New body aims to tackle political corruption

A new body to be launched shortly aims to put the fight against corruption at the top of the political agenda in the run-up to the next election.

The "initiative on ethics and accountability in Irish politics" is expected to be formally set up following public meetings in Dublin and Galway next week, according to its organiser, Mr Gerard McHugh.

Mr McHugh, a Kildare man who advertised in The Irish Times earlier this year for like-minded people who were "fed up with corruption", says he has received "an amazing reaction" to his call.

With over 300 calls and several offers of financial assistance, he now plans to establish a dedicated fund to enforce more accountability in the political system.

Speakers at the Dublin meeting include Mr McHugh, Mr Jeremy Pope, executive director of Transparency International in London, and Mr Colm Mac Eochaidh, a barrister whose involvement in a reward for information on planning corruption in 1995 led to the setting up of the Flood tribunal.

Last year, Mr Mac Eochaidh's name was linked in The Irish Times to the establishment of a new political party that would campaign on "anti-sleaze" and environmental issues.

Asked yesterday about the current status of this project, Mr Mac Eochaidh pointed out that he had told RTE last year that The Irish Times report was "exaggerated" and the project was "very much in its infancy".

Asked whether the project was still in its infancy, he replied: "Infants grow up."

Transparency International is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to fighting national and international corruption. It publishes an annual Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.

Last year, Ireland ranked 19th of 90 countries surveyed; the higher the ranking, the less perceived corruption there is.

Mr McHugh, who works as a consultant to aid organisations, started his initiative because he was not satisfied enough was being done to punish those shown to have been corrupt.

He hoped the new organisation might evolve into the Irish chapter of Transparency International. The new organisation would aim for a "constructive and proactive engagement" with State institutions, using existing mechanisms and new approaches to enforce accountability.

The Dublin meeting takes place at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 8th, in the Walton Theatre in Trinity College. Mr McHugh and Mr Pope will also speak at a public meeting in the Salthill Hotel in Salthill, Galway, at 7.30 p.m. on Saturday, June 9th.