Author: gavin

Still waiting for action

I see Paul Appleby, the so-called State’s corporate enforcer (An impressive title for a toothless authority) is still in the High Court trying to get disqualifications for the criminality at National Irish Bank during the 1990s.

It is over a year since the inspectors report on this criminality was published, seven years since the criminality was uncovered (by a whistleblower and the media) and nearly a quarter of a century since the fraudulent schemes were first hatched at NIB and we are still waiting for even one bank official to be made accountable.

Deloitte's services cost almost €60m

So over half of the money for the PPARS system was spent on Deloitte consultants. And what have we got to show for it? Either the civil servants are incompetent or Deloitte were taking the proverbial.

The Irish Times understands that Deloitte received €40 million in consultancy fees over recent years for the PPARs payroll and staff records system and a separate €18.12 million for work on the FISP financial information system project.

The board of the HSE, as expected, decided yesterday to put on hold plans to expand the PPARs systems beyond the four locations where it is in use.

Government 'not to blame' over €150m pay system

Mary Harney has come out and said that the present government is not to blame. Huh? Is ist just me or has the current government not been in power since 1997? Noted Harney:

“The real problem is the fact that in the health service, we have a jumble of incoherence as far as work practices are concerned, we’ve thousands of pay variations, thousands of rosters, many different grade structures and individual working arrangements,” she said.

“We had 11 different health boards: if there was any argument for getting rid of them, and many opposed their abolition, it is that this kind of chaos wouldn’t have happened.”

What a ridiculous load of shite. And going by the state of the PPARS website (one of the most backward and ugly websites I have seen in years), it seems that nobody knows what they are doing.

HSE to suspend roll-out of €150m computer system

Is this just plain incompetence or is there something more sinister involved?

The Irish Times understands that the system will have cost €150 million by the end of this year, and more than €230 million if fully implemented.

Despite this, less than one third of the people within the health system, or 37,000 people, are covered by it at present.

After he took up office in August, Prof Drumm ordered an internal review following internal complaints and reports about the system, which failed to identify a mistake where one staff member was paid €1 million in error. The mistake came to light when the staff member reported the overpayment to superiors.

Last July, when news of the overpayment emerged, the HSE blamed it on “human error”. It said PPARS was “working well and will be extended to all staff “.

In July Ta¡naiste Mary Harney said she had asked for a report from senior staff at her department on the project.

“If we have got it wrong we must put our hands up,” she said. According to her spokesman, Ms Harney has yet to receive that report.

Last night Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who is expected to raise the controversy in the Dail later today, described PPARs as “a farce that will make the money wasted on e-voting seem like small change”.

“A project initially costed six years ago at €8 million is now heading towards a completion cost of a quarter of a billion euro because of chronic planning, management and oversight. We get to see why under this Government health budgets are increased while front-line services still suffer.”

Two Laws

Every once in a while a case/report appears in the media that crystalises how things are done in the Banana Republic of Ireland. Last Saturday’s Irish Times reported on the case of a Land Registry official who is facing charges of corruptly accepting cheques. The Department of Justice issued the following statement.

“A number of irregularities came to light in the Land Registry during 2003 in relation to the processing and payment of fees for certain services.”The gardaa­ were duly notified and they undertook an investigation into the matter. The matter is now before the courts. No further comment can be made at this stage as it is subjudice.”

In today’s Irish Times we read

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheal Martin has directed that information amassed in an inquiry into three companies linked to the Ansbacher affair be passed from his department to a number of other public bodies.

The ordinary official is in court on corruption charges two years after his alleged crime but according to the Irish Times report involving the Ansbacher scandal

the findings of the investigations into Hamilton Ross, Guinness & Mahon Ireland and College Trustees remain secret, some seven years after they were initiated

(Just allow me to repeat that – remain secret some seven years after they were initiated)
The case of the ordinary official in the Land Registry office is a good example of how real democracies deal with alleged corruption – Investigation: charges: trial: appropriate punishment. (All carried out efficiently and applied to the rich and powerful as well as to ordinary citizens)
This system results in respect for justice, respect for law and order, a sense of equality in society, and international respect for our democracy.

The Ansbacher criminality primarily involves rich and powerful citizens. None of those involved will face criminal charges, none will see the inside of a jail. Deals will be done, arrangements will be made, secrecy will be maintained.
This system results in cynicism, loss of respect for law and order, loss of respect for democracy, international contempt and the deserved title – Banana Republic of Ireland.

Officials consider CPOs for prison sites

€30 million for some land that really should have cost alot less. That is more or less the story in relation to the new prison being built in North County Dublin. It was €32 million but the skillful civil servants got him down to €30. For comparison:

Some €2.9 million was paid to Mr Lynam when the deal was agreed in January. The outstanding €27 million was paid last Friday. Mr McDowell has asked officials in his department to review the current situation which does not allow sites for new prisons to be compulsorily purchased by the State.

The Government is facing sustained pressure over the €30 million price it paid for the 150-acre site at Thornton Hall. The Opposition has claimed the State paid around five times more than the land was worth, and there have been calls for a public inquiry.

Eight weeks after Thornton Hall was acquired, a 190-acre farm in Ratoath, Co Meath – less than four miles from the new prison site – sold for €6.2 million. A 157-acre farm at Garristown, Co Meath, is currently down for auction with a €3 million guide price.

Fine Gael’s spokesman on justice Jim O’Keeffe TD said yesterday the Government should have reviewed the possibility of using CPOs for prisons “long before” Thornton Hall.

And now McDowell is reviewing the possible use of CPO’s to buy land for prison. Bit late now isn’t it?

Trim Castle planning mystery

I like Fintan O’Toole’s clever use of language in last week’s Irish Times. Regarding the rather strange behaviour of the council in Trim, O’Toole noted:

There is no suggestion of anything underhand in all of this. What is clear, however, is that a mind-boggling decision to put a large, ugly hotel right beside a major national monument was taken in a way that lacked both transparency and democratic accountability.

Very diplomatic.

Irish Ferries stroke

The response to a question on a recent edition of Question & Answers drew some interesting replies. The question was: ‘What is the panel’s reaction to job cuts at Irish Ferries?â€?

Before commenting on the answers, it will be useful to outline what Irish Ferries are planning. They are in the process of re-registering their fleet under “Flags of Convenience’. This means they will no longer be subject to Irish or EU labour laws. Recruitment of staff is to be handed over to an outside source thus allowing Irish Ferries to claim that they are not responsible for pay or working conditions.

When Irish Ferries were recently found to have “employed’ Filipino, workers for 1 Euro per hour they tried to absolve themselves by claiming that they had no responsibility for the pay and conditions of these workers. If Irish Ferries are allowed to get away with implementing their plan, their crews will lose all the established entitlements like minimum wage, holidays and working time directives. In effect, Irish Ferries will be operating a modern form of slave labour.

Here’s how the panel answered the question. Jim Power, Chief Economist at Friends First felt that the plan was reasonable because the company’s finances were coming under pressure from increased competition, especially low cost air fares.

Dick Roche, Minister for the Environment agreed with the opinion of Jim Power adding that Irish Ferries must be protected as it was a vital national industry. Most surprising of all, however, was the reply of John Waters. It’s the way of the world…increasing competition…workers coming from other economies…lower wages…it’s something we are going to have to get used to.

The question that immediately springs to mind is: Would any of these gentlemen be happy if they were forced to choose between losing their jobs or agreeing to work for three Euros per hour on twelve hour shifts without the protection of labour laws? The only thing that can be said in their defence is that none of them seemed to understand the full implications of what Irish Ferries are planning to do.

John Waters, a man who likes to portray himself as a crusader for the down trodden, seemed particularly confused and I got the distinct impression that he was merely mouthing the sentiments of the previous speaker. He really should have pleaded ignorance on the matter thus safeguarding his credibility.

Marian Harkin, Independent TD and MEP was also on the panel and strongly disagreed with Irish Ferries policy. As an articulate, intelligent and honest politician, Ms. Harkin is a rare gem on the Irish political scene.

Banana Republic

One of the dangers of living in a banana republic where corruption is endemic at all levels of society is the tendency to slip into an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ mindset. An article by Claire Shoesmith in last Friday’s Irish Times about ethics in business serves as a good example of this phenomenon. In making her case, she compares recent financial scandals in America and Ireland. The first thing to notice is her use of language. Ms. Shoesmith describes the Enron and Worldcom scandals in America as:

Corrupt organisations, run by fraudsters who lined their pockets with millions of dollars while destroying billions of dollars of investors’ money’?

In contrast, here’s how she talks about scandals in the Irish financial world:

AIB and National Irish Bank, have played their part in eroding public trust in the financial sector and, in turn, prompted calls for tighter rules on corporate governance and increased scrutiny on individuals within the industry.

So, financial criminality in the US is described as corrupt organizations run by fraudsters while in Ireland stealing millions from the State and customers merely amounts to a factor in the erosion of public trust. Another elephant in the room that remains completely unnoticed is the consequences for the fraudsters when caught.

Ms. Shoesmith gives some examples from the US: Bernie Ebbers of Worldcom: 25 years in jail. Kenneth Lay of Enron: Awaiting trial. Denis Kozlowski of Tyco International: between eight-and-a-third and 25 years in jail. These people, and many others, found themselves in deep trouble because of their corrupt activities. Regulatory agencies, the police, the courts all became immediately involved and made sure these people suffered the consequences of their actions.

In the Banana Republic of Ireland, this does not happen. The examples used by Ms Shoesmith, AIB and NIB, will suffice to make the point. For 17 years, National Irish Bank (NIB) robbed millions from the State and its customers in well organised frauds. When this major criminality was uncovered (by the media), there was no police investigation, no arrests and no mention of trials or jail sentences. Instead, two High Court Inspectors were appointed to investigate. It took them six years, yes, six years to produce a report. The report was greeted with the usual shock and horror and promises were made that this time action would be taken. Nothing happened and the fraudsters are walking free as I write.

AIB has also robbed millions from the State and its own customers with no consequences for the bank or any of its officials. This is not surprising as AIB is allowed to investigate itself with no interference from the police. The bank is even allowed to operate its own internal justice and court system, passing judgements and meting out punishment on any staff found ‘guilty’. The so-called Financial Regulator only plays a peripheral and mostly supportive role in all this.

The term Banana Republic is not used lightly here; it is a true reflection of how things are done in Ireland. The difference between a banana republic and a real democracy can be measured by the action taken when corruption occurs. Let’s just compare the Worldcom and NIB scandals.

Here’s the reaction of Harvey Pitt, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to the Worldcom scandal

“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more,” “The bubble has burst,”… “Serious jail time awaits serious crime.”

And here’s the reaction of Mr. Denis Kelleher, chief executive of investment company Wall Street Access:

“It is outrageous what is going on,” he said. “It is greed of the highest order. If the system does not put these people in jail, we have failed. If this is the system, we have, we’d better get it right in a hurry, and otherwise we are in deep yoghurt, as they say.

The American system went into action and only three years later, long jail sentences are being served.

It’s over a year now since the NIB report was published and seven years since the criminality was uncovered. So what has happened. Well, a High Court judge decided that the NIB should not be closed down because of the consequences for the bank, its customers and staff. (Just what does an Irish bank have to do to get shut down, genocide?)

Paul Appleby, the State’s Director of Corporate Enforcement tried to obtain the names of the bank’s audit committee with a view to taking legal action. He was firmly told by a High Court judge that

‘There was no real and pressing need for the order sought?’

(Major criminality and we can’t even get names). Last July, Mr. Appleby was back in court in an attempt to get the executives involved barred from acting as directors. He hasn’t a hope.

Will there be criminal prosecutions? No, because any evidence gathered for the inspectors report cannot be used as it was given voluntarily.

Welcome to the Banana Republic of Ireland.

Tribunal statement denies giving secret report to McDowell

The tribunal claims it didn’t give the report to McDowell, but I believe he did get it. But how?

The tribunal yesterday took the unusual step of issuing a statement making clear that it has never submitted a secret report to Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.

The statement said that it had come to the attention of the tribunal that a number of media sources had speculated as to whether the tribunal had made a secret report of some matter to the Minister.

“The tribunal has issued two reports: on Explosives Finds in 2004 and on the Barron Death Investigation in 2005. There are no other reports,” it said.