Ombudsman ‘will help restore faith in gardaí’

Seán McCárthaigh

The annual Global Corruption Report published by Transparency International (TI) has recommended a body with similar powers to the Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland to provide “an independent, impartial police complaints system.”

The recommendation follows revelations at the Morris Tribunal about corruption among Donegal gardaí and the acknowledgement by Justice Minister Michael McDowell that systemic problems in Garda management were not confined to the north-west region.

Although the Government has indicated it will establish two new bodies, including a Garda Inspectorate, the report said an ombudsman would be a preferred option.

The Irish section of the report, by Dublin City University lecturer Dr Gary Murphy, largely focuses on evidence uncovered by several tribunals of inquiry over the past decade.

Although it acknowledges a definitive finding of corruption has only been made against one politician (Ray Burke), it claims the various tribunals have still heightened perceptions of systemic corruption at all levels of government in Ireland.

The report states that the Flood and Moriarty tribunals have enjoyed “spectacular success in uncovering complex networks of covert financial payments to politicians and public officials.”

“If they have not yet proved that money definitively bought political favours, they have increasingly posed the question of why some businessmen contribute so lavishly to individuals in a position of power,” it adds.

Transparency International claims the tribunals have done the State “much service” by providing crucial insights into the way the country was governed.

Because the work of many inquiries remains incomplete, it found it impossible to state with any certainty just how accountable decision-making processes are in Ireland.

“Some critics have argued that the tribunals are expensive and futile, but shutting them down would send out the wrong signal about attitudes to corruption,” the report warns.

Although the former assistant Dublin city and county manager George Redmond had two convictions for corruption quashed by the courts last year, TI claims it provides proof that the DPP is now treating accusations of white collar crime with “a new seriousness.”

The report also notes the difficulties in obtaining convictions for corruption in Ireland because evidence taken during public inquiries cannot be used in criminal prosecutions.

Ireland emerged as the 17th least corrupt country in a survey of 146 states in the Corruption Perceptions Index published by TI last year. However, TI claims that enforcement “rarely matches up to the standards to which governments pay lip-service.”

Overall, the report highlights corruption on a global scale within the construction industry with Government-awarded contracts singled out as the sector most prone to bribery.

“Corrupt contract processes leave developing countries saddled with sub-standard infrastructure and excessive debt,” said TI chairman, Peter Eigen.

“Corruption doesn’t just line the pocket of political and business elites; it leaves ordinary people without essential services, such as life-saving medicines and deprives them of access to sanitation and housing. In short, corruption costs lives,” he added.