The Standards in Public Office Commission has called for a change in the rules governing gifts to directors of State bodies.
In its annual report for 2004 published today, the commission said it was concerned at the "inappropriateness" of such gifts and the use by office holders of facilities paid for out of public funds.
The commission suggests the rationale behind these gifts might be that there is "inadequate recognition of the service provided by directors".
It says: "Whether or not that is the prevailing view, and regardless of its merits, the Standards Commission considers that the proper course for dealing with compensation of directors of public bodies is through officially sanctioned remuneration agreements and not by way of ad-hoc arrangements which constitute inappropriate use of public funds."
The commission says the possibility of such occurrences "demonstrates the urgent need to finalise the proposed code of conduct for State bodies which is being drawn up by the Minister for Finance".
"In the event that there is a delay in introducing this code, the Commission recommends, as an immediate step, consideration would be given to amending the already published Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies," it said.
The Commission - which is chaired by the former High Court judge Mr Justice Matthew Smith - called for an assessment of how recent ethics legislation has impacted the behaviour of public representatives and public servants.
In his introduction, Mr Justice Smith says countries are under increasing pressure to show progress in preventing corruption in public life.
"There is no doubt that Ireland is one of those countries where such pressure is still evident," he said. "Part of the response has been the setting up of a number of Tribunals of Enquiry dealing with matters which include planning and payments to politicians."
Mr Justice Smith said the time was right to carry out an assessment "as to whether, and to what extent, the legislative and other developments which have taken place in the past decade have impacted on the behaviour of public representatives and public servants in general."
