Paul Murphy demands answers after High Court rebuke of SIPO
Paul Murphy addressed the Dáil on 25 June 2024, offering condolences to the families of Michal O'Meara Kjartig and Tommy Gorman and raising concerns about SIPO's handling of his complaint against Leo Varadkar. He noted the High Court found SIPO did not provide adequate reasoning for refusing to start a preliminary investigation into an alleged leak of a confidential GP contract.
High Court finding on SIPO
The High Court decision of the previous Friday was central to Paul Murphy's intervention, with the court finding SIPO had failed to provide adequate reasoning for not opening a preliminary inquiry. Murphy highlighted that the decision was historically contested within SIPO, and that it now requires a response from the Commission about how it will proceed.
Split vote and FOI revelations
Murphy pointed out that the SIPO decision was a narrow three-to-two ruling, and that the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Ombudsman disagreed with the refusal to investigate. He referenced an FOI disclosure showing the Ombudsman warned that a court order to reconsider a rejection would be appalling and could compromise the credibility of any subsequent decision.
Allegation over GP contract leak
The complaint raised by Murphy concerns an alleged leak of a confidential GP contract to the head of a rival NAGP organisation at a time when, he said, the government backed Leo Varadkar. Murphy pressed the Teachta on whether they had reflected on SIPO's capacity to investigate those in the highest offices under the ethics legislation.
SIPO independence and legislative reform
Murphy and the Teachta discussed SIPO's statutory independence - it was established under the Standards and Public Office Act of 2001 - and the ministerial reply emphasized that how the Commission proceeds is a matter for it alone. Murphy also noted the 2020 Programme for Government commitment to reform and consolidate ethics in public office legislation, and that the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP, Delivery and Reform is preparing a draft scheme for legislative reform in consultation with relevant ministers.
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First of all, on behalf of People Before Profit, I'd like to express our condolences to the families of both Michal O'Meara Kjartig and Tommy Gorman, obviously both had a very significant impact on public life over decades in different ways. Teachta, I want to ask you if you've reflected upon the decision of the High Court of Friday, where it decided that SIPO did not provide adequate reasoning for its failure to start a preliminary investigation into my complaint against Leo Varadkar. This complaint, I presume you remember, relates to his leaking of the confidential GP contract to the head of the rival NAGP organisation at the time you, as the rest of the government did, backed Leo Varadkar. We know that the SIPO decision was a contested one, the first in its history, three votes versus two, with the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Ombudsman disagreeing with the decision to refuse a preliminary inquiry. We also know from an FOI that at the time the Ombudsman wrote and said, a court order to reconsider rejection of a complaint would be appalling and would compromise the credibility of any subsequent decision we made. I wonder whether you have any reflection on the capacity of SIPO to investigate those in the highest of high offices and to hold them to account in terms of our ethics legislation. SIPO is an independent body established by the Standards and Public Office Act of 2001, and how it proceeds in respect of any individual matter is indeed a matter for the Commission. I think it's very important that the Commission is obviously independent of government and the Oireachtas. Obviously, it now will need to respond to the findings of the High Court in terms of how it wishes to proceed. More broadly, we are committed in the 2020 Programme for Government to reform and consolidate the ethics in public office legislation, and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP, Delivery and Reform is preparing a draft scheme for legislative reform in consultation with relevant ministers.
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