White-collar reforms need to go further

THE Government’s account of the failings that led to the collapse of the Seán FitzPatrick trial makes for sobering – and frankly depressing – reading.

The report identifies a string of basic failings in how the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement went about its business.

Without repeating the full details, the bottom line is that the ODCE simply lacked the expertise and resources to do the job it was asked to undertake.

What is most upsetting is that all of this was wearyingly predictable. It had been clear for decades that the State lacked the dedicated teams required to tackle whitecollar crime – largely because there appeared to be no political appetite for such investigations.

This failure to tackle potential white-collar crime extended beyond the simple conduct of business, though. There was also an abject refusal to address the nexus of business and politics – and the allegations of corruption that resulted. Instead of a dedicated team of anti-corruption police, such allegations were investigated by judicial tribunals.

And even where these tribunals were able to make damning findings against individuals, these adjudications were always rejected by those accused – and no criminal charges have ever resulted.

Thus it remains the case that despite all the damning findings of tribunals over the years, the only senior politician ever to have been jailed was Ivor Callely – and that was for mobile phone expenses fraud uncovered not by the authorities, but by the Irish Mail on Sunday.

It is good to hear, therefore, that the ODCE is to be given beefed-up powers and turned into an independent agency. And we are reassured that the ODCE has in recent years toughened up both its procedures and its attitude to corporate crime. But it is not enough.

The country needs a dedicated anti-corruption agency, staffed by police officers willing and able to tackle wrongdoing by anyone in public office, on the public payroll or in business.

Politicians who abuse their office – whether by accepting bribes or by abusing taxpayers’ funds to support their own electoral prospects – should live in fear of a 6am knock on the door.

And no legislator who has ever taken money for favours should sit in our legislature, far less cosy up to Government ministers.

Any politician who ever pocketed cash to which they were not entitled should be wearing prison clothes, not swanning around in fancy suits.

Until the public see real change in this area, they will look at these reforms, shrug and carry on, knowing that the law only applies to the little people.