Ethics, Governance and Code of Conduct
The Council’s Ethics Registrar is: Ms Paula Comerford email: pcomerford@kildarecoco.ie
Part 15 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, sets out an ethics framework specific to Councillors, the Chief Executive, and relevant staff, and is applicable generally across all areas of the council’s work. This framework imposes a statutory duty on all in the service to maintain proper standards of integrity, conduct and concern for the public interest.
This ethics framework requires all Councillors to submit to the Ethics Registrar an annual written declaration of "declarable interests".
The submission of an annual declaration under the Act also applies to the Chief Executive and certain relevant staff. A public register of declarable interests is kept by Kildare County Council.
Codes of Conduct for Councillors and Staff
The ethics framework for the Local Government Services includes a duty on Councillors, staff, and members of KCC committees to maintain proper standards of conduct and a provision for the Minister to issue codes of conduct for guidance of members and staff. The codes published by the Minister can be viewed by clicking on the links below.
Code of Conduct for Councillors
As part of their annual declaration, Councillors, the Chief Executive, and relevant staff give an undertaking to have regard to and be guided by the respective Code of Conduct in the exercise of their functions.
Complaints
There may be an occasion when a person considers that the standards set out in the Code of Conduct for Councillors may not have been achieved and Kildare County Council has put in place a process under which complaints about a Councillor’s conduct can be examined or investigated and under which decisions on complaints about a Councillor’s conduct can be made. KCC Protocol for Dealing with Complaints against Councillors. In such instances complaints should be made in writing, by completing Complaint form for Complaints against Councillors (English) or Foirm le haghaidh gearáin a dhéanamh i gcoinne comhaltaí tofa de Chomhairle Contae Chill Dara (as Gaeilge) and can be emailed to the Ethics Registrar pcomerford@kildarecoco.ie
Ethics Register
A public register of declarable interests is kept by the Kildare County Council and is available to view, on request, at the offices of Kildare County Council, Áras Chill Dara, Devoy Park, Naas, Co Kildare. Requests to view a declaration should be emailed to ethicsregister@kildarecoco.ie
Privacy Statement
Legislation
The Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 - ‘the 1999 Act’ - sets out legal requirements on the acceptance of political donations and on election expenditure that apply to local authority members, political parties, third parties and local election candidates. This Act was amended by the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012. New and revised limits and restrictions on the acceptance of donations for political purposes came into force on January 1st 2013.
Donation statements
Each person who, in the preceding year, is required, under section 19E of the Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 to furnish to their local authority, not later than January 31st, a donation statement indicating whether during the preceding calendar year the member received from the same person, a donation exceeding €600 in value. This figure was reduced from €634.87 to €600 in 2013.
If a person makes more than one donation to the same member in the same year, the value of the donations must be aggregated and treated as a single donation. For each donation over €600, the value must be stated together with the name, address and a description of the person by, or on whose behalf, the donation was made.
Political donations accounts
A member of a local authority, a local election candidate or a third party who receives, in any particular year, a monetary donation of more than €100 must open and maintain an account in a financial institution in the State and must lodge that donation and any further monetary donations received, of whatever value, to that account (referred to as a political donations account).
Guidelines for 3rd Parties
The Local Elections (Disclosure of Donations and Expenditure) Act 1999 - ‘the 1999 Act’ - sets out legal requirements on the acceptance of political donations and on election expenditure that apply to local authority members, political parties, third parties and local election candidates.