Dublin, 9 December 2004 - The Irish public perceive political parties as the sector or institution most affected by corruption, according to a new public opinion survey published today by Transparency International (TI) to mark UN International Anti-Corruption Day. TI is the leading global non-governmental organisation devoted to combating corruption worldwide.
The Irish figures reflect opinion worldwide on the topic with 36 out of 62 countries polled internationally by Gallup International as part of its Voice of the People Survey. On a scale from a corrupt-free 1 to an extremely corrupt score of 5, political parties ranked worst worldwide, with a score of 4.0.
Results were mixed when people were asked whether levels of corruption in Ireland would change in the next three years. 28 per cent of those respondents believed that things would get worse, with 38 per cent saying that conditions would improve; a further 30 per cent stated that levels of corruption in Ireland would remain the same.
After political parties, the next most corrupt institution was perceived to be the legal system/judiciary, closely followed by Dáil Eireann. The survey was conducted for TI between June and September 2004.
| Sector |
Ireland |
World Average |
| Political parties |
3.9
|
4
|
| Legal system / Judiciary |
3.3
|
3.6
|
| Parliament/Legislature |
3.2
|
3.7
|
| Police |
3.1
|
3.4
|
| Business/ private sector |
3.1
|
3.4
|
| Tax revenue |
3
|
3.4
|
| Medical services |
2.8
|
3.3
|
| Religious bodies |
2.8
|
2.7
|
| Media |
2.8
|
3.3
|
| Utilities (telephone, electricity, water, etc.) |
2.3
|
3
|
| Customs |
2.3
|
3.3
|
| Education system |
2.2
|
3.1
|
| NGOs (non governmental organizations) |
2.2
|
2.8
|
| The military |
2.1
|
2.9
|
| Registry and permit services (civil registry for birth, marriage, licenses, permits) |
2
|
3
|