911. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if his Department and bodies under his aegis maintain a register of gifts, hospitality or other benefits received by public servants; the number of entries recorded on each such register since January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61268/26]

Under the relevant statutory framework (the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 – cited together as ‘the Ethics Acts’), members of the Oireachtas, office holders, board members and civil and public servants in Government Departments and State bodies all have clear responsibilities in respect to gifts, hospitality and other benefits that they may be offered in connection with their functions. Codes of Conduct made under the Ethics Acts and statutory and other guidance from the Standards in Public Office Commission supplement the provisions in this area.

Office holders, in particular (i.e. Ministers, Ministers of State, a Member who is the Attorney General, the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Dáil and the Seanad, and Chairs of Oireachtas Committees), must remit to the State any gift with a value greater than €650 given to them (or their spouse or child) by virtue of their office. The Secretary General to the Government is assigned a role in supervising this process.

More broadly, the statutory framework provides for disclosures of interests, including gifts and hospitality, by a very wide range of elected or appointed public officials. This entails inter alia annual statements of specified interests and occasional statements of material interests that could influence the person in the performance of their official functions. The interests in question include non-personal gifts, travel facilities, living accommodation, meals or entertainment with a value that exceeds €650.

For civil and public servants, these statements must typically be submitted to the Head of the Department, Office or State body concerned. Such statements must be retained for a period of 15 years and must be furnished to the Standards in Public Office Commission if requested. They are otherwise confidential, except in certain specific and limited circumstances.

The Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour, promulgated under the Ethics Acts, provides that civil servants should not receive benefits of any kind from a third party which might reasonably be seen to compromise their personal judgement or integrity, and that gifts of more than modest value should be refused or remitted to the relevant Department or Office. According to the Code, civil servants are permitted to accept normal courtesies in business relationships, including routine hospitality, but they should report to their manager any offers of hospitality that could potentially influence them or could reasonably be seen to influence them in the performance of their official functions.

The statutory framework does not require Departments, Offices or State bodies to maintain registers of gifts as part of the arrangements set out above. However, my Department conducts a review annually to ensure that all relevant staff comply with their responsibilities under the Ethics Acts.

The information requested by the Deputy for my Department and the bodies under its aegis is provided in the tables below.

Attached Tables