We see corruption all over, even when it’s not really there

Contrary to popular belief, we’re not that keen on back-handers, yet our trust in institutions is low,

THE perception of Ireland — not just outside, but also within our country — is that we are a nation of ‘cute hoors’. We’ve all heard stories of rules being bent to get something, of a blind eye being turned to minor indiscretions, of politicians getting favours for their supporters.

Apparently, this is the way we like things done in this country. “Shure, it’ll be grand,” seems to be the prevailing Irish attitude, suggesting that we are tolerant of minor corruption, and that it is no bad thing if it helps cut through the red tape.

As I have previously argued, this perception is sustained by politicians, who cultivate the illusion that they can get things for their constituents they would otherwise not have got without the politicians’ representations.

But all magic is an illusion, of course, and the influence politicians and others claim to have is just a clever trick they have managed to pull off.

The reality is that Ireland is not the corrupt country some think it to be, which is why a report last week found that Ireland is becoming less corrupt, and internationally is the 18th least corrupt country in the world.

Denmark is deemed the least corrupt state, according to the experts at Transparency International, who compiled this report, with Somalia heading up the table as the most corrupt. Ireland is behind the UK and Germany (joint 11th), but on a par with Estonia and Japan.

But what might come as a surprise to some is that one of the reasons why Ireland is ranked one of the least corrupt states on the planet is that, contrary to the ‘cute hoor’ image, Irish people are actually strongly opposed to corruption.

The perception of Ireland as “the most corrupt coun- try in the western world”, as one tabloid claimed in 2017, following the revelations of unscrupulous behaviour within the Garda, is wholly misplaced. We are, in fact, much closer to Copenhagen than Mogadishu in our mindset.

This is the general finding from extensive surveys carried out for the European Commission by its Eurobarometer taskforce, which monitors the attitudes of national electorates across the continent on a wide variety of issues.

The most recent report on corruption, published just over a year ago, ranked nations in the EU on an index that measured the unacceptability of corruption. Ireland ranked fifth of 28 EU states, with 81pc of the Irish electorate deeming corruption unacceptable, whereas only 64pc of our British neighbours think corruption is unacceptable.

Contrary to the belief that Irish people are tolerant of rule-bending and back-handers, 84pc of us don’t think it is acceptable to do someone a favour to get something from the public service, and 85pc don’t think it is acceptable to give a gift or money to procure a public service. Only a handful of EU states have higher levels of intolerance of corruption.

But a major paradox is that while very few of us have experienced or witnessed corruption ( just 5pc), and less than one in 12 of us know someone who has taken bribes — one of the lowest scores in the EU — 40pc of Irish voters think that corruption has increased in this country, with only 14pc believing it has decreased.

This is contrary to the stated report of Transparency International, which found that corruption in Ireland has been steadily decreasing since a low point reached in 2012, when we fell to 25th in the world.

More than two-thirds of the Irish electorate think that corruption is widespread across the country, with almost as many believing it to be prevalent in our local and national public institutions. Approximately one in two believes that corruption is endemic within political parties, politicians and banks.

Likewise, two in three voters believe that bribery and the use of corruption is often the easiest way to obtain public services, with similar proportions believing that corruption is a part of our business culture, putting Ireland on a par with some Mediterranean and Central European states.

What is going on? Why this paradox? Why does the public perceive corruption when the experts tell us it is not there, and when few of us have witnessed corruption first-hand?

One explanation is that most of us think not enough is being done to tackle corruption when it is discovered.

As few as one in three thinks there are enough successful prosecutions to deter people from corrupt practices, and believe that government measures to combat corruption are effective. Some 70pc think high-level corruption cases are not pursued sufficiently.

The three most common reasons given for a lack of interest in reporting corruption are that it would be “difficult to prove anything”, “reporting it would be pointless as those responsible would not be punished”, and that “there is no protection for those who report on corruption”.

Also worrying is that just under half of us would trust the Garda more than any other institution to deal with a complaint about corruption. Only a few Eastern European states had lower levels of faith in their police force — which says a lot about the current esteem in which the Garda are held by the Irish public.

While 85pc of EU voters cited the police or the justice system as the institutions they would most trust to deal with cases of corruption, the equivalent figure in Ireland is considerably lower, at 62pc. Instead, Irish people are much more likely to place faith in the Ombudsman, with only four EU countries more likely to cite this as an institution they would trust in these circumstances.

But what is this corruption that we are so worried about and yet cannot see?

The main cause of the paradox is that we seem to think the exposed cases of corruption, such as those involving the Garda, are the tip of the iceberg, rather than being isolated cases. We despair when these scandals come to the fore, when it might instead be preferable to be optimistic about their exposure.

The discovery of more corruption compared with previous decades does not mean that Ireland is becoming more corrupt. Instead, it means that the system to detect corruption is actually working, and that we have an impartial and non-prejudicial system to weed out the cases of wrongdoing.

In previous years, the cases of Garda malpractice might not have been reported — in part, because the image of us as a nation of “cute hoors” was correct. There would have been little interest in pursuing these cases, but it is evident that much has changed in Irish society.

As the EU-commissioned study highlights, Irish people are far less tolerant of these activities than previous generations.

Contrary to the popular image, we actually want a meritocratic-based society, where policies and decisions are based on the most deserving, not the most connected.

While a magic touch might be preferable to some, the vast majority of Irish people would prefer that any such wizardry be confined to the halls of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, rather than the corridors of Leinster House.

‘Two in three believe bribery is the easiest way to obtain public services’