Perceived corruption less an issue in Ireland than other EU states

Some 23% of Irish respondents believed corruption levels had increased over the past year, with half saying levels remained unchanged, and 35% saying Government corruption was a big problem.

Levels of perceived corruption among members of the public are lower in Ireland than in other EU countries, a new survey by Transparency International (TI) has found.

The survey of 40,000 people across 27 EU states found Ireland fares better than many of our European neighbours on perceived levels of corruption, on trust in national government, and state response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The survey, which is part of TI’s Global Corruption Barometer, was carried out between October and December last year and involved 1,000 Irish respondents.

Across the EU countries surveyed, 32% of people thought corruption had worsened in their country over the past year and 62% said government corruption was a big problem.

By comparison, just 23% of Irish respondents believed corruption levels had increased, with half saying levels remained unchanged, and 35% saying Government corruption was a big problem.

About three in 10 people across the EU said they paid a bribe or used a personal connection to access public services, such as healthcare or education – the equivalent of more than 106m people across the 27 countries.

While the barometer found 5% of Irish respondents said they had paid a bribe over the past year, this was lower than the EU average of 7% – bribery was most prevalent in Romania (20%) and Bulgaria (19%) and Hungary (17%).

In Ireland, 28% of respondents said they used personal connections to gain access to health, school, police, or welfare services or identity documents.

‘Sextortion’

The report also flagged ‘sextortion’ – the demand for sexual favours in return for essential services – as an issue across the EU but less so in Ireland.

Three quarters of all respondents said sextortion was an issue and 7% reported it happened to them or someone they knew – in Ireland 4% of respondents said they had experience of sextortion.

The proportion of people who thought the government was run by a “few private interests” was also lower in Ireland at 40% compared to 53% across the EU.

Ireland also fared better when it came to trust in national government or transparency around the state’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Two-thirds of respondents expressed satisfaction with government and its pandemic response, compared with less than half of all EU respondents.

Chief executive of TI Ireland John Devitt said while the findings suggest corruption may be a bigger issue for most of our EU neighbours, there was no room for complacency, and the Government could restore the lapsed Public Sector Standards Bill, which would significantly strengthen safeguards against corruption.