Watchdog says Ireland yet to implement recommendations to prevent corruption in politicians and judiciary

Ireland has yet to implement a number of recommendations aimed at preventing corruption among members of the Oireachtas and the judiciary, according to the latest report from a European watchdog.

The Government has still to introduce a promised ethics statutory framework for members of the Oireachtas and also a Judicial Appointments Commission Bill because its failure to provide for the ranking of candidates put forward to the government for appointment as judges “could lead to politicised decisions”, said the Group of States Against Corruption (Greco), a Council of Europe body that monitors its members compliance with anti-corruption standards.

In a report published on Wednesday Greco said Ireland has now satisfactorily implemented five of 11 recommendations made in a 2014 report it published aimed at preventing corruption among members of the Oireachtas and judiciary and prosecutors. Of the remaining recommendations two, concerning guidelines on judicial conduct and ethics and a complaints mechanism, have been partly implemented, it said.

As regards measures to prevent corruption in the Oireachtas, the report said that while the Government’s commitment to implement the recommendations and continue with reforms of the existing ethics statutory framework is noted, “no tangible progress” has been made since the adoption of a previous compliance report in 2020.

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Greco had recommended that the existing ethics framework be replaced with “a uniform and consolidated values-based normative framework” encompassing the ethical conduct of members of parliament, including their staff, as appropriate. It should cover various situations of conflicts of interest such as gifts and other advantages, third-party contacts including lobbyists, accessory activities and post-employment situations, with the aim of providing “clear rules” concerning their expected conduct.

With the lapsing of the Public Sector Standards Bill and the formation of a new Government in June 2020, the work to reform and review Ireland’s ethics statutory framework had to be restarted, it noted. “The authorities are encouraged to step up their efforts to introduce a new ethics statutory framework as required by the outstanding recommendations.”

In relation to complying with recommendations aimed at preventing corruption in the judiciary, the report said Ireland had pointed to the proposed Judicial Appointments Commission Bill. Greco remains concerned that the Government would, under the Bill, still receive a non-prioritised list of candidates for judicial office, without any ranking among the candidates put forward, “which could lead to politicised decisions”, the report said.

Greco highlighted “the importance of a merit-based selection procedure leading to a targeted shortlist of only the very best candidates, ranked in order of priority”, and said it hoped its concerns would be duly addressed in the Bill.

The report noted that induction and in-service training for judges “has been institutionalised to some extent” and that guidelines on conduct and ethics have been adopted by the Judicial Council.

While the establishment of the council was “an important development”, more should be done to ensure constitutional safeguards of the judiciary in relation to their employment, the report states.

Given further progress is required to implement the outstanding recommendations, Greco has asked that Ireland submit additional information on the implementation of the pending recommendations by March 31st next “at the latest”.