Tribunals and inquiries are pointless and cost the taxpayer many millions. They are a blessing to any lawyer and other legal people involved, but a burden to the rest.

Not only do they cost a lot, they also seem to only do half the job. While they might investigate who was responsible, they fail to actually put the responsible people behind bars. In many countries politicians can be jailed for corruption or false expenses. Not in this country. They are treated like superstars (in the eyes of the court) and can get away with anything, like the minister for finance claiming he did not have a bank account.

What we need is a form of tribunal/inquiry that can lock the responsible politician up for up to a life scentence, see their pension stripped and fined a large amount (maybe cover the cost of the tribunal/inquiry). This would put fear back in politicians, which has been non existent so far.

“What is needed are comprehensive accountability regimes that include everyone involved. An important part of this is mutual accountability that is enacted along task interdependencies, not simply based on formal reporting lines.”

Great. How exactly do you implement that principle? Why do I suspect that the answer involves consultants from academia, oh I don’t know, Organizational Behaviour or something?

Forget it Martin.
It’s not fixable.
When you realise that ALL the people in the public and civil service ARE the unions you will understand this.
Give it up and go back to bed.
I have been reading articles like this for forty years, about hospital waiting lists, housing problems and so on and on.
As the welfare society marches in step towards communism, they will vote for more and more free stuff from the government (tax payers).
Everyone in society wants all the good things and want to watch sky tv while they are getting it.
The more people on benefits, the more people to vote for more and greater benefits.
It’s a vicious circle and will eventually destroy the economy and society.

The Church & State colluded in the cover-up of abuses in the Institutions – including many deaths of children.

Church & State design an Indemnity Deal that absolves those who participated in the cover-up.

Church & State design a Commission that partially allows abuse victims to give their testimony.

The Commission issues a damning report, revealing the Church & State colluded in the cover-up of abuses in the Institutions – including many deaths of children.

Not only should officials in the gov, councils, hse etc be resposible for their actions. What about the thugs on the streets who are breaking into cars, houses, assault etc & getting away with it because they weren’t loved enough when they were a baby. Now they are on drugs, booze, mental issues because of it, It’s a get out of jail card for them. No one care about the person on the street who has suffered because of these thugs, They get offered nothing. The thugs get offered everythin they want. Then they don’t turn up for the help. These thugs are from all walks of life. Immigerants both legal and illegal, irish, rich, poor doesn’t matter where you live. There are thugs in your estate, appartment. your road, town, village. It’s a revolving door for the thugs regarding accountability. If they are taken to court they’re out the revolving door before the garda is finished writing up the report. I may be off the point of the article but everyone is responsible for their own actions from the top right down to the bottom.

It just appears that crisis management is the only response. There is homeless then build more houses. No discussion as to who and how the people are in a housing crisis. There is often a chain of bad policies that lead to individual misery of the most vulnerable in society. Instead of preventing homelessness or healthcare waiting lists there is a big emphasis on reducing the problem highlighted by statistics. Blaming individuals instead of changing the causes is the approach. Although cultural definition of white collar crime has to be discussed and addressed in the same way drink driving culture has been addressed. The poor handling of the Garda situation only serves to confirm that it is OK as long as you’re not caught out.

Weird for an associate professor to write an article purely based on his opinion. So the point behind it is… The feds knew internal affairs were onto them all the time, yeah?

The State sets up these Commissions ,to kick the can down the road,with the reasonable hope of the citizens forgetting about the issue.Setting up a Commission with no powers to compel witnesses to give evidence ,Setting up Commissions with their own Establishment supporters from one from the fee paying Preparatory Colleges with a proven track record of giving the desired result
Setting up Commissions with incompetents ,who are doomed to fail .the last reason because the other alternative involves the word Corruption,Perjury has to have a penalty

So we need Goldilocks accountability then . Accountability in this country just doesn’t happen and when it’s tried everyone jumps on the gravy train to make money for themselves. Mo tribunals mo money !!! It’s a system that’s rotten to its core

I loved it when the Troika came to Ireland, for the first time ever the government was made to feel accountable.

And too many times where attempts to make criminal wrong-doers answer for their crimes, only to see them walk free and later sue the state (the people) for costs, also makes monsters. Of the people, who are sick of it. Corruption creates revolution which in turn creates monsters on both sides.

WE are not talking about monsters and fools ,what we need to be talking about is well paid professionals getting it right ,duty of care ,responsibility ,leading by example.The political system has allowed this mediocre mindset to flourish, the example should come from the top down but in ireland this is delibertly not allowed to happen .what we have is our institutions and public bodies reduced to diluted semi functioning political apparatus .accountability and transparency has never seen the light of day since the foundation of the state .everything is thrown under the carpet untill it cant be hidden any more ,then we have the great delusion it is being delt with ,lolololol

As my grandmother used to say: ‘To many cooks spoil the broth’.!!

Problem is no accountability is applied in ireland.how do you think corruption has taken over all state institutions.when first discovered the people involved we’re not held accountable,faced no consequences and so it contiued,and management cover it up.there is no excuses for repeated incompetence,wrong doing, as in Irish public services, institutions.

Lack of accountability runs right through Irish society and is not the sole preserve of the so called empowered, it is shared from the bottom up, top down, middle to either end. The blame game is a national trait.

The blame game is done by bullies and victims, by bullies who do not want to look at fault and by victims who bullies try to poison the well around them from passing the buck to bullying because they get away with it?
Here in Ireland how people get along is written on all bar doors, pull and push lol. It is not what you know but whom and most are self serving and self protective as well?
People behaviour here is based on the self first and secondly on the group and trying to find acceptance within a group and normally the glue that binds is found in the local pub?
The thing that seems to create closeness is doing what each other is doing and having a common enemy as in the public lol. What builds groups is individuals being asked to do favours for each other not doing favours but being asked to do them, makes you think… The blame game works here very well because it is the national mentality as well as so many not knowing what they are doing but copying each other hoping it is right because of what they are told and that is the only experience they know?
It is called bluffing it???