Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am asking if this is an issue. Is this to some degree contributing to the the casual-type attitude here towards ethics? As pointed out by Mr. Jim O'Keeffe the vast majority of people who enter public life do so purely on altruistic grounds. They do it because they want to serve the people they represent. To some degree the vast majority of people in this Parliament have no power whatsoever. The procurement officer of a large semi-State company or State organisation or senior planning officer of a local authority is far more susceptible to corrupt practices than most junior Ministers and certainly all non-office holders in Dáil Éireann yet the whole debate focuses around politicians. This appears to stem from the tribunals. We are discussing SIPO but most people do not know what its role is. Most people think its function is to investigate politicians in relation to corrupt payments. Most people do not know that there is a different system for county councillors. They do not know whether SIPO does or does not investigate corrupt practice by public servants in local authorities, the HSE, and so on. Despite the fact it was established 20 years ago the majority of people elected to the Houses and the general public still do not know what SIPO does. This means that unless we read about SIPO on the front page of the national media we do not pay much heed to it.