Chapter 1 - The Work of the Standards Commission

The Standards in Public Office Commission is an independent body established in December 2001 by the Standards in Public Office Act 2001. It has six members and is chaired by a former Judge of the High Court, Mr Justice Daniel O’Keeffe. Up to 2014 it has supervisory roles under three separate pieces of legislation: 

• the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995, as amended by the Standards in Public Office Act 2001, (the Ethics Acts);
• the Electoral Act 1997, as amended, (the Electoral Acts);
• the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Act 2014, (the Parliamentary Activities Allowance Act);

Its functions include supervising the disclosure of interests and compliance with tax clearance requirements, monitoring the disclosure of donations and election expenditure. It also supervises the expenditure of state funding received by political parties. In 2015 it became responsible for the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. The Office of the Ombudsman provides secretarial staff to the Standards in Public Office Commission.

Further information about the functions of the Standards Commission is available on the Commission’s website.