Sinn Fein calls for dissolution of 'toothless' ethics watchdog SIPO

Sinn Féin has called for the dissolution of the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) following its investigation into Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy.

As reported by the Irish Mirror on Wednesday, SIPO confirmed that it decided not to publish a report into allegations regarding Mr Troy until after the general, despite the fact the report was completed on October 21 2024.

It followed a complaint made to SIPO by People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy regarding Mr Troy’s failure to declare property interests on his register of members' interest forms. He was forced to resign from his junior ministry in August 2022.

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SIPO found that Mr Troy contravened the Ethics Act regarding the declaration of properties, a contract with Westmeath County Council and a directorship. However, it also said that it “accepts that Deputy Troy did not intentionally seek to avoid public disclosure of those interests referred to in the contraventions”.

Sinn Féin TD Mairéad Farrell, chairperson of the last Public Accounts Committee, said that the report showed SIPO was “not fit for purpose” and called for its dissolution.

She said: “There’s nobody on the other side of that argument. All parties in the Oireachtas supported the Public Sector Standards Bill (2015) which was to dissolve SIPO and replace it with a new Standards Commissioner. The Standards Commissioner would have real teeth, unlike the toothless institution that is SIPO.

“It would have been given quasi-judicial powers. That bill was a government bill. It was to give scope to the findings of the various tribunals over the years. But it never manages to get past the Finance Committee, which is always chaired by a government appointee.

“It is very curious. It has been in every programme for government since then. But still we see no progress. I highlighted this fact during the last Dáil. The Minister for Public Expenditure told me that they needed to have a review in lieu of just reintroducing it. What did the review find?

“That they should have gone ahead with the bill and got it over the line. So long as SIPO remains in its current form we cannot expect any serious improvement in accountability. There is no punishment for failing to properly disclose your interests. All that is required is to correct the record. That is it.”

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