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After 15 years of hearings, a tribunal in Ireland concluded that “corruption affected every level of Irish political life” and that a former prime minister, Bertie Ahern, had failed to tell the truth about more than $275,000 he received while in office.
The political fall of Bertie Ahern in Ireland has been spectacular. It is only five years ago that he led Fianna Fáil to a third successive general election victory and was being tipped as the next Irish president.
Ahern, whose often bizarre and implausible 2007 testimony enraptured the nation, denied doing anything wrong but resigned from office in 2008 after 11 years in power.
Interest in the judges’ final 3,211-page report, the product of a 15-year investigation expected to cost taxpayers more than €200m was so great that the investigators’ website repeatedly crashed.
The judges said lawmakers must do much more to stamp out corruption. They recommended judges receive the power to ban lawmakers from office who are convicted of bribery; tougher laws to protect whistleblowers; and better reporting of politicians’ donations and other gifts; and new requirements for lawmakers to disclose all their business interests and potential conflicts of interest.
The Irish Government has asked the Irish police to look at the findings of a report into corruption in the planning process.
A three-day Dáil debate on the report will take place next week.
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