The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust commissioned a report as a follow-up to a baseline study nine years ago by the same author, Mr Brian Harvey.

On the issue of ethics in public life, the report states that "corruption is a central theme of Irish life and politics. Ireland is now regarded as one of the more corrupt European states." Ireland is believed to have lost substantial foreign investment because of its international reputation, it adds.

Although tribunals have "done much to determine the nature of corruption, changes to improve the political and administrative system have been minimal." Ready access to justice has never been a reality for people on low incomes, it states, highlighting long delays in the legal aid system.

It highlights the "widening levels of inequality, extraordinarily low levels of investment in public services and a depressing record on environmental protection".

Other criticisms include:

• Inadequate treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers;
• The lack of a fully independent police complaints procedure and poor safeguards for people in detention;
• Difficulties for poor people in getting speedy access to justice and lack of use of alternatives to prison;
• The continued operation of emergency legislation, including the non-jury Special Criminal Court;
• Insufficient funding for the rights and justice organisations.

"Ireland's standards of human and civil rights are below internationally acceptable levels," it says, adding that it has the second fastest-growing prison population in Europe.

The report recommends greater attention to the work of the Human Rights Commission, adequate resourcing of rights and justice organisations and greater support for bodies working with immigrant populations.

Mr Harvey said that as well as continuing problems in rights and justice areas, there were "outstanding, untackled and disturbing issues on social inclusion.

DUBLIN - A report issued today (05-Apr-2002) condemns Ireland as one of the most corrupt and unequal countries in Europe, and says its respect for human rights falls far short of international norms.

"Ireland is now regarded as one of the more corrupt European states (and) is believed to have lost substantial foreign investment because of its bad international reputation," said the report published by the British-based Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.

A string of state-led probes into allegations of corruption in high places had resulted in only minimal punishment of offenders and had failed to put mechanisms in place to prevent future corruption, it said.

The survey's author, Brian Harvey, said the problem was "systemic" and called for the establishment of an independent body to monitor corruption and cronyism in public life.

He described his report as "a wake-up call". "It's a reminder that Ireland has indeed made phenomenal economic progress in the past five to ten years, but there's still a huge backlog of social issues, issues around poverty, human rights, civil rights, accountability, corruption and so on that have yet to be effectively addressed," he told state radio.

"Many of these problems -- for example in the area of corruption

-- go to the very root of the way our political system is organised," he said.

The report said that while Ireland had become one of the richest states in Europe on the back of a seven-year boom, it had also become one of the most unequal, with standards of human rights falling "far below international norms".

It highlighted the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers -- who began flocking to the country in the late 1990s -- the lack of safeguards for people in detention, the high imprisonment rate, and a lack of police accountability.

It said Ireland had some of the highest rates of poverty -- particularly child poverty -- in the European Union.

The government came under further fire for what the report said was a policy of cutting taxes and redistributing in favour of higher earners, while at the same time reducing social spending.

"As a result, Ireland is now one of the most unequal societies in Europe," it said.

- REUTERS

©Copyright 2002, New Zealand Herald.