Controversial Report Says Corruption Costs Ireland Money

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

08 April 2002

A controversial report commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, as a follow-up to a baseline study conducted nine years ago, has suggested that a reputation for corruption has cost Ireland substantial foreign investment over the years.

The report's author, Brian Harvey, alleges that: 'Corruption is a central theme of Irish life and politics. Ireland is now regarded as one of the more corrupt European states.' The study also claims that the country has become one of the richest EU countries, but is one of the most unequal in terms of the gap between rich and poor.

In his report for the charity, Mr Harvey admits that tribunals have 'done much to determine the nature of corruption', but adds that 'changes to improve the political and administrative system have been minimal'.

However, a recent Deloitte and Touche survey painted a more optimistic picture of the jurisdiction's future economic and investment prospects. The poll of business people carried out by the accounting firm revealed that 41% of those questioned believed that confidence in the country's business environment had improved 'slightly', and one in ten said that the overall business environment had 'improved significantly'.

http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=77130&d=448&h=0&f=0 http://www.unison.ie/business/stories.php3?ca=80&si=723473

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