Catching up on corruption

With everybody following the Bertiegate affair over the last few weeks, it is easy to miss out on the usual fare of corruption and incompetence. The following is a brief list of just some to the events that may have been overlooked.

A cost overrun of at least €13 million on Dublin’s integrated ticketing system for public transport. The Comptroller and Auditor General said he was “disappointed but not surprised”. I know the feeling.

The Government has allocated most of Wednesday and Thursday to fast-track the Tribunal of Inquiry Bill. Clearly, politicians have had enough of the very limited accountability that from time to time arises from tribunal investigations. The killing off of the tribunals and the upcoming Privacy Bill will practically close down any kind of investigation into political/business corruption.

The Health Service Executive has, so far, succeeded in preventing the publication of a report into Leas Cross nursing home. Prof Des O’Neill, who carried out the investigation, insists that the report is complete but the HSE disagrees. This is a common strategy, delay or stop publication of reports until the case is forgotten or has lost all relevance.

Revenue has announced its latest amnesty. Ireland is the only country in the world that collects tax by amnesty. This is how it works – Revenue decides to target a particular group for tax inspection, in this instance, the legal profession. It informs all concerned of its intentions and offers an amnesty to any tax criminals within the group. Meanwhile, ordinary tax compliant citizens continue to pay the full amount with no special offers. All other countries, of course, just enforce tax laws.

THE Competition Authority is to carry out a second investigation into the proposed acquisition of Weyerhaeuser Europe by state-owned forestry firm Coillte. – I know nothing about this particular one, but it looks dodgy.

Slowly but surely the so called Financial Regulator continues to be exposed for the sham organisation it really is. The Consultative consumer panel, a body apparently set up to monitor the performance of Ifsra claims that the regulator is “slow to respond to consumer issues”. While this is a major understatement, it at least indicates that somebody else is beginning to realise that the Financial Regulator has just one mission – the protection of financial institutions at the expense of ordinary consumers.

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It has been decided, not by the police, not by the law of the land, not by the so called Financial Regulator but by Allied Irish Banks, that, after an investigation into themselves, they are to take no disciplinary action against staff who for years were deliberately ‘overcharging’ customers on foreign exchange fees. This is a case that I will be returning to very soon for deeper analysis.

3 thoughts on “Catching up on corruption”

  1. I must say this is a good read,but having seen the comments bt the ‘crewser’ on
    various issues I can’t stop thinking of a sheep.
    He obviously has his head firmly stuck up his ass and can’t see what is going on around him.
    He will follow Bertie blindly (FF) whatever they do.(maybe he was the old boy running to Charlie
    to shake his hand/kiss his arse outside the tribunal)
    he seems to blame the media all the time without addressing the issue of corruption.
    As if it was the media’s fault for exposing it,thats their job.
    Not that I believe everything that is in print,but this is true and you find it acceptable,unbelievable.
    Bertie is the leader of the country at the moment in my opinion he is unfit to do so.
    He and his party are not doing a great job,they have the money to run the country
    because they take it from the working man at every turn.
    They the politicians on the other hand think they are exempt.

  2. Poor jonijoe, defender of the freeloading loafers who were so ably represented by Proinseas de Rossa (remember the ex republican who became more Brittish than the Brittish themseves.)

    Obviously you are willing to go along with everything you read in the media. But remember this jonijoe the story that Kennedy and her leaker pal conspired about should not have been in the public domain atal.

    It was clearly designed to upset the Northern Ireland talks process which now looks like l succeeding. That will probably disappoint you greatly as it will de Rossa, Kennedy and her pal in the Tribunal.

    However if todays opinion poll is anything to go by then the vast majority of the electorate do want to give peace a chance. No one has done more than Bertie and to be fair Tony Blair to ensure that no effort is spared in the quest for that peace.

    Despite Kennedy and her cronies Ireland as a whole will have a future we can all be proud of.

  3. crewser, I defend no one,it’s you who do the defending.
    As I said I don’t believe everything in the media.if you opened your eyes you’d see what I wrote.
    You cloud the water with conspiracy theories and general bullshit.
    To be honest you write alot but say nothing new .
    At a guess I’d say you spend half your day stuck in traffic in D4 fixing your hair ,
    and masturbating you ego .

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