Press release
Standards in Public Office Commission publishes its annual report for 2025
From Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO)
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The Standards in Public Office Commission has published its annual report for 2025. The report provides a summary of the Commission’s activities during 2025 under legislation relating to ethics in public office, electoral financing, and State funding. It includes information regarding operations and compliance with the ethics legislation, complaints and investigations, political donations, state financing of political parties and the registration of third parties and corporate donors.
Highlights of the 2025 report include:
• The Commission processed 143 complaints under the Ethics Acts and initiated three preliminary inquiries. In addition, four preliminary inquiries were carried forward from previous years. A total of six preliminary inquiries were ongoing at year end. One preliminary application hearing and one investigation hearing were held in 2025. with no investigations ongoing at year’s end.
• The Commission was notified of 332 appointments to senior office by public bodies during 2025, up from 317 in 2024.
• In 2025, the Commission certified 353 candidate reimbursements, following on from the General Election 2024, with the average time taken for certification significantly reduced. The Commission also oversaw the Presidential Election on 24th October 2025. In advance of this election, the Commission published Guidelines to support compliance with electoral legislation.
• Numerous outreach activities were undertaken to raise awareness and improve understanding and compliance with the Acts.
• Also during 2025 the Commission took steps to ensure that members of the public have greater access to information on its website and on a more timely basis, particularly in relation to electoral finance matters.
Standards in Public Office Commission Annual Report 2025
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For further information, please contact:
Press Officer
Standards in Public Office Commission
6 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 W773
Phone: +353 (0) 1 639 5666
Email: info@sipo.ie
Website: www.sipo.ie
Background
The Standards Commission was created in 2001 and is the independent body charged with oversight of the Ethics in Public Office Acts (1995 and 2001), the Electoral Act 1997 (as amended), the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Act 2014, and the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015.
The members of the Standards Commission in 2025 were:
• Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, Chairperson;
• Seamus McCarthy, Comptroller and Auditor General;
• Ger Deering Ombudsman;
• Peter Finnegan, Clerk of Dáil Éireann;
• Martin Groves, Clerk of Seanad Éireann;
• Geraldine Feeney, former member of Seanad Éireann.
The Commission publishes two annual reports each year; one on its activities administering ethics, electoral and State financing legislation, and the other on its activities administering the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. The separate annual report on the Regulation of Lobbying in 2025 was published on 30 June and may be viewed on www.lobbying.ie .