Ireland Fares Poorly On OECD Report Into Corruption

Nijmegen

Surprised? From thestory.ie with highlights from me.

The OECD/Transparency International Progress Report into international bribery passed the world by there yesterday. Pity, it’s broadly positive.
On the Irish angle though, not so much. What’s new though, hey?

On the international comparisons Ireland is ranked in the lowest category for its efforts to deter the payment of bribes in the export/import markets. We’re categorised as having “little or no enforcement”. The experts of OECD/Transparency International point out that we do have ‘jurisdictional limitations’ (i.e. a porous border) but find that we lack sufficient legislation for criminal liability for corporations anyway; and once again that we’ve no whistleblower protection.

The OECD also found fault with Ireland’s level of sanctions for foreign bribery and false accounting. Furthermore they question whether “the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigations is sufficiently trained and resourced to enforce the prohibition of foreign bribery”.

More worrying however is the country report. As you can see in table B and C or the PDF, Ireland is the only country examined with ‘null’ figures. This is because the Gardaí outright refuse to provide information to the OECD/TI team in relation to investigations carried out during the year.
The claim is any report would tip-off subjects that they are being investigated. Stunning; a ’1′ – no further details! – on a TI report published annually would tip-off an person paying bribes? Gimme a break.

In compiling their figures Transparency International experts do also attempt to glean information from relevant media reports on investigations, but none were available for Ireland. This shows just how secretive the Garda Siochana is by international standards. Figures were calculable for Turkey, Estonia, Bulgaria, Chile and South Africa but not Ireland. We alone are the country with null figures in table B and C. This reflects poorly on the Gardai, the State and, to an extent, the media.

OECD/TI also express concern that the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill has yet to be enacted despite being due for implementation in January of this year. They recommend it be enacted as soon as possible. Who wouldn’t? Here’s hoping.

Previous posts from this website on Garda secrecy and unaccountability: ‘Gardai and Freedom of Information‘, New details relating to the Terence Wheelock case; Deaths in Garda Custody.
Maybe Paul Williams could look into international bribery for Transparency International’s 2011 report?

There's a number of things I'd note here:

Firstly, we need whistleblower protection, and source protection, and other media protections such as Iceland is proposing. Today a whistleblower or journalist can't move on a story because in Ireland they'd get dragged into the mire of courts and legal fees too quickly.

Secondly, our police force is one of the most secretive in the free world. We need a far more transparent and open police force. This report highlights an example of where they could be more open without being damaging to ongoing cases. The only way to have a free and fair society is for the government and its arms - not just the gardai - to be as open as they can be and report often about many things.

Thirdly, one can clearly see the inertia surrounding any legislation on the issue. This speaks very poorly of Ireland abroad.

fontanalis

Can't wait on their report on the wetness of water!

Nodin

No!!!!!!

Nijmegen

Kinda sad, innit?

Scofflaw

I appreciate that this kind of thing fits right into a certain Irish reflex - "oo, we're corrupt, yus" - but I'm not sure an essential point hasn't been missed by some:

The term “cases” encompasses criminal prosecutions, civil actions and judicial investigations (i.e. investigations conducted by investigating magistrates in civil law systems). The term “investigations” includes investigations by prosecutors and police, and excludes judicial investigations. Cases are considered “major” if they involve alleged bribery of senior public offi cials by important companies. For the purposes of this report, foreign bribery cases (and investigations) include cases involving alleged bribery of foreign public offi cials, criminal and civil, whether brought under laws dealing with corruption, money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, or accounting and disclosure. Oil-for-Food cases are included whether they were brought as bribery cases or for violating restrictions on doing business with Iraq.

The report is about bribery of foreign officials by exporting countries - in other words, in our case, Irish companies giving bribes to foreign officials in order to facilitate Irish exports. It has nothing to do with domestic corruption as such (although there's a cultural argument that it encourages corruption at home, most people are famously willing to act abroad as they'd never dream of doing at home), and absolutely nothing to do with corruption in our own civil service.

Just so that's clear! Mind you, I agree about the whistleblower protection and Garda transparency, although their introduction in a form specifically related to this matter wouldn't achieve all that much for us domestically, however well we would then do in the Report.

cordially,
Scofflaw

ANXIOUS

Scofflaw wrote: »

I appreciate ethat this kind of thing fits right into a certain Irish reflex - "oo, we're corrupt, yus" - but I'm not sure an essential point hasn't been missed by some:



The report is about bribery of foreign officials by exporting countries - in other words, in our case, Irish companies giving bribes to foreign officials in order to facilitate Irish exports. It has nothing to do with domestic corruption as such (although there's a cultural argument that it encourages corruption at home, most people are famously willing to act abroad as they'd never dream of doing at home), and absolutely nothing to do with corruption in our own civil service.

Just so that's clear! Mind you, I agree about the whistleblower protection and Garda transparency, although their introduction in a form specifically related to this matter wouldn't achieve all that much for us domestically, however well we would then do in the Report.

cordially,
Scofflaw

Careful now, dont let the truth get in the way of a good story.

alboco

Whats the difference between bribes and using ' foreign aid ' to secure contracts ?

Read the following on P.Ie and then tell us the difference

http://www.politics.ie/foreign-affairs/135015-fianna-fail-tullow-oil-uganda.html

" Earlier this month the The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Micheál Martin, T.D, visited the Country of Uganda in east Africa.

While there he made a commitment under the Irish Aid Programme to spend in Uganda some €166 Million of Irish Taxpayers money over the next five years to be used on projects in that State for both public and perhaps private benefit.

At the start of the visit, Minister Martin stated: "

Scofflaw

alboco wrote: »

Whats the difference between bribes and using ' foreign aid ' to secure contracts ?

Read the following on P.Ie and then tell us the difference

http://www.politics.ie/foreign-affairs/135015-fianna-fail-tullow-oil-uganda.html

" Earlier this month the The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Micheál Martin, T.D, visited the Country of Uganda in east Africa.

While there he made a commitment under the Irish Aid Programme to spend in Uganda some €166 Million of Irish Taxpayers money over the next five years to be used on projects in that State for both public and perhaps private benefit.

At the start of the visit, Minister Martin stated: "

Not much, really - bilateral and tied aid is exactly that. The main difference is that the aid doesn't go into private pockets - or at least shouldn't.

cordially,
Scofflaw

simonj

Well, considering we appointed Sen. J Hanafin, brother of Mary (TD) son of Des (TD) to the OCED one wonders if the term Nepotism came up in the report?

The guy is going to coin it on expenses - in addition to the Senatorial payola
.
And with his sister interfering with NAMA it is just sickening to see the haves have not a clue as Eddie Vedder said.


Jesus Wept, we need reform or firing squads

sceptre

simonj wrote: »

Well, considering we appointed Sen. J Hanafin, brother of Mary (TD) son of Des (TD) to the OCED one wonders if the term Nepotism came up in the report?

The guy is going to coin it on expenses - in addition to the Senatorial payola
.
And with his sister interfering with NAMA it is just sickening to see the haves have not a clue as Eddie Vedder said.


Jesus Wept, we need reform or firing squads

As mentioned above:

Scofflaw wrote: »

The report is about bribery of foreign officials by exporting countries - in other words, in our case, Irish companies giving bribes to foreign officials in order to facilitate Irish exports.

Also, as your link clearly points out, Hanafin was appointed to the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), not to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). The OECD issued the report. The two abbreviations can be confused easily I guess, although they even fail the Morcambe and Wise "all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order" test:)

expectationlost

Scofflaw wrote: »

I appreciate that this kind of thing fits right into a certain Irish reflex - "oo, we're corrupt, yus" - but I'm not sure an essential point hasn't been missed by some:



The report is about bribery of foreign officials by exporting countries - in other words, in our case, Irish companies giving bribes to foreign officials in order to facilitate Irish exports. It has nothing to do with domestic corruption as such (although there's a cultural argument that it encourages corruption at home, most people are famously willing to act abroad as they'd never dream of doing at home), and absolutely nothing to do with corruption in our own civil service.

Just so that's clear! Mind you, I agree about the whistleblower protection and Garda transparency, although their introduction in a form specifically related to this matter wouldn't achieve all that much for us domestically, however well we would then do in the Report.

cordially,
Scofflaw

because you don't care what happens abroad either?

Scofflaw

simonj wrote:

I really think Scoff, that due to the failings in our political framework that corruption at local government level is rife - as we see with the Stroke, and I just know him becase we share a county.
At a national level, the likes of Hanafin and Eoin Ryan getting massive salaries simply for being in the right caste is equally disturbing.

Never mind Garda transparency, when one of our national politicians is caught forging reciepts for expenses and nothing can be done - that needs to be fixed first.

simonj, that's two really completely irrelevant posts I've had to delete after sceptre pointed out that you seem to have failed to grasp the point of the thread. I'll ask once more, nicely - please stop posting entirely irrelevant diatribes about corruption in Ireland on this thread.

moderately,
Scofflaw

Scofflaw

expectationlost wrote: »

because you don't care what happens abroad either?

Not as much, no - it's up to other countries to ensure that their culture doesn't tolerate bribery. If they do, I'm not going to get particularly exercised about Irish companies doing in another country what is normal in that country in order to win contracts and open markets.

cordially,
Scofflaw

simonj

Scofflaw wrote: »

simonj, that's two really completely irrelevant posts I've had to delete after sceptre pointed out that you seem to have failed to grasp the point of the thread. I'll ask once more, nicely - please stop posting entirely irrelevant diatribes about corruption in Ireland on this thread.

moderately,
Scofflaw

WTF? - sorry - I was under the impression it was about corruption

Scofflaw

simonj wrote: »

WTF? - sorry - I was under the impression it was about corruption

It's about legislation and control measures for a specific type of illegal activity under an international agreement - bribery by Irish companies in foreign countries - not about corruption in general, and not, repeat not, an opportunity for diatribes about Irish politicians going on the gravy train in Ireland.

If you really don't get what I'm saying, and really don't understand the difference between legislative safeguards on the illegal actions of Irish companies in foreign countries and the entirely legal if reprehensible activities of Irish politicians in Ireland, just don't post in this thread, OK?

moderately irritated,
Scofflaw

dynamick

Transparency International ranks Ireland 14th out of 180 countries for perceived corruption in 2009, ahead of France, UK, USA, Japan, Austria etc.

This puts us in the 93rd percentile for lack of corruption.

http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2009/cpi_2009_table

2008:16th
2007:17th
2006:18th
2005:19th
2004:17th
2003:18th
2002:23rd

Ireland's got 99 problems but corruption ain't one.

I guess it appeals to the 'blame someone else' mindset.