Rugby tickets and piece of Valentia subsea cable among gifts presented to Government ministers

Under legislation, any gift valued at more than €650 cannot be accepted by TDs and ministers, but any gift valued at less than €650 can be accepted

Justice minister Jim O'Callaghan's accepted tickets to Ireland's Six Nations clash with Scotland. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Paperweights, rugby tickets, and a piece of subsea cable are among gifts declared by Cabinet ministers.

Under legislation, any gift valued at more than €650 cannot be accepted, unless given by a friend or relative. But any gift valued at less than €650 can be accepted, unless it violates the provisions of other legislation. 

For example, gifts received from a visiting foreign delegation, or a token as a thank you for making a speech would generally be acceptable, but a gift given to an official by or on behalf of a person with an interest in the office holder’s functions is presumed to be given and received corruptly by the Standards in Public Office Commission.

Defence minister Helen McEntee declared one gift: a piece of the original subsea cable which ran to Valentia Island.

"In my attendance at the Valentia Island Subsea Cable Security and Resilience Symposium, I was presented with a small piece of the original section of the underwater cable. To my knowledge, this currently does not attract a monetary value.

Transport and energy minister Darragh O'Brien, meanwhile, declared a book of nominal value received while taking part in the UAE Joint Economic Commission in Dubai late last year, as well as a "mini ornament" and paperweight from the same event.

In April of this year, Mr O'Brien received a pottery ornament from his Spanish counterpart at the Wind Energy Conference in Madrid.

Justice minister Jim O'Callaghan's department tracker shows while most of his gifts are donated to said department, he has accepted tickets to two rugby games — Ireland's Six Nations clash with Scotland and Leinster's ERC semi-final with Toulon. 

Among the gifts given to his department were a Newbridge Silverware St Brigid’s bookmark and cross, a metal bowl, a number of bottles of wine and, from his St Patrick's Day trip to Greece, a paperweight, magnifying glass, icon and olive tree sculpture, a tote bag, coaster and notepad and a metal olive leaf wreath.

Enterprise minister Peter Burke, meanwhile, said he had not received any gifts exceeding the statutory threshold of €650.

He said "from time to time, I have received customary protocol or token gifts, particularly in the context of official engagements and visits abroad" and these consisted of "small cultural items or presentation tokens" valued below the threshold.

"In accepting any gift, I act fully in accordance with the provisions of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995."

The declarations come in a series of parliamentary questions published last week in which Sinn Féin's John Brady asked ministers to declare gifts given to them.