An independent review of corruption worldwide has listed Ireland as the 17th least corrupt country out of 146 measured.
The Global Corruption Report, published by Transparency International, specifically features Ireland for the first time.
It outlines the background and impact of the three main tribunals in Ireland on the Irish political scene since 1997. The report also recommends that the current round of tribunals should be allowed to finish their work.
Though it praises many of the reforms to institutions and legislation to combat corruption over the past decade, the author of the report on Ireland, Dr. Gary Murphy of Dublin City University, points out that it is "impossible to state with certainty just how accountable decision-making processes really are."
Commenting on the Morris tribunal, Dr Murphy also called for an Ombudsman's office to be established with similar powers to that seen in Northern Ireland. The Garda Reform Bill, which instead provides for a three-man investigatory commission, is expected to be passed by the Oireachtas this summer.
Recent revelations of political corruption in the tribunals may have affected Ireland's position on a list of the world's least corrupt countries. Ireland lay in 12th position on TI's Corruption Perception Index in 1997 but now stands in 17th place out of 146 countries.
The index measures attitudes to corruption as captured in various domestic and international business surveys.