The C & AGs annual (farce) report

The Comptroller and Auditor General has once again revealed a massive waste of taxpayer’s money caused by the incompetence of various government agencies. There are only two certainties about this annual farce – the wastage will continue and nothing will be done.

Here’s how three of our most senior, so called leaders, responded to the latest report.

The Taoiseach, Brian Cowen refused to make any comment whatsoever.

The Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, also refused to make any comment and instead referred the matter to the useless Dail Public Accounts Committee.

The Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern said he ‘didn’t ever involve himself in procurement issues.’ He then bizarrely went on to congratulate the officials that were criticised by the C & AG.

Here we go again…

Tánaiste and Enterprise, Trade & Employment Minister Mary Coughlan has asked the Comptroller and Auditor General to launch a special investigation into FÁS expenditure since 2000.

Let us be in no doubt. This investigation will be a complete waste of time, resources and money. The C & AG is a completely powerless organisation. It does not have any power to bring charges as a result of any wrongdoing discovered; it is empowered merely to offer an opinion – that’s it.

In its most recent investigation, into Bord gCon, the C&AG uncovered very serious corruption, fraud and incompetence, yet, bizarrely, concluded that

“In material respects the financial affairs of the company were properly run.”

No action whatsoever was taken by any government authority as a result of these very serious findings. It should be noted at this point that the C&AG was the auditor of Bord na gCon while many of these dodgy activities were going on.

The C&AG is also the official auditor of FÁS. So what are the chances that the organisation responsible for signing off on the finances of FÁS every year is going to make any serious criticisms of that organisation? Isn’t it more likely to conclude that ‘In material respects the financial affairs of FÁS were properly run’?

When completed, the C&AGs report on FÁS will be passed on to another completely powerless body – The Public Accounts Committee.

This group of useless politicians will discuss the matter once in public and once in private and that folks will be the end of the matter. It doesn’t matter how much corruption, fraud or incompetence is uncovered – nothing will be done.

In my opinion it is no accident that the C&AG is powerless, it is no accident that the PAC is powerless and it is no accident that Minister Coughlin has decided to hand over this very serious matter to these powerless agencies.

If Ireland was a properly functioning and accountable democracy the police would be ripping through the files at FAS, civil servants would be answering questions under police caution and politicians would be wondering how their heads fell off.

Depressingly, Ireland is not a properly functioning democracy, there will be no police action, no political heads will roll and corruption and incompetence will continue at all levels of Irish society.

Copy to:
C&AG
FAS
PAC

Special arrangements for special people

The fraudster Jim Flavin of DCC is walking around a free man because Fyffes, in their own interests, decided to take a civil rather than a criminal case against him. Despite the Supreme Court’s conclusion that Flavin was guilty of insider trading to the tune of €83 million the Irish State has made no move to press criminal charges.

The rogue solicitor Michael Lynn is also enjoying the benefits of being dealt with under civil rather than criminal law. Lynn, whose alleged fraud also involves a figure of around €80 million, is due to give evidence from London via video link next month in a case unrelated to his own dodgy activities.

For reasons best known to himself the DPP has decided not to initiate criminal charges against Lynn. This situation makes life very easy for the rogue solicitor; he can come and go as he please so long as he doesn’t return to Ireland.

The Garda Fraud Bureau investigation into Lynn is slow and cumbersome and according to Garda sources will not be completed for a number of months.

When the investigation is complete the DPP must then make a decision on whether criminal charges should be brought. According to a report in today’s Irish Independent this will also take several months. We are not told why a decision like this should take so long.

Here’s what I think.

Civil rather than criminal proceedings allow Lynn the freedom to continue operating his businesses. This means he can work away at trying to resolve his ‘difficulties’.

Meanwhile, the low key and long drawn out process here in Ireland, whether intentional or co-incidental, leaves the way open for a deal to be eventually worked out to the satisfaction of all parties.

We shouldn’t therefore be surprised if at some point there’s an announcement that ‘arrangements’ have been made between the interested parties and the DPP doesn’t have to resort to all that embarrassing and nasty criminal proceedings stuff after all.

The powers that be can then continue to operate under the illusion that Ireland is on a par with other Western jurisdictions where the rule of law is seen as vital to a healthy democracy.

One law for rich and powerful

Letter in this morning’s Irish Independent.

One law for rich and powerful

NOT surprisingly, the fugitive solicitor Michael Lynn has refused to return to Ireland to give evidence in a High Court case (Irish Independent, September 20).

How touching, therefore, to see State and legal authorities facilitating this fugitive in tying up loose ends from his previous work by providing a video link from his bolt hole somewhere in London.

It is, however, puzzling to us ordinary folk how the State can make such arrangements with this man and yet seem totally incapable of taking the necessary action that would make him accountable for the very serious allegations he is facing.

Perhaps those same authorities could arrange an annual two-week amnesty for Mr Lynn so that he could return home and nostalgically breathe in the air of a country where the level of accountability apparently depends on one’s profession and standing in society.

Anthony Sheridan

On a personal note…

Congratulation to my nephew Gavin who has just obtained an honours degree in History/Politics at UCC.

Gavin also co-wrote a story in today’s Irish Examiner where he works as a sub editor.

At the moment he’s ‘taking a break’ in Georgia where he hopes to do some reporting on the recent conflict.

PDs legacy

The legacy of the PDs was discussed on Saturday View. Former PD minister Bobby Molloy said;

“One of the most important things we did was having the tribunal established to investigate the beef industry and all the stuff that has been revealed following that and other tribunals.

None of that would have happened were it not for the fact that we were absolutely adamant there must be an independent judicial inquiry.”

Molloy is right in his claim that the PDs were responsible for the establishment of the Beef Tribunal but when the report was finally published and it became crystal clear that it was a whitewash his party fell into line with everybody else in sticking their heads in the sand.

Every tribunal since has seen the same reaction. Massive corruption revealed but no action taken. Everybody congratulates themselves for doing a wonderful job, the media analyse the report for a week and all is then forgotten until the next investigation.

It will be the same when the present batch of tribunals comes to an end – no action will be taken.

Molloy related an interesting story about how he and O’Malley forced the corrupt Haughey to establish the Beef Tribunal. Apparently, Haughey at first refused outright but when the PDs stood their ground Haughey offered an enquiry by the Attorney General. Again, the PDs stood their ground until finally Haughey gave in and established a full judicial enquiry as demanded.

It was this kind of integrity and courage that made the PDs and it was the abandonment of such principles by Mary Harney that destroyed the party.

Ahern has nothing to worry about

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has submitted his resignation letter to the country’s President, Shimon Peres. Olmert is under investigation by police on corruption charges.

Bertie Ahern, who is suspected of far more serious crimes, is not being investigated by the police and nobody would even think of using the word ‘corruption’ when reporting on the allegations against him.

Immediately after resigning Ahern was hailed as a great statesman and all thoughts of making him accountable in Dail Eireann were forgotten.

Enda Kenny called for a general election and was roundly condemned by all and sundry. The general consensus, even among the media, was that this was Bertie’s day and any criticism was crass and unwarranted. Even Kenny’s party colleagues maintained an embarrassed silence.

By resigning Ahern became untouchable because there’s no State authority capable or willing to make him accountable. The tribunal farce will run its course but no matter what conclusions it reaches Ahern’s status as a hero will not be affected.

During a media interview after his last appearance at the tribunal Ahern said he had nothing to worry about – He’s absolutely right, he hasn’t.

Tammany Hall passport service to remain exclusive

I finally got talking today to a member of the committee that reviewed the special passport facility for members of the Oireachtas.

I wanted to know if details of the service would be published in the Department’s literature and website.

No, I was told. The service is provided for members of the Oireachtas, it’s not a service that’s directly available to citizens therefore details would not be published.

This, of course, is complete rubbish.

I pointed out that he was a servant of the public, the passport office existed exclusively as a service to the public and politicians are servants of the public and therefore this special service should be fully available to all citizens as of right.

There then followed a discussion about what exactly ‘public’ meant. In the end he finally conceded that all services provided by his department were by definition public.

My next question concerned fees. The standard fee for a passport is €75. If the passport is provided by express there is an extra charge of €8. If an urgent passport is required there is an extra €50 charge on top of the €75 standard charge.

The special facility for members of the Oireachtas allows politicians to bypass the system and personally provide a passport within a few days for ‘special’ citizens at no extra charge.

This Tammany Hall facility is just one of the scams operated by politicians as a means of buying votes. The whole system of Clientism that has evolved over the decades is itself one of the chief sources of corruption in Ireland.

Manipulated and discredited law

My posting ‘Two Views’ was a comment on the ridiculous practice of prosecuting people because they had broken what is effectively a religious law. Michael Kelly makes an equally valid point, strongly supported by comments, that judges should not be allowed to pick and choose which laws are to be applied.

The existence of medieval like religious laws and the casual attitude to law in general are simply reflections of the kind of country we live in.

Here are just a few examples.

The Beef Tribunal uncovered massive fraud and corruption within the Irish meat industry. Apart from a few minor officials who received a slap on the wrist nobody was made accountable. The only person to be charged, for refusing to reveal her sources, was Susan O’Keeffe the Granada Television reporter who broke the story.

It would have been extremely embarrassing for Ireland if O’Keeffe was found guilty after the tribunal whitewash had exonerated all those who were actually guilty. A legal technicality was conveniently discovered and O’Keeffe was acquitted.

It is almost certain that Bertie Ahern committed perjury at the Mahon Tribunal. The facts are simple. He stated under oath that he never dealt in significant amounts of sterling. The tribunal produced irrefutable evidence that Ahern’s statement was untrue.

In a functional democracy it wouldn’t matter that the tribunal was ongoing, it wouldn’t matter that the alleged perjurer was Prime Minister, immediate police and legal action would have been taken.

The conflict between Irish Times journalists Geraldine Kennedy and Colm Keena and the Mahon Tribunal over the disclosure of sources is still unresolved nearly a year after the event.

It is a very serious case where the journalists openly admit that they destroyed evidence despite being ordered not to do so by the Tribunal. It doesn’t matter that the journalists are, at least, morally right, it doesn’t matter that the tribunal is ongoing.

If Ireland was a country where the law enjoyed the same respect as it does in functional democracies both these journalists would long ago have been made accountable for their actions.

These cases and countless other examples ranging across every level of society demonstrate that Ireland is not like any other Western democracy, that Ireland is a country where the law is manipulated to suit events and circumstances rather than acting as a protector of society in general.

PDs drown in Fianna Fail sewer

About the only sensible thing Michael McDowell ever said during his political career was that the PDs had to be either radical or redundant. The party stopped being radical and thus became redundant the moment Mary Harney decided to share power with Bertie Ahern.

Of course, the PDs had shared power with Fianna Fail before but there was always a degree of instability so long as the PDs stuck by their ethical principles. It’s actually impossible to maintain ethical standards and, at the same time, share power with a corrupt party like Fianna Fail as the Greens have quickly discovered.

Harney, realising this, quickly abandoned the party’s core value of defending high ethical standards in public office and led the party back down to the Fianna Fail sewers from which the original leaders of the PDs, including Harney, had courageously extracted themselves in 1985.

Once back in the sewer, political life became much easier for Harney and most of her colleagues, both parties floated along at the same level, happily sharing the same stench.

The problem of course was that voters couldn’t tell the difference anymore so why bother voting for a party that had voluntarily made itself redundant.