Ireland has moved from being the 17th least corrupt nation to the 16th, The Irish Times reports. However, the Transparency International index has Ireland lagging way behind direct competitors for jobs and investment such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Finland and Denmark.
TI Ireland said: ‘Bertie Ahern’s testimony to the Mahon Tribunal is not believed to have had any significant impact on the results; however the anti-corruption group warned against any complacency. The Government has recently moved to treble the value of gifts and loans that politicians can keep without disclosing them. In addition, delays in introducing safeguards for whistleblowers and high fees for public information mean that Ireland is expected to sit in the third-tier of honest democracies for the time being.’
It added: ‘International perceptions of ethical standards in Ireland have actually worsened since 1995 … At the time ethics legislation was first introduced, Ireland was ranked 11 th “least corrupt country” in the world…’
0 Responses to “Slightly less corrupt…”