Corruption and Scandal

By Eugene Byrne

We sometimes ignore grey areas in fear of the outcome or result - which might not be to our liking or have the potential to shock. Ireland today, most certainly the 26 counties, fits into this category, where at times it’s impossible to see the clear light of day through all of the gloom emanating from the various tribunals currently in session. For the ordinary man or woman on the street there is no way to fathom the level of underhand activity going on in society, where large sums of money changed hands to curry favour at all levels of business.

The general public’s belief is that the so-called tribunals are only concerned with certain sectors of business and if corruption occurred there, surely it was rampant throughout the country and probably won’t be investigated, leaving the construction industry to carry the can. It was astonishing when the tribunals initially started to report and coverage started in earnest, but now people have become somewhat immune to what is and isn’t being said. I suppose at this stage the revelations to date have left us as a nation at a point where nothing which is yet to come will shock or surprise us anymore.

Now as election time has
reached fever pitch, the politicians are out squeaky clean on our streets, concerned about our welfare and stating how they will rectify the situation if only we-the-mislead would allow them to govern once again, or for the first time in many years. Point scoring, finger wagging and name-calling will be used in abundance over the next month or so in an effort to gain the upper hand at the expense of the other party. What will be lost is the fact that the promises that have been made will be reneged on, forgotten, with little chance of any memory return unless it is jogged by a brief spell in Mountjoy prison.

Why don’t these parties stop trying to fool us and stick to their more traditional methods of operating, such as handing out their election literature as if it were those famous bulging ‘brown envelopes’? At least then there is a slight chance of someone reading it. The political parties have a lot of work to do to restore any faith in the system, as month after month of dodgy dealings in banking, planning, police and even the Church make the headlines. The rip-off culture goes right across the political spectrum where the genuine punter is put off voting; believing that one lot of politicians are as bad as the next.

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