The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) today published its fifth evaluation report on Ireland, which calls for the Standards in Public Office Commission to be given more resources and stronger powers to supervise the implementation of integrity standards.

The report comes days after the Irish government published a review of Ireland’s statutory framework for ethics in public office, which will inform new government legislation.

GRECO’s report underlines that existing policy documents intended to prevent corruption lack the necessary focus on people with top executive functions (PTEFs), including ministers, ministers of state, the Attorney General, secretaries general and special advisers.

Codes of conduct for people with such functions should cover issues including conflicts of interest, lobbying, secondary activities, gifts and hospitality, says GRECO, and integrity checks should be carried out before people join the government.

Furthermore, declarations of interests should contain more detailed information and be subject to systematic checks. Post-employment restrictions also need to be tightened, says the report, and be coupled with appropriate checks by the Standards Commission.

Regarding An Garda Síochána, GRECO stresses that the existing code of ethics should be strengthened to cover a wider range of topics, in particular relating to conflicts of interest. Integrity training needs to be expanded accordingly and made compulsory for new recruits as well as serving personnel.

In addition, IT systems need to be further developed to better monitor integrity breaches committed by Garda members. Regular checks are also needed on secondary activities, to prevent conflicts of interest occurring over time. Finally, GRECO supports ongoing reforms intended to provide greater independence and more resources for complaints procedures.

GRECO will assess the implementation of its recommendations by Ireland in 2024.