Stamp out corruption

HOPEFULLY, now that Justice Flood has rattled the Celtic Tiger’s cage, we will wake up to the damage that corruption wreaks in any society, whether in Ireland or elsewhere, and do our best to stamp it out.

Exchanges of brown envelopes full of cash between cowboy builders and government ministers make for good TV and radio, but, as is always the case with corruption, it is the public who eventually pick up the tab.

Corruption is the abuse of power and it is always those without power that suffer the consequences. This is bad enough in rich economies such as Ireland, but in poor countries the consequences can be truly catastrophic.