Corruption

blue5000

http://www.transparency.org/cpi2015

Down 1 place to 18th least corrupt

We are considered to be more corrupt than we were in 2014. Must be IFA's fault:P
Or perhaps the local politicians looking for 'sterling' on primetime?

patsy_mccabe

It's not corruption when people don't know it's going on.

_Brian

Ya see, for some strange reason Ireland has relatively high regard for what could be known locally as "cute hoorism".

I think this notion became ingrained in the Irish way back when the British ran the country, back then every cheat and dodge that could be done against the establishment was praised and lads were flat out trying to out-do each other in their shenanigans..

Roll forward and for some strange reason we still accept this from our public representatives. So as long as the individual has done something for you or your family in some small way then its a green light for them to get up to anything they want..
Obviously the best known cases are political as the media spread the news about them, Haughey, Bertie, Lowry, Flynn roll off the finger tips onto the keyboard but there are many, many more from all parties.. But cleverly they all have one thing in common - they were great to get stuff done locally. Biddy needs a medical card, no problem. Paddy has a pothole outside his house, its filled immediately. Mary's daughter wants a job in the school, it happens that she gets one, I can't get planning for my monstrosity of a house, local TD sorts it.. This local currency of favors trades into people turning a blind eye to the big stuff where multiple thousands of euro are being "appropriated" by the same TD.. Its a sickening system where so many are satisfied that their public representatives have such low moral valor!!

I see it at work Councillors and TD's looking for favors for people they know nothing about... I got a call from a Ministers office inquiring to get a person onto the job even though they had already failed interview.. The individual was slotted in elsewhere and as I expected would happen - had an "accident" on their first day and is on the sick since..

Bass Reeves

I think you are reading it wrong lads. Since 2012 we have improved 6 basis point in being less corrupt. Yes we are more or less at the bottom of the first tier EU countries but we are still above France, Spain, Portagul, Italy and the east European Eu countries. Another thing to consider the only country above us that has a smaller Population base is Luxembourg.

Would not be patting us on the back but neither would I be giving us a kick in the ass.

pedigree 6

_Brian wrote: »

Ya see, for some strange reason Ireland has relatively high regard for what could be known locally as "cute hoorism".

I think this notion became ingrained in the Irish way back when the British ran the country, back then every cheat and dodge that could be done against the establishment was praised and lads were flat out trying to out-do each other in their shenanigans..

I think you're on to something there. Maybe i'm wrong but they don't seem to have the same "cute hoorism" in England and if wrong doing is found out the person involved usually resigns or is fired. I suppose they never had any foreign country ruling them and the culture never started. The good thing about the IFA shambles is that other union members here are looking at what their union leaders are paying themselves.
I saw a programme on bbc1 about a town in wales and their effort to turn all their businesses into a company to compete with multinational companies. It showed how the companies were registering in the isle of man and then under another company in Holland and then were able to lend themselves money through the dutch business and write the interest off against tax. So they were basically paying no tax in Britain. Anyway the businesses in wales went to the head of the revenue in the Uk who facilitates this and he was from northern Ireland. I just thought this was funny.

croot

pedigree 6 wrote: »

I saw a programme on bbc1 about a town in wales and their effort to turn all their businesses into a company to compete with multinational companies. It showed how the companies were registering in the isle of man and then under another company in Holland and then were able to lend themselves money through the dutch business and write the interest off against tax. So they were basically paying no tax in Britain. Anyway the businesses in wales went to the head of the revenue in the Uk who facilitates this and he was from northern Ireland. I just thought this was funny.

Saw that as well. It was called the town that took on the tax man. Well worth looking at. International tax rules are so corrupt it's crazy. One building in Amsterdam has 40000 registered companies with no employees working there. The companies transfer money to a holding company in a tax haven through a few hops and then borrow the money back from the holding company and avail of tax rebates on the loan. Unfortunately Ireland was mentioned as a country facilitating it as well.

pedigree 6

I thought it was real funny when yer man rang the buzzer at U2's offices in Amsterdam looking for bono.