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Former Minister and Senator Michael D’Arcy has not received a waiver from the Standards Commission in Public Office to take up a new position at the Irish Association of Investment Managers (IAIM).
The association says that Mr. D’Arcy will not participate in lobbying activities for the first 12 months of his employment.
Fine Gael TD was the junior minister responsible for financial services and insurance from 2017 to June 2020. He was elected to the Seanad to the Agricultural Panel in April 2020.
He has resigned from the upper house to become IAIM’s executive director.
Under the Lobbying Regulation Act, former ministers are subject to a one-year cooling-off period during which they cannot participate in lobbying activities or be employed by someone who participates in certain lobbying activities unless they obtain permission. of the Standards Commission in the Public Office.
In a statement, IAIM said so and Michael D’Arcy are fully aware of SIPO’s guidelines and that they will not engage in any lobbying activity, according to the reflection period for the first 12 months after leaving office.
He continues: “Michael D’Arcy has always fully complied with the guidelines during his time as a politician and will continue to adhere strictly to them now in his new role with IAIM.”
The measure announced this morning has already sparked controversy.
In a tweet, Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said: “The law not only prohibits the former minister from lobbying for one year. The law prohibits him from being employed by a body that is dedicated to lobbying. The law is clear. “.
D’Arcy was also a TD for Wexford from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2016 to 2020.
He said today that he had decided to walk away from politics and public life after reflecting over the summer.
His resignation will create a vacancy on the Seanad Agricultural Panel and by-elections will be held.
IAIM said that D’Arcy will work closely with its chairman John Corrigan in developing IAIM’s strategy and will be responsible for resetting IAIM’s agenda and priorities, given the changing post-Brexit landscape.
Sinn Féin’s Finance spokesperson has said his party has written to Standards in the Public Office, which oversees the law in relation to the matter, to confirm whether the appointment of former Fine Gael senator Michael D’Arcy as executive director of the Irish Association of Investment Managers “breaks the law”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Pearse Doherty has asked the Tánaiste to clarify this matter, as the leader of Fine Gael, whether this matter is legal or not.
He said there is a bigger problem here and that it is “the revolving door between this industry and high-level politicians.”
He said there are restrictions that he believes Leinster House should impose on people who have transitioned from politics to the lobbying professions.
He described the appointment as “simply unacceptable” and said that “Mr. D’Arcy was the junior minister with responsibility in this area, less than 3 months ago.”
He said that “it is very clear in relation to the Law of 2015. It prevents a junior minister from accessing a job in an organization, which would put pressure on the old Department.”
He said that “the real question here is whether it is legal or not.”
He said that it is now the responsibility of the Tánaiste and the Minister of Business and Labor to explain if he is aware of the law, if he believes that this appointment is in contradiction with the law and what he is going to do as Fine’s leader. Gaelic.
He said “it’s incredible that the Tánaiste came out this morning encouraging this.”
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