Ethics

Ethics, Governance and Code of Conduct

Part 15 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended sets out an ethics framework specific to councillors, 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. 

The Council’s Ethics Registrar is: Mr Ger Maher email: gmaher@kildarecoco.ie  

The Ethical Framework for the Local Government Services includes a duty on members and staff to maintain proper standards of conduct and a provision for the minister to issue codes of conduct for guidance of members and staff (see Codes of Conduct below). These codes were published by the Minister in June 2004.

Ethics Register

A public register of declarable interests is kept by the Local Authority and is available to view at the offices of Kildare County Council, Áras Chill Dara, Devoy Park, Naas, Co Kildare.

Privacy Statement

Code of Conduct for Councillors and Staff

Legislation

• Local Government Act 2001
• Local Government Act 2001 (Part 15) Regulations 2015
• Local Government Reform Act 2014
• Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015
• Protected Disclosures Act 2014

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 1^st 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 31^st, 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.