The Republic is losing out on foreign investment because it is increasingly perceived as a corrupt place in which to do business, according to a leading international anti-corruption expert.
Mr Jeremy Pope, executive director of Transparency International, estimated that the Republic lost up to 10 per cent of potential overseas investment in recent years as a result of corruption scandals.
He was speaking at meetings held in Dublin and Galway at the weekend to set up a campaign against corruption.
Mr Pope said that in the past few years this State had "taken a nose-dive" on the corruption perception index published by Transparency International each year. Last year, it ranked 12th out of 18 European states, well behind the Scandinavian states which are regarded as the least corrupt. Singapore, Hong Kong and Chile now rank higher than the Republic.
"Ireland's showing is not good; it really should be a lot higher on the index," he said.
"It's not that surprising, though, given that you've had a generation or two of some pretty `schlunky' political leaders."
Mr Pope said corruption was "not just a Third World problem". Western firms were "laying waste" to developing countries by bribing their leaders to buy unnecessary equipment and projects, he claimed. "Corruption is not just a moral issue; it's also an economic, social and political issue. It imperils human rights and the environment and, ultimately, the democratic will. A cynical public is prepared to put up with even worse behaviour."
Tackling corruption often involved focusing on the system which allowed it to flourish, rather than the individuals involved, he said. Transparency International, which is funded by development agencies and private foundations, runs anti-corruption programmes in more than 70 countries. The Republic is the only western European state in which it does not operate.
Mr Pope said the Republic seemed to have the laws necessary to fight corruption. "But laws don't change people, it's people who change people, and that's the real challenge."
More information is available at www.newirelandfrontier.org.
