Councillors at the annual conference of the Local Authority Members' Association in Kilkenny yesterday rejected the suggestion that corruption was endemic in the political system. There was a welcome, however, for comments by the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, who said the body politic was "perceived to be corrupt" and radical measures were needed to restore its reputation.
He suggested a ban on corporate donations to political parties and a "one strike and you're out" policy towards corrupt politicians.
Mr Ahern told the 450 local authority members that they deserved to know that those in local and national politics who had "cheapened" public service would not be shielded by the political system.
"You deserve to know that they will be punished with the full weight of the law. You deserve to know that years of work which you and your fellow representatives have given to the public will not be debased by their actions," he said to applause.
After outlining anti-corruption measures taken by Fianna Fail, the Minister said he believed, in light of recent revelations, "that we must now go further".
"Every single linkage between the political parties and the corporate world must be questioned and examined. I personally do not believe the current position can be retained," he said.
"We must consider scrapping donations from corporate Ireland altogether, and to do so we must consider State funding for our democracy."
Many delegates contested the comments of a Green Party councillor, Ms Mary White, who said that, in the words of Yeats, we had as a nation "disgraced ourselves again". Mr Rainsford Hendy, a Fine Gael member of Kildare County Council, was applauded when he said he had never in his time as a public representative disgraced himself.
There was further anger when Ms White, who was elected to Carlow County Council last year, said she was a fruit grower "and I know when I pack a bad apple at the bottom of the box it infects the rest". After some heckling, Ms White said she was saying that everybody in politics, including herself, was affected by the actions of others.
Many councillors also criticised plans for the direct election of mayors and council chairmen, which is expected to be provided for in the forthcoming Local Government Bill.
They were supported by the Fine Gael TD, Mr Alan Dukes, who said the public would become even more cynical about politics if directly-elected politicians were not given any power. If they were to be given real power, he asked, why not give it instead to local authorities, which were not given the resources to be effective?
