Please, no law enforcement – we're Irish

Last week, our Prime Minister was reported as saying that the EU should not pursue countries as diligently as they do to enforce EU legislation. This attitude is entirely in keeping with the Irish culture of corruption. You can have all the laws you want but please, don’t actually enforce them.

We had a perfect example of this irresponsible attitude to law enforcement when FG Cllr Michael Fitzgerald said he thought it was ok to drink and drive. He was supported by FF Cllr Joe Donovan who said that people who engaged in drink driving after ‘having a few’ would never have an accident.

This backwoodsman mindset is common in a corrupt state like Ireland. It was only after thousands of deaths, hundreds of thousands of horrific injuries and billions wasted on health care in recent years that the State finally began to enforce traffic laws.

People living in rural areas, used to getting away with breaking the law were outraged by this law enforcement and complained to their local politicians.

The suggested Irish answer to this Irish problem is to allow rural people in their 40s, 50s and 60s to drink and drive because as Cllr Donovan said – “They never had an accident and never would.”

Meanwhile, the carnage continues.

Exiled journalist tells his story

There was a fascinating interview on Tonight with Vincent Browne last Wednesday night. Joe McAnthony, an investigative journalist who was forced to leave Ireland in the 70s because he was too good at his job, was telling his story.

In the early 70s McAnthony exposed the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes for the corrupt scam it was. Organised by some dodgy characters with the full backing of the Irish State the Sweepstakes took in vast amounts over the decades. The money was supposed to fund Irish hospitals but in fact less than ten percent was actually used for this purpose.

It was in 1974, however, that McAnthony came under real pressure when he exposed the corrupt FF politician, Ray Burke. He was told that ‘perhaps it would be better’ if he left his job at Independent Newspapers.

He had a contract with the state broadcaster (RTE) who continued to pay him (taxpayer’s money) but bizarrely refused him further work. He eventually had to leave Ireland to get work.

Burke was allowed to continue his corrupt rampage for another 30 years, doing enormous damage to the people of Ireland, before he finally saw the inside of a jail.

McAnthony wondered why Ireland was unlike any other country, why the corrupt were seldom brought to justice, why the Irish police never raided the offices and homes of politicians who were suspected of corruption, why the facilitators of corruption like lawyers, auditors and accountants were never investigated.

The answer is of course, simple – the State itself is a corrupt entity and therefore has a vested interest in protecting the corrupt system is operates.

Ireland – Refuge for world's white collar criminals?

I see Jeff Skilling of Enron has been sentenced to 24 years in jail for his part in the fraud that bankrupted the company. It’s always interesting to see how real democracies enforce their laws.

Skilling was refused bail, was fitted with an electronic tag and will go to jail in about 90 days – for what is, effectively, a life sentence. Former employees were allowed to address the court (and Skilling) about the impact of his crimes. Here’s how one such employee expressed herself.

“Mr. Skilling has proven to be a liar, a thief and a drunk, flaunting an attitude above the law. He has betrayed everyone who has trusted him. Shame on me for believing the management of Enron,”

Ken Lay was also due for sentencing with Skilling but he died in the meantime and his case was dropped. It can be seen from the Enron trials that the Americans know what white collar crime is and how to deal with the disease.

In Ireland, it is likely that Skilling would have been awarded entrepreneur of the year and poor old ‘Kenny boy’ would probably have been granted a state funeral with a tearful oration by our Prime Minister.

Indeed, I think Ireland is missing out on a golden opportunity here. The country is obviously a justice free zone for thieving bankers, solicitors, politicians and all kinds of other dodgy ‘white collar’ characters (The law is, of course, fully enforced on wayward peasants).

The Government should officially declare the country a refuge for the world’s white collar criminals. They would, of course, have to comply with the old Irish tradition of ‘donating’ a percentage of their ill gotten gains to ‘certain parties’.

In return, they would be guanteed immunity and in the unlikely event of actually getting caught doing something dodgy, they would simply be referred to one of the never ending tribunals.

There they could happily live out the rest of their lives relating fantasy tales to entertain all those wayward peasants who actually do time for their crimes.

Incompetence and carnage

For many years there has been carnage on Irish roads, the worst record in Europe. Politicians have failed miserably to solve the problem.

Why, one can reasonably ask is Ireland almost unique in the world in its inability to tackle this problem.

The following stripped down interview by Pat Kenny of the Minister for Transport will provide some hint

Minister – On the latest deaths. “The Road Safety Authority is going to present proposals for tough new restrictions on young drivers. Clearly, the licencing regime, the training needs to be substantially changed…”

Pat – We still have provisional drivers driving alone – shouldn’t we be enforcing the law like other countries?

Minister – Well, you are absolutely right; we need to change the regime entirely. Minister then gives examples of how other countries dealt with such problems.

Pat – In Northern Ireland they have a policy of restricting young drivers after their test.

Minister – And we will have to do the same…

Pat – What about the back log of people waiting for testing… problems with driver information…

Minister – …I mean the system we have in Ireland is simply not adequate

Pat – But the system needs to be reformed..

Minister – Well, that’s what Noel (Brett, CSO of the National Roads Authority ) is coming back to me with.. ending of backlog will allow the introduction of an entirely new licencing regime.

Pat – …size of engine, limit car speeds…

Minister – well Noel and I were talking about this and it’s one of the issues we’re working at…

Pat – Garda resources deployed more intelligently…instead of shooting fish in a barrel..

Minister – Well, I think they’re going to do that… that situation is going to change quite dramatically.

Pat – Local authorities granting planning along motorways turning them into suburbs, especially the M50

Minister – Well, it (M50) did become a commuter road but it was never designed for that… who could have foreseen that would happen? We’re doing a feasibility study on a huge orbital from Drogheda to Kildare (Feck – from Drogheda to Kildare???)

Pat – …would have to insist that local authorities would not build on it…

Minister – …That’s why we have given the National Roads Authority the role in planning…they are taking a very strong line on a lot of the new roads around the country.

This kind of ribbon development is not going to happen any more. Unfortunate about the M50…but that development is also needed (ribbon development along motorways), jobs, companies want to be close to their markets…conflicts to be resolved…

Minister Cullen has been in the job for two years, the Government has been in power for nearly ten years.

Lithuania, a country that gained its independence only a few years ago also suffered from a serious road safety problem. They trained and resourced a proper traffic police force and sent them out to deal with the idiots and killers.

In one year the death rate was reduce by half. Irish citizens are still waiting (After decades) for this simple but effective action. All we get is waffle – meanwhile the carnage continues.

Deadly ignorance

Hardly a day passes in Ireland without some new report of corruption or gross incompetence usually in the Government/public administration sectors.

Whether it’s Government ministers prostituting State offices for monetary gain, public servants robbing and abusing the elderly, so called State regulatory bodies pathetically failing to even make an effort at doing their jobs or just ordinary everyday criminal negligence, the response is always the same – Denial, excuses, blaming somebody else. Never, ever, will you witness these so called State servants actually taking responsibility.

The latest example of this never ending stream of incompetence and corruption broke yesterday. Up to a hundred children were put at risk of contacting Hepatitis C between 1991 and 1994 because of inadequate screening.

To date nobody has accepted responsibility, this is normal in our banana republic. The hospital has claimed it did not have funding for proper screening, the Dept of Health have said they never received requests for funding. Making excuses, blaming somebody else is normal in our banana republic.

The hospital knew nine months ago but kept the whole thing hushed up because they claim they wanted to first make a list of all those put at risk. I personally do not believe this. Secrecy is the greatest weapon of the corrupt and incompetent, especially when that secrecy is encouraged by the State itself. If the media had not uncovered this latest scandal it is likely the hospital would have kept the whole thing secret.

As always, it was not a so called State regulatory body that uncovered the scandal. In almost all cases Irish State authorities will cover up corruption and incompetence. It was the media (RTE News) that informed the public. In this banana republic the media, along with a few courageous whistleblowers, is the only source of corruption exposure.

A bill going through our irrelevant and incompetent parliament is set to clamp down on such media exposes. In addition to this latest muzzle on media investigation the State is also planning to give itself the power to close down tribunals of investigation.

In the recent polls, a majority of citizens said they did not think that our Prime Minister should resign because he took money from businessmen while he held a senior ministry.

These people are politically ignorant. They cannot (or will not) see the connection between corrupt politicians/State officials and the enormous damage this corruption eventually does to every level of society.

They cannot see that their ignorance can kill their fellow citizens.

Electronic law enforcement

It was obvious, as I approached the checkout, that all was not well. A woman, aged about 30/35, was arguing with the checkout girl. She wanted to purchase a six pack of beer but a digital message on the till displayed a stark and unbending message – “Alcohol sales prohibited” or words to that effect.

It was just two minutes after 11.00pm and despite the anger of the customer and the apologies of the checkout girl, the machine was not for changing. I tentatively proffered my six pack of non alcoholic beer but that too was rejected by the machine.

I wondered, as the burley security man cordoned off the alcohol section with a Berlin Wall type fence, why consumers could buy anything they wished in this massive 24/7 supermarket but not alcohol after certain hours.

I wondered why the owners and State authorities could not bang their heads together and allow adults to buy a couple of beers or a bottle of wine at 11.01pm or even 4 in the morning if they so wished.

Last Christmas, I witnessed an even more chaotic situation. At about five minutes to ‘closing time’ in this supermarket that never closes, there was an announcement –

“Anyone wishing to purchase alcohol should proceed immediately to a checkout.”

At least one hundred customers, manoeuvring trolley’s heavily laden with Christmas shopping looked at each other in disbelief before rushing helter skelter for the nearest checkout.

Pandemonium ensued as customers fought desperately to join the shortest queue, some even engaged in frantic negotiations with non alcoholic carrying customers in their efforts to beat the ruthless till.

One husband/wife team did manage to purchase about half of their Christmas booze before the till cut them off. Working with military precision, the wife ruthlessly ejected all items of a non alcoholic nature, clearing the way for the husband to throw as many crates and bottles as possible at a delicate checkout girl who was on the verge of abandoning her post in panic.

Sadly, few others succeeded in beating the electronic alcohol sentry and an air of despair descended over the would be Christmas revelers as this machine enforced what can only be described as an idiotic law.

I wonder what would happen if every pub and club in the country was subject to the same strict enforcement – revolution?

Consequences of corruption

The recent polls in favour of Fianna Fail and Bertie Ahern are depressing but they are in no way surprising. A majority felt that Bertie was wrong to take the money but because he’s such a good Taoiseach, he should remain in office.

This kind of double think is exactly what can be expected of a population who has lived in a corrupt state all their lives. The economy is strong, the Opposition is weak and the incident happened years ago so why rock the boat?

In the short term, this reasoning makes sense but in the long term it is very damaging. When people fail to demand high standards from their leaders they will get low standards, and sooner or later, they (or other citizens) will suffer the consequences.

Some of the consequences of Bertiegate are as follows:

Irish politicians can now openly appoint their friends to State boards. This kind of cronyism is ethically and legally unacceptable in most democracies.

Irish politicians can now openly accept large amounts of money from friends and businessmen. Obviously, politicians in senior ministerial positions will attract larger payments. Again, this kind of graft is totally unacceptable in real democracies.

It is now unacceptable to questions Irish politicians about their finances if those finances are connected to personal/family events. This new situation provides an ideal channel for corrupt politicians to secrete bribes/payments/gifts from prying eyes.

Irish politicians from other parties will now become even more reluctant to tackle the disease of corruption. Brutal pragmatism will force them to accept even lower standards in their increasingly desperate desire for high office.

There are, of course, many other consequences resulting from Irish corruption and criminal incompetence ranging from the theft of billions to dysfunctional administration to the actual death of some citizens.

Bank robbers and bank robbers

Three Romanians were recently jailed for four years for what a Garda called “a sophisticated and nasty fraud”. The gang had conspired to rob bank customers by skimming ATM cards and stealing the customer’s money.

The Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation became involved in the case after several banks complained. Eventually, the thieves were arrested and brought to court where they were found guilty and appropriate justice was dispensed.

There is nothing unusual about this case. A group of people got together and devised a system that enabled them to rob bank customers of their hard earned money. When they were caught, the State took strong and immediate action. Any self respecting country would be seen as deficient if it failed to take such action against bank robbers.

Yet, Ireland is such a country. Groups of people in Allied Irish Banks and National Irish Bank got together and devised a system that enabled them to rob, not just their own customers, but the State as well.

These fraudsters robbed millions over many years and when they were caught, the State took no action against them. They were merely asked to pay back the money robbed. The Financial Regulator refers to this well planned fraud, operated over many years as “improper charging of interest and fees” (Annual Report, page 36).

Many Irish citizens are under the impression that such crimes could not happen today because the Financial Regulator is there to protect the interests of consumers.

Wrong, the Financial Regulator has one overriding mission – to protect the financial institutions, usually at the expense of ordinary consumers.

Let me give you an example. Recently, I asked the Regulator for a list of all financial institutions that were guilty of robbing or ‘overcharging’ consumers in the last two years. This is a perfectly reasonable request and critical for those assessing the credentials of a financial institution before deciding to open an account.

They ignored my email. When I insisted, they referred my query to their Press Office who referred me to page 35/36 of their Annual Report where I found brief mention of fraudulent cases already in the public realm.

In other words, the information I requested is treated as a State secret. This policy of secrecy coupled with the absolute refusal of the so called regulator to punish wrong doing in the financial sector creates an environment of great benefit for the financial institutions and puts consumers at a serious disadvantage.

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.

I

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.