TDs found to be in breach of a new Code of Conduct could be suspended for up to three months without pay under a proposal being drafted by the Dail's conflict-of-interests watchdog.
Until now TDs have only been able to suspend a misbehaving colleague for up to one month, and even then the offender can enjoy full pay and full access to Leinster House and its facilities.
Last year the Kerry North TD, Mr Denis Foley (FF), was suspended for 14 days on full pay by the Members' Interests Committee after he failed to declare his ownership of one of the Ansbacher accounts.
Yesterday the five-strong body, which is chaired by the Fianna Fail TD, Mr Tony Killeen, heard submissions from Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Labour Party, the Progressive Democrats and the Greens.
Representing Fianna Fail, the Defence Minister, Mr Smith, backed the tough penalty, saying: "If it needed to go beyond that then the person concerned really would have smashed every rule around the place."
The committee must produce a draft by May 1st. Following the example of the New South Wales parliament in Australia, the text is likely to declare broad principles, rather than try to deal with every eventuality.
Last year the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, decided that the Standards in Public Life Commission, which will be set up next year, would be the body responsible for drafting a code for politicians.
This provoked the ire of TDs, who insist the Oireachtas must be self-governing. In a letter to the committee, Mr McCreevy has now accepted it will have the lead drafting role.
However, the committee is unlikely to accept a blanket demand that TDs obey the law on all occasions, since there will be times when they could be involved in public protests.
In addition, they are unlikely to accept a Labour proposal that deputies should co-operate with all branches of the public administration. "There are times when TDs must adopt a sceptical attitude," said the Labour TD, Mr Brendan Howlin.
During four hours of hearings yesterday the committee members broadly appeared to favour a three-month maximum suspension, without pay or access to any of the facilities in Leinster House.
Mr Des O'Malley TD (PDs), who was one of those to make a submission to the committee, strongly supported this. "Suspension should mean suspension, without pay. Otherwise it isn't meaningful," he said.
Fine Gael is dubious about a three-month ban. A declaration by a TD's peers that he or she had breached the code would be a significant punishment in itself, the Fine Gael Chief Whip, Mr Paul Bradford, said.
Tougher action is impossible because the committee accepts that TDs have a constitutional right and duty to represent their voters.
However, Mr O'Malley cautioned that TDs should not bow to media commentators. The code should be deliberately left "slightly vague". If it were too prescriptive, it would rapidly become unworkable and unfair.
