Dr. Elaine Byrne:

When I was doing my thesis at the University of Limerick, much to the frustration of my supervisor, I refused to name particular political parties in it. I did not find relevant what the name of a political party was because it was about proximity to power. There has been a lot of research in other countries where that happens. I do not believe a particular political party and its membership somehow come from a different genetic pool from other political parties and their memberships. If political party X had been in power for a long period of time, rather than political party Y, I am not so sure the behaviour would have been that different. Often when people talk about corruption, it is very easy to do it. One may talk about individuals and corruption is very sexy; it is very easy to politicise it. What I try to do, however, is to rise above its politicisation. I do not believe it is about a particular political party or particular political individuals. I believe it is about how long these political parties or political individuals have been in power.