The Government has been told it cannot ban a TD convicted of corruption from running again for election to the Dáil.

Ministers will now have to abandon a previous plan to allow a court to ban any TD from standing for election within 10 years of a corruption conviction, following advice from the Attorney General’s office.

An earlier proposal would have allowed a court to strip a sitting TD of office if they were found guilty of corruption and to prohibit them from standing for the Dáil for a decade.

While the proposal extends to all holders of public office, the Attorney General’s advice in effect means a corrupt TD could lose his or her seat but could stand again in a subsequent election.

Prison sentence

It was pointed out that since a TD convicted of offences such as manslaughter or rape would not be stopped from seeking re-election once released from prison, it would be difficult to treat someone found guilty of corruption differently.

A memo to be brought to Cabinet by Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald says, however: “An important consideration here is that, where a person is convicted of corruption and subsequently stands for election to the Dáil, voters will . . . make their own judgment.”