By being able to define what something is then we can understand how to prevent it.  That is not the same as suggesting that you ignore corruption. It is the opposite. Blandly labelling something as corruption is meaningless. For example, we can not cure cancer unless we know what type of cancer it is.   [...]

Perceptions of corruption discourage private and foreign direct investment and limit economic growth, writes ELAINE BYRNE in the Irish Times July 28, 2009

TAOISEACH EAMON de Valera’s patience was worn out by the end of the 1940s. He told the Dáil that persistent corruption allegations reminded him of “the primpealláin, a beetle, which from the moment in the summer time when it began to use its wings and fly about, went about, not attracted by any flower in the field or any flower in the garden, no matter how beautiful they were, whether they were roses or lilies. The primpealláin went about looking for some cow dung or horse dung in which they might roll themselves”.

In a 12-year period, the De Valera government initiated three tribunals of inquiry and a parliamentary investigation into alleged corruption, concerning for the most part, the department of industry and commerce’s role in awarding licences, leases, export quotas and the improper disclosure of confidential information.

Of the 20 allegations investigated, 18 were dismissed and two lesser charges were found. Then minister for industry and commerce, Seán Lemass, took the allegations very seriously. His response was unequivocal and in one case a senior civil servant was compulsorily retired.

OPINION: Why has it taken so long for the in-depth McCarthy report audit of how public money is spent? asks ELAINE BYRNE in The Irish Times July 21, 2009

FOUR THINGS emerge from the McCarthy report. One. Fianna Fáil is responsible for grossly mismanaging our public finances. The sharp increase in public spending during the Ahern years now means that 11 per cent of estimated tax revenues will be used this year alone to service our growing national debt. The Charlie McCreevy economic doctrine of “If I have it, I’ll spend it” rings rather hollow given that the projected exchequer deficit for 2009 is €20.3 billion.

Educational reform means young people are better educated and more informed than any previous generation, writes ELAINE BYRNE in The Irish Times July 14, 2009

DEAR COLM, I read your Irish Times letter to the editor yesterday.

“I have to yet sit the Leaving Cert,” you wrote. When third-level fees are reintroduced “I consider the prospect of a severe financial burden with a lump in my throat”. You then asked if there was any point in paying for an education which you might never use because there won’t be any jobs anyway when you graduate.

OPINION: The depths of our financial crisis have exposed the limits of our policy-making process, writes ELAINE BYRNE in The Irish Times July 7, 2009

MYOPIA IS the medical term for short-sightedness. This inability to clearly focus on distant objects has overwhelmingly characterised Irish political debate.

The extraordinary depths of our financial crisis have fundamentally exposed the limits, shortcomings and abject failure of our policy-making process. The Irish property bubble was inflated through property-based tax incentives such as reliefs on multi-storey car parks, hotels and student accommodation which amounted to €421 million in 2006. Obviously, such incentives were not based on a long-term macro-economic analysis on the unintended consequences of these short-term micro-interventions. Classic Irish myopia. So, why did this happen?