A new crime of bribery punishable by up to seven years in prison is one of the key provisions in a Bill just published by Fine Gael.
Launching the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 1999, yesterday, Laois-Offaly TD Mr Charles Flanagan said the burden of proof would be on the shoulders of a person charged.
The Bill will be moved shortly in Fine Gael Private Member's time ail, and Mr Flanagan called for cross-party support. While ethics in public office, dealing specifically with politicians, was rightly receiving a great deal of attention, the measures he proposed ran right through the business and financial sectors.
"The Bill creates a number of new offences - bribery, payment of a secret commission, payola and kickbacks and abuse by a public official of his or her duty. For the first time, bribery is being defined under statute, in response to the need for a modern statutory offence of bribery to include new offences of procuring a breach of duty by deception and procuring a breach of duty by threats."
Few prosecutions appeared before the courts because bribery was difficult to define.
In addition to the new statutory offence of bribery, the Bill also deals with the payment of a "secret commission". This would specifically target banks and financial institutions where employees may "cream off" money in deals with clients.
It also targets those who may benefit "under the counter" from exerting influence in a job-selection process. Public officials who use confidential information for self-enrichment would also be covered in the Bill.
"Unusually, the Bill contains a specific reference to matters that shall not be a defence for a person charged. These involve assertions that the shady dealing is common practice in business and public life," Mr Flanagan said.
Describing the Bill as "pioneering legislation", the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said Mr Flanagan was "the first parliamentarian in these islands" to bring forward concrete proposals on this issue.