The Irish authorities should adopt further measures to help prevent corruption among people with top executive functions in central government and also in the police, according to the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO). GRECO’s fifth evaluation report on Ireland notes the central role of the Standards in Public Office Commission in helping to prevent corruption but calls for the commission to be given more resources and stronger powers to supervise the implementation of integrity standards.
The report also underlines that existing policy documents intended to prevent corruption lack the necessary focus on people with top executive functions, including Ministers, Ministers of State, the Attorney General, Secretaries General and Special Advisers. Codes of conduct for people with such functions should cover issues including conflicts of interest, lobbying, secondary activities, gifts and hospitality, says GRECO, and integrity checks should be carried out before people join the government.
Regarding the Police (An Garda Síochána), GRECO stresses that the existing Code of Ethics should be strengthened to cover a wider range of topics, in particular relating to conflicts of interest. Integrity training needs to be expanded accordingly and made compulsory for new recruits as well as serving personnel. In addition, information technology systems need to be further developed to better monitor integrity breaches committed by Garda members. Regular checks are also needed on secondary activities, to prevent conflicts of interest occurring over time. Finally, GRECO supports on-going reforms intended to provide greater independence and more resources for complaints procedures.
GRECO will assess the implementation of its recommendations by Ireland in 2024.
