ALMOST 6 IN 10 people believe corruption is widespread in Ireland with 1 in 6 claiming they are personally affected by corruption in their daily life.
A new report published by the European Commission also reveals that a narrow majority of Irish citizens believe the giving and taking of bribes and the abuse of power for personal gain is widespread among political parties in the Republic.
The latest annual report on public attitudes to corruption found 59% of those surveyed felt the problem of corruption in Ireland is widespread – 11 percentage points below the EU average of 70% and unchanged on the results of a similar survey in 2022.
The results of the Eurobarometer poll indicate that corruption is less of an issue in Ireland than many other EU member states as it was the 8th lowest figure among the 27 EU countries.
However, 43% of those surveyed in Ireland believed the level of corruption here had increased over the past three years compared to 10% who claimed it had decreased.
Corruption levels were perceived to be at their highest in Greece at 97% followed closely by Croatia, Portugal, Cyprus and Malta.
In contrast, just 13% of people surveyed in Finland believed corruption was widespread in their country with low rates also recorded in Denmark, Sweden and Luxembourg.
The poll of over 26,400 adults across the 27 EU member states, including over 1,000 in the Republic, was conducted between April and May this year.
The report also found that 17% of Irish citizens claimed they were negatively impacted by corruption in their daily lives – an increase of 1 percentage point over the past 12 months.
It was the joint 16th highest ranking among EU countries but below the EU average of 24%.
Almost three-quarters of Irish people agreed that too-close links between business and politics in the Republic leads to corruption while 48% believed that the only way to succeed in business in Ireland is to have business connections.
Two-thirds also agreed that favouritism and corruption hamper business competition here.
However, only a third of respondents claimed there were enough successful prosecutions in Ireland to deter people from corrupt practices, while two-thirds said high-level cases of corruption were not pursued sufficiently.
In addition to the finding that 51% of Irish citizens believe corruption is widespread among political parties – up from 48% last year, the report showed 49% felt the same with regard to individual politicians.
Around a third of individuals in Ireland also believed corruption was widespread among officials involved with public tenders and the issuing of building permits.
At the same time, just 6% of people in the Republic admitted personally knowing someone who had taken a bribe – the joint lowest figure across the EU where the average was 11%.
The survey also revealed that just 4% of Irish respondents said they had personally experienced or witnessed corruption in the past 12 months – the joint 4th lowest rate in the EU.
Among those who did experience corruption in Ireland, only 23% said they reported it.
The most common reason why people said they failed to report corruption was because it would be difficult to prove anything.
Separately 28% of Irish businesses said they believed corruption was widespread compared to the EU average of 65% with the most common form the favouring of family members or friends in business.
The report said its findings demonstrated that the nature and scope of corruption varied between EU member states, while the effectiveness of anti-corruption policies was quite different across the Union.
The European Commission said corruption harmed the EU by lowering investment levels, hampering the fair operation of the internal market and reducing public finances.
It added: “Corruption deepens inequalities, erodes citizens’ trust in public institutions, undermines good governance and social justice and constitutes a serious threat to the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights.”
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