Ireland ranks among the least corrupt states in the world, according to the head of an Australian commission against corruption.
Addressing the Select Committee on Members' Interests in Dublin yesterday, the sole member of the New South Wales commission, Mr Barry O'Keefe, told senators of an organisation called Transparency International, which measures corruption levels in 50 countries.
Conceding that Transparency International's "corruption perception index" was a fairly coarse measure, Mr O'Keefe said the 1996 figures showed Ireland rating about 14th in terms of transparency. Denmark came first, and Scandinavian countries scored well.
Pakistan and Nigeria finished bottom at 49th and 50th, respectively. Australia ranked eighth, while Britain and the United States were in the top 25.
As the second commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, he was invited by the Select Committee to outline the operation of the body. He is in Ireland to examine the implications of the Ethics in Public Office Act, which provides for the declaration of interests by politicians and others in public life.
Meanwhile, Senator Maurice Manning, of Fine Gael, suggested the proposed new Commission for Standards in Public Office for this State should broaden its remit to encompass journalists as well as other people in public life.
It is envisaged that the commission would subsume the existing work of the Public Offices Commission under the Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995, and the Electoral Act, 1997. In addition, it would also be able to investigate complaints against a person in public life.
However, according to Senator Manning, the media also constituted a significant and influential part of public life and it was time to consider including them in the commission's remit.
"In the Sixties, journalists were wined and dined by politicians. I do not know if it still happens. Is there a case for saying public relations advisers and the media should also fall within the scope of the commission?" he asked.
Senator Joe Costello, of Labour, proposed that local authority councillors should also be covered by the commission's terms of reference. It was anomalous that serving members of the Oireachtas, who were ever members of local authorities or health boards, should come within the scope of the commission, while members of these bodies who were not TDs or senators would not be covered.
Calling for legal clarification of a number of issues raised in the Government proposals for the policing mechanism for ethical issues, the Independent senator, Mr Joe O'Toole, said every time he read the document he saw something that contravened natural justice.
Members of the committee said it would be deeply unjust if a politician was expected to carry a burden of guilt by association because of his or her involvement with what is described in the proposals as a "connected person". The committee is to seek legal advice on this issue.