Standards in Public Office Act, 2001

Evidence of compliance with Acts by members.

21.—(1) A person who is elected as a member after the commencement of this section in relation to the House concerned shall, not more than 9 months after the date on which he or she was so elected (“the election date”) furnish to the Commission—

(a) (i) a tax clearance certificate that was issued to the person not more than 9 months before, and not more than 9 months after, the election date, or

(ii) an application statement that was issued to the person and was made not more than 9 months before, and not more than 9 months after, the election date,

and

(b) a statutory declaration made by the person not more than one month before, and not more than one month after, the election date to the effect that, at the time of the making of the declaration, the person is, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, in compliance with the obligations specified in subsection (1) of section 25 and that nothing in subsection (2) of that section prevented the issue to him or her of a tax clearance certificate.

(2) For the purposes of this section, a person is elected as a member—

(a) when the appropriate returning officer at an election so declares,

(b) in case the person is deemed by law without any actual election to be elected as a member of Dáil Éireann for a constituency, when the election writ and return of the general election concerned is received by the Clerk from the returning officer for that constituency, or

(c) when he or she is nominated by the Taoiseach as a member of Seanad Éireann.

(3) Subsection (1) applies to a person who is appointed to the office of Attorney General after the commencement of this section at a time when he or she is not a member as it applies to a person mentioned in that subsection with the modifications that the references in paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection to the election date shall be construed as references to the date of the appointment.

(4) If a person contravenes subsection (1), the Commission shall investigate the matter and shall draw up a report in writing of the result of the investigation, and—

(a) if the person is a person referred to in subsection (1), furnish a copy of it to the Committee who shall cause copies of the report to be laid before the House, and

(b) if the person is a person referred to in subsection (3), furnish a copy of it to the Taoiseach who shall cause copies of it to be laid before each House.