Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this EU directive on combating corruption. I welcome this proposal. It is very important and very timely given what has been going on with the RTÉ pay crisis over the past couple of weeks. We cannot underestimate the importance of public trust in the public broadcaster and now more than ever given the amount of disinformation the public is being bombarded with on a daily basis. It is vital that citizens have a place to go for factual and unbiased information, a place where they are guaranteed the truth. In this age of information, nothing is more important than the truth. When we all have different ideas and understandings of what is true, it can lead to societal breakdown. This is what has fuelled the rise of the right in recent years. Different ideas of what is true and what is fake have created divisions across the world and this has created a deep sense of mistrust and scepticism in every piece of information we are presented with. We have underestimated just how exhausting this is and just how much the recent revelations about RTÉ are going to add to the sense of distrust and wariness among the public. What is more upsetting is that RTÉ does not even take the immense responsibility it has seriously. Not only were its representatives dishonest in their dealings, they have since lied about the extent of these dealings, undermining both the Oireachtas and RTÉ in its role as a public broadcaster. It is absolutely outrageous and should not be tolerated.

In January, Ireland was ranked joint tenth in the global index measuring perceptions of public sector corruption. I have no doubt that, sadly, this will no longer be the case. This is something for all public sector institutions to reflect on. There is no doubt that the Irish people have been badly let down by this situation. It is for this reason that prevention of corruption is just as important as, if not more important than, addressing existing corruption. I am glad Article 3 of this proposal addresses this matter. It would require members to ensure that key preventative tools, such as access to information of public interest, effective rules for the disclosure and management of conflicts of interest in the public sector, effective rules for the disclosure and verification of assets of public officials and effective rules regulating the interaction between the private and public sector, are in place. It is vitally important that such rules are in place for the European Commission and EU representatives too.

One area of concern with the proposal is in regards to data protection. I echo the European Data Protection Supervisor's call to amend Article 3 of the proposal in order to establish a comprehensive legal basis under Union law for the processing of personal data that are necessary to prevent corruption, and to clearly define what categories of personal data and which categories of data subjects may be publicly disclosed as part of the measures for the prevention of corruption. It is important that the data rights of individuals are protected when addressing this. We need to strike a delicate balance between ensuring those rights and doing all we can to tackle corruption.

Trust in public institutions is invaluable. Addressing failings in integrity and serious breaches of ethical rules to promote public trust and manage the conduct of public officials is vital in shoring up that trust and strengthening it. That is vitally important.

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