Sir, - Maire Geoghegan-Quinn (Opinion, March 20th) provides us with a clear indication of how bizarre the Irish political scene has become. In an incredibly ludicrous argument, she attributes the corruption which led to the forced resignation of the European Commission to nothing more than a clash of cultures.
The real reason for the resignation of the Commission was that its members failed to make themselves accountable as a body for the corruption of some individual members.
This concept of accountability is so alien to Irish politics that Irish observers must find it odd that the commissioners, including Ireland's Padraig Flynn, should be forced to resign after a short and efficient investigation without ever having mouthed the usual inane platitudes that Irish citizens are so used to, such as: no favours were asked for or given; nothing illegal was done; it was all in the past; we must wait until the tribunal reports in X years' time; or (the latest one, coined as a result of the corruption in the banking sector) everybody else was doing it.
The real lesson to be learned from this European example is that while corruption is an unavoidable consequence of human activity, most democratic countries and organisations have efficient mechanisms to investigate and punish those found guilty of this crime.
It is clear that Ireland has no such mechanisms and until such time as we do, corruption will continue to erode our democracy. - Yours etc., Anthony Sheridan,
Cobh, Co Cork.