority members should also be accountable to his five-member body.

“I feel they should. It is an area where corruption is more likely to arise than anywhere else in the public service,” he told the Oireachtas Finance and Public Service Committee today.

The issue was raised by Labour’s committee member Joan Burton.

Comptroller and Auditor General and Commission member John Purcell said that the body had wanted to “beef up” a code of conduct for local authority members and employees contained in the Local Government Act but this had not happened.

Senator Martin Mansergh commented that a deceased UK government minister once told him that tribunals in Ireland “were doing great damage” to the country’s reputation.

Justice Smith noted that some tribunals have been running for up to eight years but he welcomed legislation by Justice Minister Michael McDowell to fast-track inquiries.

“I suppose these should be speeded up more quickly and efficiently,” he added.

Commission member and former Government minister Liam Kavanagh remarked that neither a TD or Senator had made a complaint to the Commission during the four years it has been in existence.

“If there is an obstacle, please let us know,” he told committee members.

Mr Purcell said that it may be a daunting experience for anybody to make a complaint to the Commission.

“Sometimes they may feel that they themselves are in the dock if the complaint goes to a full complaints procedure,” he noted.

Sinn Féin committee member Caoimhghin O Caolain said that inflammatory remarks by politicians in public debates should come under the remit of the Commission.

“These prejudices should find no succour in the public utterances of senior or junior ministers,” he added.

Senator Mansergh said he didn’t feel that “healthy and robust debate” in the course of parliamentary debates should be the subject of the Commission’s work.

Justice Smith replied that he believed the Commission had no responsibility in this area.

The awarding of a departmental public relations contracts to PR executive Monica Leech by former Environment Minister Martin Cullen was referred to the Commission earlier this year.

However Justice Smith said today that the Commission’s “hands were somewhat tied” in relation to the matter and it was unable to investigate.

He said a “big inhibitory factor” was the fact that the Commission couldn’t appoint an inquiry officer to collect information to establish if a prima facie case exists for investigation of complaints.