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THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS are calling for a new body to tackle corruption and white-collar crime to be established.
The party launched a detailed policy document this morning, calling for a new organisation – the Independent Anti-Corruption Agency – to be based on the Australian model.
A spokesperson for the Soc Dems said the new agency “would essentially be a one-stop shop for dealing with corruption in Ireland and would have investigative and prosecution powers, and would be answerable to a newly established Oireachtas Committee for Public Interest Oversight”.
“(It) would consolidate the functions of a number of existing bodies and be granted powers to tackle corruption in Irish society.”
‘Tainting Irish society’
Speaking ahead of this morning’s launch, Social Democrat TD Róisín Shortall said the new body’s purpose “is to tackle the corruption that has so tainted politics and public life in Ireland”.
The existing legislation and infrastructure are totally inadequate in preventing, investigating and prosecuting corruption both in public office and in the corporate world. The effective collapse of the Cregan inquiry into IBRC transactions is just the latest example of what isn’t working.
“Despite the many tribunals of inquiry and commissions of investigation, there remains minimal accountability and few consequences for those responsible for wrongdoing and the result is a perception of a golden circle of insiders who appear untouchable. With the creation of an independent, fully responsible body, we are proposing root and branch reform of the anti-corruption regime in Ireland.”
Under the proposals the new agency would:
Additionally, the agency would take on the functions of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the Registrar of Lobbyists and the anti-corruption mandate of the Standards in Public Office Commission.
The Social Democrats are also proposing that the body would have an advisory role in respect of various public bodies – including the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), the Comptroller and Auditor General, and professional regulatory bodies.
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It’s great to see someone actually addressing this, the country has become so jaded that we seem to accept the inherent unfairness of what has essentially grown into a ruling class. Hopefully the idea will catch on across the political spectrum, and maybe the public can dare to dream of a reasonably level playing field in our society.
I won’t hold my breath though.
This is known as the Bertie approach. You have a problem, do you A. Fix it or B. Set up an agency? B, of course. And that’s why we’ve over eight hundred of them which is something like a world record for a country of Ireland’s size.
Completely agree. It’s totally unnecessary if our legal system can get it together!
….if our legal system can get it together. Unfortunately unlikely.
I don’t agree that the legal system could potentially fix everything. Much of the corruption in Irish life is legal. It isn’t an outright “and here’s something for yourself” in a brown envelope. It’s an understanding that certain decisions will be made in a certain way, and that mutual favours will be done ad hoc.
If I give a politician €5000 in exchange for a vote on planning, that’s a bribe. But if I give the same politician the same €5000 to fund an election to get him elected to a job that pays ninety grand, that’s a legitimate political contribution. And if he happens to be favourable to my plans a year later, well that’s just coincidental.
If the Acme Widget Company gives a minister money for a public widget supply contract, that’s illegal. But if Acme and a couple of other widget bigshots lobby for regulations to make it difficult for new widget makers to enter the market, and subsequently win an open tender, that’s public protection and positively desirable. But it corrupts the public process all the same.
There’s no easy solution, but there are some piecemeal things which can be done. We should limit the amount of discretion which people in public office can hold, especially elected ones. (The Greens’ planning reforms are an unsung good example of this.) We should require absolute transparency from politicians as to their and their parties’ funding, and from people anyone looking for a decision. We should have public oversight of procurement criteria. Most of all, we need a culture which is prepared to ostracise both people who give bribes and people who take them.
That’s not to say that a unified anti-corruption agency is a bad idea. It’s a good start. We just need to be realistic about what it can achieve.
Hate to be a killjoy but “everyone” is coupt to some extent from the bottom all the way to the top. If I paint the neighbours house and don’t declare it, a tree falls on a farm and the farmer cuts and sells it , same, th as ts a form of coruuption all the way up to the extra 10k (cash) to smoth the process of rezoneing land!
Our system with its problems is only in the halfpenny place compared to Italy or Greece (where you need to “bribe” the mechanic just to get the car seen, and then pay for the work)
In Ghana if a policeman stopped you you must hand him the equivalent of 10$ in your licence to avoid a ticket of some sort (told to me by a Ghanaian friend in London some years back )
Our legal class are a big part of the problem.
So? Ah well sure that’s grand then – nothing need ever be done about anything because it’s allegedly worse elsewhere.
Music to my ears. Should include mandatory prison sentences for corrupt politicians.
Political PR tool with no powers. We have seen it and wasted money on this kind of body before.
Dishonesty in public life is I think I inherent in our psyche. We seem to feel that after centuries of foreign rule that getting one over in the boss, the landlord, the man is a victory. We need to grow up and see that we should be working together for all the citizens of he country. The cleverest and brightest should put their talents to work for the betterment of the country. Maybe this could be taught at home and at school
No commission or tribunal will have an impact until they have the ability to prosecute public and send them to prison. Amazing how there hasn’t been a single person sent to jail despite us all knowing about several corrupt decisions made by government. They could start by looking at Digifone, M50, Shell oil & gas and Siteserv
Is anyone else turning blue ?
Endas boys wont like it!
I think Catherine Murphy would have good insight into what is required with her experience in being frustrated by the system. Not a hope of FG/Lab setting it up though
One of the problems with this country is that we’ve got eight hundred and something quangos in the first place. I’d much sooner see amalgamation and increased powers for an existing and proven approach than yet another agency.
One way to do it would be a dedicated unit within the Gardai. Anything else is just a fluff or more expansion of the state agency sector which we definitely don’t need.
We need a constitutional amendment so that we can elect a board that oversees the activities of the Public Service. The AG, The C&AG, head of Revenue, etc. should all be elected, not appointed in a corrupt system.
That we we would see change in the leadership of the Public service that would ensure dynasties are not created.
Elected civil servants? one of the silliest things i have ever heard. Head of revenue should be adequately qualified not some populist buffon
Adequately qualified and independent.
Head of revenue should be an end to a career, not a starting point.
Elections would ensure qualifications are properly considered.
>a board that oversees the activities of the Public Service
You mean a government? We already have local, national, european representatives, a senate full of puffed-up worthies and a president. Surely it makes more sense to find out why all this representation and oversight isn’t effective? The old tactic of creating agencies to deflect from political inaction has not proved effective.
No, I mean an independently elected board responsible for the Administration.
It is common in the US to elect Attorneys General, for example.
The role of these people would be to ensure their administrative functions are carried out independently and efficiently while the Government gets on with the Executive decisions.
@ Thomas Mac Donagh. The great Gigi Buffon deserves his popularity.
Where would the staff come from , Enda maybe would he be picking the managers and that
A terrific initiative from Social Dems. We have been calling for such measures for decades. “Legal” corruption is the biggest problem – cronyism, nepotism, capture (where regulatory bodies are captured by the sectors they supposedly regulate eg Patrick Neary and whole industries capture the Government of the day) patronage is the biggest cause of corruption in Ireland.
Legal corruption caused far more damage than ordinary “brown envelope” corruption.
If we are ever to change anything in Ireland, we need to change the culture. Change the culture and you change everything. However, the problem is how can an effective anti corruption body be set up when likely appointments to it are already captured.
RTE is captured by the government of the day as is the Garda Commissioner, the ODCE, the Competition & Consumer Protection Commission etc.
Bet they won’t have a “snappy” step by step video guide like Renua had.
Link to the Australian Model mentioned anyone?
That’s the whole point if the gov did propose it it would be a quango loaded with cronyism and family and friends
Of course if government proposed it, it’d be called a quango.
Half of this just looks vague. If they propose to give it extra ‘investigative’ powers that could be unconstitutional and if they’re just shifting over responsibilities from DCE and SIPO as it seems, then they’re effectively changing nothing but you’ve written a press release for them anyway.
No Adam…it would mean that after tribunals or investigation reports such as Moriarty couldn’t be left on the shelf to gather dust as it would not be under the Governments control to slow the process.
We lap up corruption and cronyism and enjoy listening to them bragging about their exploits on the Late Late. anyone remember Denis O Brien on the Late Late he was feted as some kind of business genius !
I suppose the people that will keep watch and clean up the backhanders etc. will be interviewed and appointed by Dennis O’Brien and Enda .
Horse shite …
No No No….There is Some good in horse shite ….Used as a manure (garden) it would give you a good crop of vegetables etc Which is more than the present “establishment” will give you…But then??????????
Society as in Society shapers .
Start with Dennis o Brien & work you way through government. Buildings . Then all the way to the USA where drumm is
The corruption is all around her on a daily basis. The Dail Politicians list of corrupt TDs is a good place to start. Lowery, Wallace etc. Then start looking at the local councillors. Check out the Leaseholders who rent property to councils and government. Shady companies linked to family of Irish representatives and their families.
Do we not have guards,fraud squad.of course new legislation to prosecute is welcome, as it should have been there anyway.
ounds like a great idea, but before we start we’ll just need to negotiate the fat cat salaries of those managing this quango
Ireland is riddled with it, pals of pals and brown envelopes…
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