The chairman of the Standards in Public Office Commission has rejected claims that corruption is a central theme of Irish politics and the public service.
But while warning about potential damage to the reputation of the State, Mr Justice Matthew Smith acknowledged that events in recent years meant there was a pressing need to monitor and raise standards in the public interest, where appropriate. This included disclosures by tribunals and public inquiries, he said.
The judge made his remarks in the introduction to the commission's 2002 annual report, which was published yesterday. The commission polices ethics legislation and the funding of the political parties.
He said it was somewhat ironic and a cause of regret that the examination of past difficulties "in a very public manner", as at the tribunals, had led to criticism of the State's system of governance.
"This criticism is not, in the main, supported by the facts, which, in my view, would show that the integrity of the decision-making process has not been impugned," he said.
While stating that vigilance in maintaining ethical standards was essential, he said that the media should give credit where it was due by recognising that the concepts of openness, accountability and transparency were embedded in new ethics legislation.
He said: "It is regrettable that, for the most part, the real and very tangible benefits of this legislation, and other developments, have not attracted the positive evaluation which they merit and that concentration by media and other commentators seems to focus almost entirely on negative factors."
Mr Justice Smith said reporters and opinion-formers had an obligation in the interests of balance to recognise such "major change", but his experience was that balance "has not greatly been in evidence".
"The result is that many citizens, and influential outside observers of Irish affairs, are of the opinion that we have a serious problem of corruption in the public sector," he said.
Mr Justice Smith said that he could not accept the contentions of one study - by the British-based Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust - which found in 2002 that corruption was a central theme of Irish life and politics and that Ireland was regarded as one of the more corrupt European states. "The concern is, however, that the perception is out there and may be a cause of damage to this country in a number of respects, including in relation to inward investment," he said.
While a report last year by Transparency International showing that Ireland's performance on a corruption perception index was given considerable coverage, he said there was virtually no coverage of a report by the Group of States against Corruption which found that Ireland was among those least affected by corruption.
Mr Justice Smith said that the Group of States against Corruption was a highly respected body operating under the Council of Europe. He said Transparency International's index was based on information provided by the University of Columbia, the Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, the Economist Intelligence Unit and the World Economic Forum.
The judge concluded: "We are fortunate in this country to have a public service which, to a very large extent, has been free of corruption."
