Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995
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Investigations by Committees. |
9.—(1) Where a complaint is referred or made to a Committee under section 8 , or a Committee considers it appropriate to do so in the case of a member (other than a member who is or, at the relevant time, was an office holder), it shall carry out an investigation to determine whether the member concerned has contravened section 5 or 7 , as the case may be. | |
(2) Where a Committee, either during or at the conclusion of an investigation under this section, becomes of opinion that the member the subject of the investigation has not contravened the section of this Act to which the investigation relates, being either section 5 or 7 , but may have contravened the other of those sections, it may carry out an investigation under this section to determine whether the person has contravened that other section. | ||
(3) Where— | ||
(a) a complaint is referred or made to a Committee under section 8 , or the Committee is carrying out an investigation under this section whether following such a complaint or otherwise, and | ||
(b) at any time before the Committee has complied with section 10 in relation thereto, the person the subject of the complaint or investigation ceases to be a member, | ||
then— | ||
(i) the Committee shall take no steps or no further steps in relation to the matter unless the person requests the Committee in writing to carry out an investigation of the matter under subsection (1) or, as the case may be, complete such an investigation, and | ||
(ii) if the Committee is so requested as aforesaid, it shall, subject to section 31 , comply with the request. | ||
(4) Subject to subsection (3), a Committee shall not carry out an investigation under this section in relation to— | ||
(a) a person who has ceased to be a member, or | ||
(b) a person who is or, at the relevant time, was an office holder. | ||
(5) Where— | ||
(a) in relation to a person who is a member but is not an office holder, a complaint had been, or been deemed to be, referred or made to a Committee, or a matter that a Committee had considered it appropriate to investigate had been, or been deemed to be, otherwise before it, | ||
(b) following a dissolution of Dáil Éireann, the Committee has ceased to exist, and | ||
(c) the Committee had neither— | ||
(i) complied with section 10 in relation to the complaint or matter, nor | ||
(ii) discontinued the investigation of the complaint pursuant to section 31 , | ||
the complaint or matter shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section, to have been referred or made under section 8 to, or, as the case may be, to be before, the Committee of the House of which the person is a member, and this section shall apply and have effect accordingly in relation to the complaint or matter. |