Cleaning up politics

As the Mahon Tribunal continues, the Taoiseach’s explanations of his unusual financial dealings in the early 1990s become less credible by the day. During the general election campaign the Fianna Fail mantra was that the Taoiseach was fully co-operating with the Tribunal and that his personal finances were matters solely for the Tribunal. Since then there has been a sustained effort to undermine the Tribunal both by the Taoiseach’s counsel in its hearings and by his supporters outside. The two parties that were most vocally sceptical of Bertie Ahern’s finances during the election campaign sit with him on the government benches and have been silent on the matter since.

Past opinion polls suggest that when the media or the opposition has probed the Taoiseach on cash provided to him, Fianna Fail support has held steady, or even increased. Though it is quite likely that revelations on the Taoiseach’s finances played some part in the poor showing by the Progressive Democrats in the election, history suggests that further revelations are unlikely to turn off Fianna Fail voters. Regardless of the short term impact of these matters on party political support, it is inevitable that they undermine public confidence in politicians generally. Proactive steps need to be taken to demonstrate to the public that Irish political parties can meet the best international standards for probity.

With the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats now tied to Fianna Fail for perhaps the next five years, Fine Gael is positioned to lead the debate on this issue. The most immediate areas for reform seem to be public appointments by ministers, campaign spending and fund raising. Hundreds of state positions are filled in the lifetime of every government by ministerial appointment. While criteria are set for the various state boards and offices to be filled, a significant numbers of them are filled with supporters of government parties with little oversight.

Such cronyism means that it is unlikely that the most suitable person for the role is appointed. As a result, not only are salaries, expenses and perks given to the wrong person, but key decisions concerning matters of state are taken by under qualified individuals. Fine Gael could begin the public discussion on how to reform these public appointments. The party could explore how to establish transparent, fair and effective procedures for the majority of appointments. Prospective appointees for the most significant positions could be vetted by the relevant Oireachtas committees.

The same committees or the Public Accounts Committee could be given the power to investigate more minor appointments where they believe established procedure may not have been followed. The legislation that limits electoral spending has been shown to be flawed as parties and candidates spend significant amounts of money campaigning throughout the electoral cycle, not just after an election is called.

Minister John Gormley has suggested that he will be reviewing this legislation. The raising of political funds should also be discussed, considering the levels of money that should come from the exchequer and the levels to be raised privately. In leading these discussions Fine Gael should remember the lessons from its earlier unilateral ban on corporate donations. Proposed changes should be discussed at the parliamentary level first.

The party should aim for cross-party support for any steps to be taken. And the party should seek to reform political standards without attempting to take the moral high crowd. Any posturing on these matters for electoral gain is likely to be transparent to the electorate. Reform should be sought for the benefits that it will bring to Irish politics as a whole rather than merely for interests of anyone political party.